OPINION:
Teens across the nation, fed up with school shootings, are planning marches, media events and three-minute demonstrations at the White House in order to get across their messages of frustration with the Second Amendment and to demand lawmakers take immediate action.
Now if only they weren’t so dang entitled, snarky and obnoxious.
“My message for the people in office is: You’re either with us or against us,” said junior Cameron Kasky, in CNN. “We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around.”
Oh please. Insert eye-roll here.
Yes, Parkland, Florida, was an utter tragedy. Yes, Parkland, Florida, was a preventable tragedy. But no, Parkland, Florida, wasn’t due to guns.
Murder comes from the heart — it’s a design of evil that starts with thoughts and imaginations then weaves into the heart and ultimately, manifests in action. It doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t just come from picking up a gun. The person holding the gun has to have some sort of mental imbalance that leads to a darkening of the heart and a suppression of the conscience.
Blaming a gun — a nonthinking, nonmoving piece of metal — is ridiculous.
But as always in cases of gun-related violence, the leftists in the media and government are only too happy to sell the idea that gun violence stems from the Second Amendment, and that the way to stop violence is to strip gun rights from law-abiding Americans. This time around, they’ve got clueless teens to help.
“Many are demanding action from their state lawmakers and Washington,” CNN wrote. “The students are also coming for the National Rifle Association and any politician who takes money from the gun lobbyist.”
In March, youth will hit the streets of Washington, D.C., for some protests and rallies. They’ve also asked those who can’t make the trip to the nation’s capital to hold March For Our Lives events in their own communities. And in the meantime, they’ve become savvy speakers and media pundits, demanding an end to violence via an end to the Second Amendment as we know it.
For instance, 17 teens are planning this President’s Day to “lie in” for three minutes near the White House in recognition of the 17 students and teachers killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Expect heavy media coverage for this brave, bold, principled stand.
Why? The main message from this kiddie event is that lawmakers need to Act Now and curb gun rights.
“[We] have organized this protest in solidarity with all of those who were affected by the tragic school shooting in Florida last week. We call on our national and state legislatures to finally act responsibly and reduce the number of these tragic incidents. It’s essential that we all feel safe in our classrooms,” said the teenage organizers of the event, in a press release.
Of course, it’s essential to feel safe in the classroom.
But let’s not get stupid about it.
These teens are missing the mark. They’re ignorant on history — on the reasons for the Second Amendment, on the realities of governments that strip citizens of gun ownership rights — and they’re blind to truths about the roots of violence.
Moreover, they’re behaving like little elitists who know best how to run a country — this, despite the fact they haven’t even proven they can run their own lives, outside their parents’ homes.
The media, of course, are loving it.
What an opportunity to exploit.
But calls to curb Second Amendment rights that come on the heels of senseless acts of gun-tied violence are never smart campaigns. They’re based on roller-coaster emotions that demand politicians act, by gosh, and put a stop to the violence — despite the fact they don’t hold that power.
If teens really want to help put a stop to school shootings, demanding an end to gun rights isn’t really the way to go.
Forget the silly ineffective March For Our Lives and three-minuted White House “lie-in.” How about a march for God? How about a march for more prayer in schools?
At least that’s calling on a power with true authority over the root causes of violence. With murder, already outlawed, politicians simply aren’t the answer.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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