Be The Change

By Jon Warech

            Scared kids begging for help. That’s what this whole thing boils down to. Seventeen Marjory Stoneman Douglas students and teachers were brutally murdered, thousands were left emotionally scarred, and families were destroyed on February 14^th, and all anyone really wants now is help.

            Is that too much to ask? Is that something that needs to be debated among party lines? Can human beings not put politics aside and figure out what is best for the children of this state?

            Apparently it is all too difficult for Florida’s elected officials, as I found out on Feb. 26^th when I joined a group for the “Rally in Tally” to protest for gun reform and sit in on the Florida Senate Rules Committee hearing where they decided what bills to push forward to help fix our state’s gun problem.

            It is unquestionably a gun problem. After the Pulse nightclub shooting and now the Parkland shooting, it should be clear that we are too large and dangerous of a society to continue to be on the honor system with regards to guns. The second amendment says everyone should have one in case the government turns on us, but it’s time to put an asterisk next to that. It goes without saying that amendments are made to be changed (i.e. slavery, voting rights, prohibition), and in this case, the time is now.

            The group armed with hope and passion for this cause traveled to Tallahassee on buses from around the state – with some driving from as far as Key West – to push for change. At 1 AM in Miami there was a lot of enthusiasm.

            By about 10 AM we found ourselves marching from the FSU Civic Center to the Florida Capitol building, chanting for change and shouting for solutions. This trip was sponsored by groups like the Broward Dems, Miami-Dade Dems, Women’s March Florida and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, who is now running for governor, so obviously it had a political twist.

            In an era where we all must choose to vote based on the one or two issues that matter to us most, I’d vote for Levine purely on his strong stance on gun reform, but my hope is that he will remove the politics from his shtick. I’d like him to speak to us as human beings and not as voters. I’d like his passion to be genuine and not a production. I’d like to feel inspired and not a victim of grandstanding. When we approached the Capitol and the various politicians, including Levine, spoke it was hard to tell what we were getting. Again, his stance on the issue is enough to get my vote, but if he or anyone wants my full support, they’ll learn to change their tone.

Philip Levine rallies the crowd

            The true inspiration came when Stoneman Douglas students Bela Urbina and Katherine Guerra addressed the crowd in the pouring rain. They’re both 15 years old so, of course, they don’t have a party affiliation. They’re the scared, yet incredibly strong kids on hand to make a real change. How anyone could look at them and hear them speak and not want to help them, is something I will never understand.

            I talked to them afterwards for a bit and saw how in many ways they are like any other 15-year-old. They loved connecting over the fact that I have a couple relatives in their school. They got all nervous when I asked where they wanted to go to college. And they proudly talked about their speech and debate classes and other interests. When they spoke about gun control though, there was fire in their eyes.

            These kids – if we can even call them that anymore – mean business and even though I’m 20+ years older than them, they are my heroes. Not just these two young women, but all of the MSD students fighting for change. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I pray their passion never wavers.

            After the rally it was a free-for-all to find the state senators in their offices and talk to them about the bills being presented on this day. For those not familiar with democracy, yes, you can do that. Also for those not familiar with democracy, yes, they can hide from you and not talk to you at all.

            The legislation being presented was a set of bills that dealt with everything from age limits for purchasing a weapon, assault rifle bans, and bump stock bans to heightened security measures at schools and arming the state’s teachers. Almost everything was on the table originally – from the bills and various proposed amendments – and the senators on the Rules Committee were deciding today which plans would move forward to a Senate vote.

            I went to the office of Senator Anitere Flores, a Republican out of Miami. (She’s in Suite 404, should you ever want to stop by.) When we got there we were told she was “in transit” by a college student named Evan Steinberg sitting at the front desk outside of her office. With no one else to talk to, I decided to chat with the sharply dressed student on the issue.

            “I know you can’t speak on behalf of the Senator, but how do you feel about gun reform,” I asked.

            “Well I graduated from Stoneman Douglas in 2016, so …”

            He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Evan didn’t have a choice in how he felt about gun reform. He was affected directly and he will wear that MSD badge of courage on his heart for the rest of his life whether he wants to or not. It’s the ripple effect of a tragedy like this. Even if you already graduated, or if you have friends or family that went there, it hurts. It hurts a lot.

