The days since the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, were different than any other school shooting in recent history. Before the politicians could even start murmuring their "thoughts and prayers," they were drowned out by the voices of the students who were in the building that day and who saw their classmates and teachers brutally murdered. Out front is Emma Gonzalez, whose passionate speech at a rally to prevent gun violence went viral. Because of this, there are some wonderful Emma Gonzalez quotes for March for Our Lives posters.
Emma said so much of what we've all been thinking, but she said it with a passion and an anger that was borne from watching her friends die. These teenagers have been eloquent, Twitter savvy, and unafraid to question the adults and push for change. In the CNN Town Hall, they didn't let the politicians get off with a pat, pre-formulated answer. They asked again and again and again. Their fellow students around the country walked out en masse on Feb. 21 and have plans to do it again on March 14 and April 20, the latter being the 20th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. The Stoneman Douglas High School kids, who already knew a lot about guns from their AP History class, have become gun issue experts, spending the days after the shooting reading up on gun laws and statistics. To bring even more attention to this, they are organizing a March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., and cities throughout the United States on March 24.
Because what would a good protest be without good signs, here are some of Emma's quotes you can use to make yours.
Get Out There And Vote.
Emma's full quote is "Get out there and vote. For the love of God, prevent this from happening at your school." Voter registration drives are now happening at the marches so that everyone who is eligible to vote gets the voice to make a change and remove anti-gun sense legislators from office.
It's easy to register to vote online.
We Call BS
Emma listed all the things that needed change and the egregious things that are happening around the lack of movement on gun legislation, each time calling for a "We call BS" refrain. It stuck. Of course, there was an irony in someone who was too young (or maybe too polite) to say the full curse being the one who is forcing the change.
Do we not deserve the Right To Live anymore?
Emma and her classmates have been fire on Twitter. And the more people go after them (we're looking at you James Woods), the harder the students have pushed back. In this tweet she trolls Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA.
"Dana Loesch, I want you to know that we will support your two children in the way that you will not."
Emma faced Dana Loesch, the National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbyist, at the CNN Town Hall. The NRA systematically blocks any legislation that might prevent the sale of guns but Emma and her classmates challenging the NRA has caused many companies, like Hertz, Delta, United, and Enterprise, to break their professional relationships with them.
"The people in the government who are voted into power are lying to us. These people, who are funded by the NRA, are not going to be allowed to remain in office."
Okay, this one is a little wordy, but the point that Emma and her classmates have made again and again is that any politician funded by the NRA has to go. In that vein, the group Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America started a "Throw Them Out" campaign to remove lawmakers who are beholden to the gun lobby.
Now Is The Time To Get On The Right Side Of This
Emma and her classmates were interviewed on NBC News about setting up the March For Our Lives. They implored the politicians to do something.
We are tired of being ignored.
Emma wrote an eloquent article that was published in Harper's Bazaar, where she summarized much of what she said in interviews and the town hall. There are so many great lines there that you should go read the whole thing, but this one really stood out: "So we are speaking up for those who don’t have anyone listening to them, for those who can’t talk about it just yet, and for those who will never speak again."
Adults like us when we have strong test scores, but they hate us when we have strong opinions.
Also from the Harpers Bazaar article, this is a double sad commentary on our society and the way the children are pushed to overachieve academically, but quieted when they try to be heard.
On a brighter note, Never Again Colleges compiled a list of over 190 colleges and universities have confirmed statements that they will not penalize any applicant who is suspended or disciplined for walking out to protest gun violence.
He wouldn't have harmed that many students with a knife.
For gun rights activists and politicians who say that a dangerous person will cause harm no matter what and that it's people and not guns that are the problem, Emma has a clear answer on that.
Not Today. Never Again.
#NeverAgain has now become a trending hashtag. Because the bottom line is, the one thing we all want is for this to never, ever happen again.
