Parkland students announce gun control plan, aim to halve gun violence rate in 10 years
Nicholas WuWASHINGTON – On Wednesday morning, March for Our Lives, the gun control movement started by student survivors of last year's school shooting that left 17 students and faculty dead in February 2018 in Parkland, Florida, announced a package of gun control measures.
The package, called a "Peace Plan for a Safer America," presents a six-part plan to address "the deadly epidemic of gun violence."
The comprehensive gun control plan would aim to "halve the rate of gun deaths in 10 years" by passing national gun control legislation, starting FEC and IRS investigations into the National Rifle Association, and appointing a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention, among other provisions.
The plan aimed to mobilize young Americans by calling for the creation of a "Peace Corps for gun violence prevention," and automatically registering and mailing voter registration cards to all Americans when they turn 18.
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"A Green New Deal, but for guns," quipped March for Our Lives co-founder Jaclyn Corin.
"Policymakers have failed, so survivors are stepping up," wrote March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg on Twitter. "We’re not just fighting against the status quo, we’re fighting for real change, for justice, for peace."
"We need leaders – in the White House, in Congress, and on the Supreme Court – who care about the future of our children and our nation. We call on every Presidential candidate for the 2020 election to endorse our Peace Plan for a Safer America," the group wrote in the plan.
President Donald Trump has signaled he would back away from supporting enhanced background checks for firearm sales despite previous statements indicating some support for background check measures.
"The next President must act with a fierce urgency to call this crisis what it is: a national public health emergency," they added.
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, wrote on Twitter, "I support their Peace Plan For A Safer America—and I call on everyone else in this race to do the same."