Never Again MSD

Never Again MSD
FormationFebruary 15, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-02-15)
PurposeGun control advocacy after the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in 2018
Location
Key people
Cameron Kasky (center) at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018

Never Again MSD is an American student-led political action committee for gun control that advocates for tighter regulations to prevent gun violence.[1] The organization, also known by the Twitter hashtags #NeverAgain, and #EnoughIsEnough, was formed by a group of twenty students attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida at the time of the deadly shooting in 2018, in which seventeen students and staff members were killed by the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, who was a 19-year-old former student of the school and was armed with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle. The organization started on social media as a movement "for survivors of the Stoneman Douglas Shooting, by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas Shooting" using the hashtag #NeverAgain.[2] A main goal of the group was to influence that year's United States mid-term elections,[3] and they embarked on a multi-city bus tour to encourage young people to register to vote.[4]

The organization staged protests demanding legislative action to be taken to prevent similar shootings in the future and has vocally condemned U.S. lawmakers who have received political contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA).[5][6][7][8] It was credited in The Washington Post as winning a "stunning victory" against the NRA in the Florida legislature in March 2018 when both houses voted for various gun control measures.[9] The law increased funding for school security and raised the required age to buy a gun from 18 to 21.[10]

Among the organization's most prominent members are Alfonso Calderon, Sarah Chadwick, Jaclyn Corin, Ryan Deitsch, X González, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and Alex Wind.[11][12][13] Corin, González, Hogg, Kasky, and Wind were featured on a cover of Time in March 2018.[14] In December later that year, it was announced that the March for Our Lives activists made the shortlist for Time's Person of the Year at number four.[15]

  1. ^ Seelinger, Lani (February 19, 2018). "What Is Never Again MSD? Parkland Survivors Are Standing Up To Politicians & The NRA". Bustle. Retrieved February 19, 2018. ... multiple students have banded together to take gun violence prevention into their own hands ... Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin, Sofie Whitney, and Delaney Tarr, among others, and they're prepared for a fight ... calling their movement Never Again, and the "MSD" added at the end of their Twitter account refers to the name of their school ... We are sick of the Florida lawmakers choosing money from the NRA over our safety ... holding what they're calling the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C. on March 24. ... the students behind it are tech savvy, they've fully educated themselves on the issue, and their updates on Twitter show that PR is already one of their main strengths. ...
  2. ^ "Turning Anger Into Activism: School Shooting Victims Say 'Never Again'". WQAM CBS Miami. February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference twsGuardian9221 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ NPR, Brakkton Booker, June 16, 2018, NPR, Parkland Survivors Launch Tour To Register Young Voters And Get Them Out In November. Retrieved July 7, 2018, "...summer they're hitting the road with a new mission: turn the wave of young activism they helped spark into an energized voting bloc ..."
  5. ^ "Students Who Survived Florida Shooting Want Politicians To Know They're Angry". All Things Considered. NPR. February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Burch, Audra D. S.; Mazzei, Patricia; Healy, Jack (February 16, 2018). "A 'Mass Shooting Generation' Cries Out for Change". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  7. ^ Holpuch, Amanda (February 17, 2018). "Post-Columbine generation demands action on guns: 'We don't deserve this'". The Guardian. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "US: School shooting survivors demand stricter gun laws". Al Jazeera. February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  9. ^ Washington Post, A rarity for the NRA: Defeat. Retrieved March 9, 2018, "The students ... their victory over the National Rifle Association in a state that has long done the gun-rights group's bidding was nothing short of stunning ..."
  10. ^ Sanchez, Ray; Yan, Holly (March 9, 2018). "Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs gun bill". CNN. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  11. ^ CNN Wire (February 14, 2018). "The fire alarm blared. Then the gunshots began and students ran for their lives". WHNT News. Retrieved March 10, 2018. ..."I never thought something like this would happen, especially in Parkland, Florida. ... {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference twsNewYorker11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Pazzanese, Christina (March 20, 2018). "Parkland students: The violence must stop here". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2018. ... since the massacre at their high school, students Emma Gonzalez (from left), David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, Alex Wind, Matt Deitsch, and Ryan Deitsch have become among the most recognizable faces in the #NeverAgain movement ...
  14. ^ "Parkland Students On Cover Of Time Magazine". Houston Public Media. University of Houston. Associated Press. March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018. ... The cover features Marjory Stoneman Douglas students Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky and David Hogg ...
  15. ^ Alter, Charlotte. "March For Our Lives Activists: TIME Person of the Year Runner Up". Time. Retrieved December 12, 2018.