Students continue call for ban on so-called assault weapons

Officials around the nation are working to secure their local schools after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 in Parkland, but some students feel their safety is still at risk.

Manatee County is working to install new surveillance cameras and buzzer systems at its schools. Each elementary, middle and high school is guarded by a law enforcement officer, and visitors are required to show identification.

Gov. Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 7026 into law on March 9, raising the minimum age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21, imposing a three-day waiting period for gun purchases and banning bump-fire stocks.

"But all of these solutions put together do not solve the root cause of this problem," said 15-year-old Julia Dortch, a student at State College of Florida Collegiate School. "Without a real gun reform law in place, banning assault rifles, March for Our Lives was just a protest and nothing more."

Dortch organized the March for Our Lives rally in Bradenton as part of a nationwide movement that called for an end to gun violence and school shootings. She spoke on a panel with school and law enforcement officials Thursday afternoon, when Manatee Tiger Bay Club hosted a discussion on school safety.

She voiced support for the county's efforts but also held that a ban on "assault weapons" was the only lasting solution.

"Our founding fathers did not have the foresight to see how modern-day guns would evolve into weapons of the deadliest kind, used to shoot up schools," she said.

Attorney Jeff Young, who specializes in firearms cases, joined the panel to offer a different perspective.

Young is a member of the National Rifle Association and the owner of an AR-15, otherwise known as an ArmaLite rifle, which is the same style of gun used in the Parkland shooting. He is also a Manatee County resident and the father of two children who attend area schools.

He argued that banning assault weapons would only infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens. Gun owners, he said, feel targeted each time a tragedy unfolds.

"I own assault rifles, and my assault rifles have never killed anybody and never will kill anybody," Young said. "If you pass a law that says I can't have one, is it going to protect anybody's schools, or is it going to protect anybody's children?"

Along with echoing Young's stance against a weapons ban, Manatee Sheriff Rick Wells shared his thoughts on school safety.

He spoke with Superintendent Diana Greene shortly after the Parkland shooting. They joined other law enforcement agencies days later and decided that security upgrades were needed to "harden" area schools.

Training is needed to prepare teachers for modern threats, he added.

"Doors are being propped open by teachers because we come from a simpler time when you could do these things throughout the day and not have to worry about bad guys coming onto the campus," Wells said.

The school district is also working with the county to fund school resource officers for the upcoming school year, which is now mandated by the state, said Ron Ciranna, deputy superintendent of business services and operations for the district.

Still, some students remain steadfast in their demand for gun reform. Dortch is joined by other Manatee County students who spoke out against assault weapons in the days leading up to Friday, the 19th anniversary of a mass shooting at Columbine High School.

They are joined by thousands of students who will stage protests during National Walkout Day, and the 62 percent of Florida voters who took a Quinnipiac University poll and said they favor a ban on assault weapons.

The definition of an assault weapon varies in every bill or proposed amendment that tries to ban them. Regardless, through ongoing conversation and action, Dortch said students may one day feel safe.

"I was taught not to run with scissors, to look both ways before crossing the street, never drink and drive and to turn my phone off while operating a car," she said. "What I didn't think I would need to be taught is where to hide if there is a shooting."

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Students continue call for ban on so-called assault weapons."