In different cities across the United States, students plan to step out on March 24 for the the anti-gun violence March For Our Lives protest. "Never Again" appears to be their rallying cry as youth activists keep the pressure on local politicians to support and pass sensible gun laws in order to reduce gun violence in the country. So, what exactly does "Never Again" mean in this context and how did it start? The chant, which has come to represent a national movement, was started by survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
On Feb. 14, a gunman took the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The survivors of the horrific shooting launched a movement called #NeverAgain MSD. Their demand was simple: something so terrifying like that Valentine's Day shooting should never happen to American students again.
In February, one of the movement's creators, Alex Wind, 17, spoke to the BBC about firearm access in the United States:
It is absolutely insane that a 19-year-old cannot purchase alcohol but can walk in and buy an AR-15 — a weapon of war, by all means a weapon of mass destruction. You don't need this to protect your home or your family, it's absolutely absurd you can sell it commercially.
The "Never Again" campaign is holding the March For Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C., on March 24. Sibling marches will be taking place across the country on the same day. On Twitter, Wind shared a guide on how people can be part of the anti-gun violence movement in by speaking out about gun violence, registering to vote, and putting pressure on lawmakers to pass sensible gun legislation.
The "Never Again" movement is also led by other student survivors from Stoneman Douglas such as Emma González, David Hogg, Delaney Tarr, Cameron Kasky, and others. On its Facebook page, it describes itself as a movement "run by [the] survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting" who "are sick of the Florida lawmakers choosing money from the [National Rifle Association] over our safety."
According to ThinkProgress, students like Hogg and Gonzales have been targeted in right-wing conspiracy theories that accuse the survivors of being "crisis actors."
While speaking with The Washington Post, Wind also said that he had heard of far too many mass shootings in the United States and wanted to change that. "I was alive and old enough to understand what was going on during Sandy Hook. I was alive and knew what was happening when the Pulse shooting happened, when the concert in Las Vegas shooting happened. And enough is enough. It’s time to change. It’s time to take action," he said.
The March For Our Lives protest is coming shortly after another protest, the National School Walkout, that happened on March 14. The rally took place in different cities and timezones in the United States only a month after the Parkland shooting. Students held 17 minutes of silence in various cities to commemorate the memories of the 17 lives lost in the school shooting.
According to the March For Our Lives' main website, participants will gather in Washington, D.C., at 12 p.m. on Saturday. But the march isn't limited to D.C. alone. People in different American cities will hold sibling marches depending on their time zones.
For students like Wind, the Saturday rally will be about holding politicians accountable and demanding robust gun legislation. In an interview with PEOPLE magazine in late February, Wind said that he couldn't "unhear" the gunshots he heard on Valentine's Day. "I just don’t want any kid to ever have to experience what I experienced," he said.
