Students and supporters across America ‘march for their lives’ to demand stricter gun control laws

“NEVER AGAIN.” “Enough.” 

Can you hear them now, President Donald J. Trump and the Republicans in Congress, as over half a million students and their supporters march in Washington DC and other major cities in America and around the world  on Saturday, March 24, to demand for you to do your solemn obligation to end the gun violence and mass shooting epidemic that has increasingly been threatening the lives of kids and civilians in this country?

Can you hear them now as you, Mr. President head back to your hideaway in Mar-a-Lago for the nth time at taxpayers’ expense while Republican lawmakers leave Capitol Hill as well, or is the voice of the powerful well-funded lobbyist National Rifle Association (NRA) still ringing in your consciousness, reminding you of how much money they have invested in your campaign so that you would not pass stricter gun control laws?

Can you hear them now, President Trump and the Republicans in Congress, as these young people march on the streets to fight for their lives and their future — because you have failed them, because the adults who cling to their guns believe these weapons of war, death and destruction are far more important than the lives of children and innocent civilians?

Can you hear them now as they shout out their opposition to your stupid prescription of putting out more guns all over America to solve gun violence, which, in the first 11 weeks alone of 2018, has already seen 17 school shootings? This does not include deaths and injuries in other parts of the community, and the lives lost because of mass shootings in the past years!

Here are the revealing findings from the latest Gallup poll:

For the most part, teachers across the country do not agree with the proposal, and they dispute two of the main reasons for arming teachers: that it would make schools safer and limit casualties during a shooting.

* While 73 percent of teachers oppose special training to arm them in school, 20 percent strongly or somewhat favor it and 7 percent are neutral.

* Likewise, while 58 percent of teachers think arming them and their colleagues would make schools less safe, 20 percent think it would make schools safer and 22 percent do not think it would make any difference.

* Twenty-nine percent of teachers think that arming teachers would be very or somewhat effective in limiting the number of victims of a school shooting, while 71 percent say it would not be effective.

Meanwhile, a new national poll conducted by the Associated Press/NORC revealed that 7 in 10 adults support stricter gun control measures — the strongest level of support since the AP started pilling on this question five years ago.

Do you know that the demand for tougher gun control laws is not just coming from Democrats, Independents, and those who do not own guns? The AP/NORC study also reveals that a majority of gun owners (54 percent) and half of Republicans favor new laws to address gun violence in America.

Sixty percent of Americans say making it harder to legally obtain a gun would result in fewer mass shootings; just 49 percent said the same in the 2016 poll.

ARE YOU LISTENING, President Trump and the Republicans in Congress? Are you really listening to the American people?

Gel Santos Relos

Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com and www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

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