Articulate US teenagers could finally force action on gun control
- Written by George Rennie, Lecturer in American Politics and Lobbying Strategies, University of Melbourne
On Wednesday in the US, thousands of students left their classrooms in a national day of action designed to force political change on gun crime. Following the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, this walkout is part of an extraordinary national movement. Young people across the US are doing what countless others have tried and failed to do: using grassroots strategies to take on the powerful gun lobby.
The US has an epidemic of gun crime. Mass shootings occur every day, and school shootings have become so common that over 170 schools and some 150,000 students have been affected by school-based gun violence since 1999.
Beyond the psychological trauma such attacks inflict, these shootings have a profound effect on academic success rates.
Authors: George Rennie, Lecturer in American Politics and Lobbying Strategies, University of Melbourne
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