6 years ago That day, a gunman walked into my high school in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire, killing 17 people and wounding 17 more. Donald Trump was halfway through his presidency at the time. Days after he expressed potential support for gun safety laws, the National Rifle Association reached out to him and he backed down. No one offered us more than thoughts and prayers. It was up to us, the young people, to protest for our lives.
Since then, we’ve not only marched, but accomplished what most people thought was impossible. We passed the first federal gun safety law in three decades, created the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and this summer the U.S. Surgeon General finally declared gun violence a public health crisis.
This is real progress that has translated into real results and lives saved. While gun deaths have increased by 34% under Trump, and he has boasted that he “did nothing,” we are now seeing a historic decline in gun violence, with gun deaths down nearly 20% since 2021. Violent crime is down, and the murder rate is on track for its largest annual decline on record.
This was not a coincidence. It was made possible by the tremendous efforts of survivors, activists, and young people who elected candidates to prevent gun violence, held them accountable, and made their voices heard.
While I wish I could say our work is done, guns are still the number one killer of children and young people. On November 5, all of our progress is at stake. Our lives are at stake once again.
The country that young people like me will soon inherit stands on the brink of a precipice – on the one hand, tyranny that threatens our freedoms, our future, and our right to live free from armed violence; on the other, a world full of opportunity, where we can continue the struggle to build the future we deserve.
The stakes couldn't be higher and the contrast couldn't be starker.
This unprecedented moment demands unprecedented action, which is why the March for Our Lives movement has endorsed our first-ever female candidate for public office, Vice President Kamala Harris, for president of the United States. We have always been willing to work with anyone who is willing to fight for our lives. But it is clear that not everyone cares about keeping children alive. Only one candidate has told survivors to “get over it” after a school shooting, and only one is dedicated to addressing gun violence as a real emergency.
As America faces rising authoritarianism, far-right leaders in the halls of power, and an epidemic of gun violence ravaging our communities, we need heroes at every ballot box fighting for our lives.
The task ahead is daunting. It’s no secret that young people were pessimistic last year. But the narrative has flipped now. Polls show a surge in young voter enthusiasm since Harris took office, with young people participating in ways not seen since the first March for Our Lives in 2018.
I see firsthand, among my peers, the renewed enthusiasm and hope among young people for our future. You can see the energy on social media, at campaign events, and even in young voter registration numbers. And if I know anything, it’s that when young people are active, we don’t lose. Since the founding of the March for Our Lives movement, we’ve helped drive youth voter turnout to record levels—and polls increasingly show that the 2024 election will be no exception.
This is real hope for real change, and it can make a real difference in this election. As President Biden has said repeatedly, this election is a battle for the soul of our nation and the future we want to create. Young people have the power to shape that future, and again, the power to make a difference in this election cycle. And we are more motivated than ever to go out and defeat fascism.
That is why I call on all young people to join us in this fight.
The journey we have embarked on since Parkland has shown us the power of collective action. We have seen firsthand how our voices, when united, can create meaningful change. It is time for us to come together again to make our voices heard and prove that we are a force to be reckoned with.
As we look to November 5, let us remember the power we have. Let us remember that our voices can be the difference between backwardness and forwardness, between fear and hope, between a future dictated by a few and a future shaped by all of us, and a country where none of us is at risk of being shot, and where our future is prioritized.
Let's go out again to protest for our lives, this time to the ballot boxes.
David Hogg is a co-founder and board member of March for Our Lives, a youth-led organization dedicated to ending the epidemic of gun violence in America.
