UNC student activists rally against gun violence in Raleigh
Students I sat with were foreign exchange students and that
this shooting was their second week in America
I found myself wanting to pretend to them that this
wasn't representative of my country but I couldn't I watched
them meet the America
We had all grown numb to we tolerate an absurd
level of gun violence in North Carolina
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for Children
Number one the richest country in the history of planet
Earth lets our Children bleed from bullet wounds
We train our Children how to hide under their desks
how to tie tourniquets how to play dead
In the past two decades more Children have died of
gun violence than on duty police officers and active military
combined
I have just one question why does this keep happening
We have had shooting after shooting after shooting for decades
For too long
We have been so blinded by gun rights that we
have neglected our own human rights the right to live
in safe communities the right to not fear for our
lives and our schools we've tried doing nothing and it
doesn't work
It continues to not work
Americans continue to shoot each other
It is time to re examine our relationship with firearms
These are not wars that should be casually sold in
the store
These are weapons we use to kill each other
It is time for legislation
We need to raise the standards of gun ownership
If you want firepower you need to be equipped to
handle it
Why is it that someone with suicidal thoughts can walk
into a gun store and purchase a firearm immediately Why
is it that any random person can purchase high capacity
magazines and military grade weaponry Why is it that to
buy a gun There is less training involved than a
young person has to go through to get their driver's
license
Everyone agrees that those with a criminal history should not
have access to firearms
So why shouldn't we actually check if criminals are being
criminals are buying guns with a universal background check
Let's add domestic abusers to the list of people who
do not deserve firearms
If you beat your spouse and Children you should lose
the privilege of owning a firearm
If you are posting threats online to shoot up a
school
If you are openly suicidal there should be mechanisms in
place to stop you from hurting yourself or others
We need red flag laws
They're not optional
They are necessary
And let's address mental health after every shooting I hear
people say that mental health is the root issue
Ok then how about we fund it If you think
mental health is the issue then let's do something about
it
Our legislators could double mental health funding tomorrow
Don't blame mental health
If you're not willing to be part of the solution
these ideas are not radical America is no other wealthy
country in the world experiences this level of gun violence
I cannot be convinced that this is an unsolvable problem
when no one else has this problem
We're not naive for thinking that America can reframe the
way we look at guns
The idea that America is too entrenched in its ways
to ever change is deeply wrong
America has changed constantly from its inception and our cultural
growth is the deepest core ideal of America
Our country was once a country of slavery where women
couldn't vote where gay people couldn't get married
Our country in its entire existence has never stopped changing
It is not naive to imagine and envisioned and changed
America
It is inevitable
While we stand here this legislature is making it harder
to vote and easier to get guns
They are making it harder to vote and easier to
get guns
Same
They repealed the pistol permit process to make it easier
to obtain handguns
And they're looking to pass senate bills 7 49 and
7 47 47
Both of which would make it substantially harder to vote
in North Carolina
You don't make it harder to vote
If you think your policies benefit the majority of your
constituents
You do
So when you know your policies are unpopular you do
so to stay in power
You do
So when you are afraid of the voters we are
not here to represent March for our lives today and
we're not here to represent Chapel Hill today
We are here to represent North Carolina
Today
We come together to March for all our lives because
our current legislation is marching against all our lives
Thank you
Students in our schools are terrified
Families in our neighborhoods are terrified
People in our communities just trying to live are terrified
Terrified of the gun violence which wounds us all
Terrified of the violence of climate destruction terrified of the
violent subjugation of labor exploitation terrified of the continued violence
of racism of poverty of voter suppression terrified of the
continued violence against women terrified of our descent into chaos
But it it is exactly this terror which has been
used against us
This terror which we are made to feel is unjustified
undignified and unreasonable
This terror which we are made to think stems from
each other
Dividing us isolating us making us hate
We are made to think that our fear keeps us
in place makes us avoid hide shield ourselves
We are told that this is our reality and nothing
can change that there's no use in trying because our
collective terror has amended us in institutionalized violence
That is wrong
Yeah it's not fear that holds us down
It's not common sense that says we can do nothing
It's divisions which turn us it is divisions which turn
our fear on each other antagonisms created to hide any
solution to this violence
We know the truth
Our struggles have been intertwined from the very start the
same institutions that plot our street with guns terrorize our
planet with pollution destroy voting rights and treat us as
objects
Why are we doing this now Why are we standing
here right now It's because we are reasonably terrified and
we refuse to let our voices drown out in misery
This fear has brought us together
This fear has called us to act
We're told to shut up but we will be loud
