March for us LIVES has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 White House race. This is the first time the youth-focused gun reform organization has endorsed a political candidate.
The March for Our Lives movement wrote in a statement submitted to: Rolling Stone. “As one of the largest youth-led movements in the country, we clearly understand the challenge ahead of us and believe Kamala Harris is uniquely qualified to meet this moment.”
March for Our Lives was founded in 2018 by survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Since their historic 2018 demonstration in Washington, D.C., the group has grown into one of the largest gun reform activist groups in the county, organizing national and local protests, advocating for gun safety legislation, and representing the voices of young Americans in major court cases involving the Second Amendment.
Harris’ endorsement comes less than two weeks after former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, was wounded in an assassination attempt by a gunman armed with an AR-15 rifle. Despite the shooting, gun culture was still prevalent at the Republican National Convention days later. Trump has pledged to loosen gun laws if he wins in November, telling the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in May that he wanted to “roll back every single attack Biden has on the Second Amendment.”
“The country that young people will soon inherit is on the brink of collapse,” March for Our Lives said in a statement endorsing Harris. “On the one hand, tyranny that threatens our basic rights, including our right to live free from the fear of gun violence; on the other, a world where we can continue to fight to build the future young people know we deserve.” They added: “We need a passionate advocate for democracy, a champion for gun violence prevention, a leader who will listen to young people, give us a seat at the table, and fight for our future. We believe Kamala Harris is the candidate, the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve.”
Natalie Fall, executive director of March For Our Lives, said the group will work to organize youth voting for Harris in crucial swing states. “March For Our Lives will mobilize young people across the country to support Vice President Harris and other candidates, with a particular focus on states and races where we can make up the margin of victory — Arizona, New York, Michigan, and Florida,” she wrote.
Harris is leading the new White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, and in March she visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, touring the classroom where the mass shooting occurred. The March for Our Lives praised Harris as a lawmaker who is actively engaged in her mission. “Since becoming vice president, she has met regularly with gun violence advocates and survivors, and we have had the pleasure of working with her as she leads the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention,” the group wrote in its endorsement. “Most importantly, Vice President Harris has put gun violence survivors at the center of policymaking, demonstrating her commitment to empowering those most affected by this issue to implement the right solutions.”
Earlier this year, March for Our Lives co-chair Trevon Bosley explained the group’s ongoing mission in an op-ed in The New York Times. rolling stone” . ““When young people say they want gun safety, we also mean universal health care and mental health services, economic opportunity, an end to the prison system and investment in community programs, funding for our schools and our children, and a safety support network that doesn’t let people fall through the cracks,” he wrote. “When we invest in these social programs, we invest in our people and in our communities, making them more prosperous and safe.”
The March for Our Lives campaign has joined President Biden, the vast majority of Democrats in Congress, every Democratic governor and a host of other prominent voices in endorsing Harris for president. The campaign announced Wednesday that it has raised more than $100 million since Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.
