PARKLAND, Fla. (WAND) – A rally in the aftermath of a deadly shooting put lawmakers in the spotlight.
Thousands of people went to a Saturday gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale. The event featured students making their message clear - that gun laws need to change in America. Emma Gonzalez said politicians need to stop taking campaign donations from the National Rifle Association, adding adults who knew suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz had mental health issues should have stopped him from getting a weapon.
President Donald Trump remarked at the end of the week that America needs to make mental health a priority.
“We are committed to working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health,” the president said. “It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference.”
The Network for Public Education and the American Federal of Teachers are calling for even more protests in schools. They’re asking students, teachers and administrators take part in walk-outs, sit-ins and other acts on April 20. That date marks the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
They want those protests to spark gun control legislation in Washington.
Vice President Mike Pence says the Justice Department and other agencies are working to “study the intersection of mental health and criminality”.