            “Does she listen to you?” I asked the political science sophomore.

            “Yeah, usually,” he said with a smile.

            From there, we moved on to the Senate Rules Committee meeting where over the course of three hours we all witnessed how our state government system is completely broken.

            Those who wanted to speak before the Senate were asked to fill out a form where they could speak on the bill that they were most passionate about. What the committee failed to disclose was that they decided to lump all of the legislation into one bill, with various amendments proposed by different Senators. What that meant (at first) was that those who wanted to speak had put the wrong number on the form, because now the number needed to address the various amendments and not the bill itself.

            It seems innocent until you realize that few people were allowed to speak, while the longtime NRA representative Marion Hammer was allowed to approach the microphone twice (without even being called upon, I may add.) This, of course, didn’t sit well with the crowd, so the emotionless yet backed-into-a-corner Chairperson Lizbeth Benacquisto out of Fort Myers was forced to make a change.

            From there teachers, activists and students from all over the state came up to plead their case for an assault rifle ban. Some spoke eloquently. Others were too emotional to get the right words out. Again, the girls from MSD were strong and inspirational. None of it really mattered to these senators, unfortunately.

            Despite protest from the people and solid argument from Vice Chair Oscar Braynon (Miami Gardens) and Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez out of Miami, the amendment to ban assault rifles was, for lack of a better term, shot down 7-6.

            

Stoneman Douglas students Bela Urbina and Katherine Guerra after addressing the senators

           Going into this, I didn’t know any of these people. I didn’t know who was a Democrat and who was a Republican. I had never heard of Marion Hammer or witnessed her ownership of the Senate firsthand. I didn’t know any of the people who spoke on behalf of gun reform either. I was simply a human being concerned for our kids’ safety. I don’t even have kids of my own, but I have common sense and compassion – two traits apparently a lot of people are missing these days.

            I left there with a broken heart. People of all ages were in tears when the vote came in. Hammer and her crony were laughing – literally laughing – at the results. The senators who voted it down – most of whom were playing on their phones while people were speaking – likely headed home and slept soundly. I don’t know how any of them can sleep at night knowing that kids in their state are scared to go to school, but they’ve managed to convince themselves that their actions don’t matter. Even the senators who spoke out in favor of gun reform, with the exception of Braynon, sounded as if their motivation was politically driven.

            The sad part is that we are left with a bill that raises the age limit to purchase rifles to 21, but has two loopholes in that it doesn’t include universal background checks so in a private sale it wouldn’t matter the age, and a teenager can still own the gun so as long as it is gifted or purchased outside the state, the age limit doesn’t really matter. The bill also has a ban on selling bump stocks, but again possession is not an issue so those in North Florida can drive 45 minutes to Georgia to make the purchase, while others can simply buy it online. On a good note, the bill creates red flag laws to confiscate weapons from mentally unstable individuals (although this would have to be proven in a court of law so it won’t be that easy) and adds funds to mental health counseling and resource officers in schools. But the real punch in the gut is that this bill (SPB 7026) allows teachers to carry firearms. It’s a terrible idea on so many levels, and therefore even those looking for gun reform are forced to vote against this bill.

            On a positive note, the future looks bright. These kids are passionate and their hearts are in the right place. From the Stoneman Douglas teens to Evan Steinberg, who already has his foot in the door at the Capitol, the leaders of tomorrow are already taking action today. The only option is to vote out the Congressmen and women who have the ability to look these kids in the eye and do nothing.
           While it may move slowly, their voices are being heard. For what it’s worth, Steinberg’s boss, Sen. Anitere Flores was the lone republican who voted in favor of banning assault weapons. Was she listening to Steinberg? Could she not look at a MSD alumnus in the office every morning with a clear conscience if she voted against it? Maybe. Either way, we all need to listen to him and his fellow MSD students now. They are, as Marjory Stoneman Douglas would say, “a nuisance where it counts” and will “never give up.”

Sen. Oscar Braynon talks about teachers being armed, on the 6th anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death