Even David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is optimistic that gun supporters might be a bit more willing to compromise this time around after the slaying of 19 children and two teachers in a mass shooting last month in Uvalde, Texas.
That’s because, to Hogg’s surprise, Fox News on Friday printed his op-ed pleading for a stepped-up level of activism to press for legislation for increased gun safety.
“When 17 of my classmates and teachers were murdered in my Parkland, Florida, school in 2018, a group of us desperately sought answers,” Hogg wrote in the op-ed.
“How could adults have let this happen?” he asked. “In shock, we marched for our lives with a million other Americans of all stripes. There have been countless reasons to give up in the years since. You know the city names and the incidents they represent. This time the outcome must be different, and if it is, it will be because of responsible citizens.”
Attitudes are “changing for what feels like the first time,” Hogg added. “Gun owners, even former gun industry executives, are demanding action because tragedies like Uvalde do not reflect their values. I know there are millions of you who want to do the right thing.”
“I don’t know what the exact answer is, but I know that you should be at the table,” Hogg emphasized. “Your voice matters. Your rights matter. Your decency matters. We have disagreed in the past, but we are not enemies. Our enemy is not a party or organization, it is gun violence.”
Check out the rest of Hogg’s op-ed here.