MFOL: An update on the youth’s latest crusade

Streets flooded, signs waved, tears shed and outraged teenagers took the stage- March for Our Lives surely shook the grounds of the U.S., tearing into social roots and perhaps some legislative ones too.

Walkouts were walked, marches were marched and according to the movement’s official organizers, the voting  ballots are the next step in the fight for gun control. Since March, branches of the motion have been registering and pre-registering voters, and using their platforms to educate others on gun policy reform. So far, MFOL got the ball rolling with the passing of a few local, state and nationwide rulings.

1.   Bump stocks, accessories used to automate firearms, are

   

   now banned by the US Department of Justice. Such accessories have been recognized as a form of machine guns under the National Firearms Act that was written in 1934.

2. The state of Florida successfully pushed Governor Scott to raise the age of purchasing a gun from 18 to 21. They also passed the red flag legislation, allowing family members and law enforcement to temporarily take guns from people that show signs of violent tendencies and behaviors. The legislation had previously been passed in five other states, but gun control advocates are hoping it will make its way to reach several more.
3. California lawmakers successfully passed three bills to combat gun violence that would include “a lifetime ban on owning firearms for people convicted of domestic violence[…], a lifetime ban on people placed on involuntary psychiatric holds twice in one year and new standard for residents to obtain a concealed weapon permit”, according to ThinkProgress. These bills currently await their signatures on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. These bills parallel a law Oregon began with, one that bans the possession of firearms for people of domestic violence towards their non-marital partners (a loophole that allowed its passing).  

4. The movement has hit America’s capitalistic counterparts, too, as corporations are beginning to stir up change internally. Hotels across the country have  retrieved is counts they previously handed out to members of the NRA, and several sporting stores no longer sell assault-style rifles. Amidst speculation that representatives may be receiving funding from the NRA, politicians and organizations have perhaps never felt so pressured into transparency regarding their affiliations with the association.

The March for Our Lives movement just might be the modern day Vietnam War protests- carried by the infuriated minds of the youth. It started with seventeen lives, igniting a political movement felt by millions, and it does not look like they plan on stopping anytime soon.