STUDENTS FOR CHANGE

We are alarmed and enraged by the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students, our fellow students were hunted in their own school. There have been 188 school shootings in America since 2000. Our fellow students are getting killed at school which makes school a dangerous environment. Students should not be afraid to go to school. We need to do everything we can to protect the future for ourselves and our fellow students by acting to prevent shootings like this. Our fellow students who have fallen are inspiration for change in America.

Signing this petition is not about a political party, it is about protecting our fellow students and preventing more students from being killed.

By signing this petition, we demand the following:

1. Ban Assault Weapons
2. Mandatory Background Checks

We need you to sign this petition, to be part of a movement to make change in America.

Let’s get together and make a change

Will these measures work to make our schools safer?

What evidence is there that banning assault weapons and mandatory background checks will result in a safer environment in schools and for all Americans?

On April 28, 1996 one man killed 35 people and injured many more in Australia with an assault rifle. About two weeks after this mass shooting, the six Australian states decided to ban assault rifles. These were some of the weapons which were used in the Las Vegas, Orlando, and now in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since the strict gun laws were passed in Australia, mass shootings have dropped from “11 in the decade before 1996, to zero in the years since.” (BBC) From around the time the mass shooting occurred in Australia until 2014, there has been a clear drop in “rate of gun homicides per 100,000 people.” (gunpolicy.org) If America was to pass gun control laws like Australia’s, it is very probable that we would see a difference in shootings/killings due to guns in America.

Background checks are critical anytime someone wants to buy a gun. Without mandatory background checks, criminals or people who are mentally unstable could easily get their hands on a gun. There were around 300 million guns in the hands of civilians in 2015 in America. According to The Trace, around 34% of gun owners did not go through a full background check.

- Natasha Sachar, for Students for Change

P.S. If the petition website asks you for a donation after your signature, a donation is NOT required.