We are we are told violence is inevitable but we
know that it's a lie
We are told to be reasonable but we will demand
the unthinkable
We must confess we must confess that that we have
not been as active as we should be
Far too many studentss far too many people have not
shown up
This ends
Now we take to the streets we are going to
unite together we are going to vote protest and reshape
the foundation of our country today is just one day
The long struggle for justice
We stand united against violence
Thank you UNC March for our lives every year in
the United States
Approximately 3 million American Children witness gun violence
And since Columbine in 1999 more than 338,000 students in
the US have experienced gun violence while at school next
Someone who knows these statistics
All too
Well I'd like to bring up Amy from UN C
Chapel Hill March for our lives
11:57 p.m. I should go to bed
It's getting late 12:32 a.m. Every time I close my
eyes I'm there again
12:46 a.m. I'm so tired
I just want to rest
2:52 a.m. Cold sweats shaking hands tears small whimpers
It's August 2019 again I'm 14
At the ringing out
I'm running watching moms with Children wailing scared for their
lives
My face is wet but I don't know why I
don't want to die this way
Please
God are you there I'm sorry
I haven't been praying as much as my parents tell
me to
Is this my punishment Am I going to die today
Is my friend going to die There's Children here please
God don't let me get shot
Don't let the Children get hurt
I promise I'm faithful
I'm scared
Mommy daddy
I'm sorry
There's Children here
I'm trying to leave
My friend is sobbing
She's falling on the floor
I'm scared
I need to get out
Please
I'm dragging my friend up
I see a red sign Hampton in
I'm running again
It's getting closer
My feet hurt
My lungs are burning
My shirt is soaked in sweat and tears
Dad we made it into a hotel lobby
They're laughing about the fair
They're saying it was fireworks and everyone was just being
dramatic
Please come pick me up
Dad
I don't think I want to go to a fair
again
Someone could have died and I would have been standing
right there watching it happen
It could have been me
Am I expected to go to school and work like
nothing happened
Pretend like my world wasn't just blasted before my eyes
Mom dad they found the shell casings
It wasn't fireworks
Someone was shooting at least no one died
2:57 a.m. My bed is wet with sweat
My face is wet with tears
I won't be able to go back to sleep
I might as well do some homework and pretend like
I don't have flashbacks like I'm not traumatized
I'm ok
Really I'm ok
12:52 p.m. Ok
Class dismiss
See you on Wednesday
12:58 p.m. It's August 2023
I usually go to lenore but I feel like I
should just go back to my dorm
I'm going to follow my gut
I'm going to go back to my dorm 1:02 p.m.
Shots fired 1:04 p.m. I walk in the door of
Morrison
My phone buzzes armed and dangerous person on or near
campus
Go inside immediately close windows and doors stay inside until
further follow directions from emergency responders or university officials
1:06 p.m. I'm in my dorm
I can't do this again
This is my third shooting just this summer
My brother's friend just got shot while driving and lost
control of his car and ended up owning my friend's
cousin
One of the well known activists in Louisville was just
shot
Now I have to worry if I'm going to lose
any more people I love and care about
Are you Ok
1:23 p.m. Where are you 1:46 p.m. Are you safe
2 30 whatever PM another phone buzz suspects still at
large
4:12 p.m. All clear resume normal activities
It was a targeted attack
But does that matter 30,000 students are traumatized
A professor died
Campus won't ever feel the same
This nation has suffered too much at the hands of
dangerous people who use guns to commit violence while no
law or set of laws will end gun violence in
totality
It is clear that we need action
If we can save even one child's life then we
need to do something
When I hear loud pops I shudder when I hear
sirens I check my phone to make sure I don't
have to go into hiding again
When I see the TV the news an article another
teenager shot and killed
I just have to pray and hope that it's not
someone I know
And often times I found myself worrying about the what
ifs and how could I possibly live on if the
victim was my dad or my brother
And oftentimes although I don't know the person on my
screen someone did and that someone wants a human being
they loved and cared for
There's now a hole in their life that nothing will
ever fill
This is no issue of mental health
Every country in the world experiences relatively high rates of
mental illness but no other developed country experiences the rate
of gun violence that we do in the United States
I know that you might not be listening to me
or the millions of other young people screaming for change
because you've never had to think about whether you're going
to be shot while you're just trying to sit and
learn in history class or maybe it was math class
What does it matter You've never had to think about
hiding under your friends or classmates dead shot body and
pretend to be shot just to survive
But guess what Around 300,000 Children and teens have had
to when you walk into a room do you check
for all the exits Like I do
Do you make a plan for what to do if
for any reason someone starts shooting Do you sit up
some nights shaking crying Remembering every instance of gun violence
you've gone through No then you have no reason to
say what I'm feeling is wrong and no reason to
ask why I'm fighting so hard to put an end
What if it was your child
We have a choice
We can make
Ask yourself what if it was your mom your dad
your brother your sister your son or your daughter your
cousin or your best friend Are you ok with potentially
sacrificing the people you love and care about all in
the name of a nomination a senate chair power and
Money
And if you are ok with that then maybe this
isn't the country I thought it was and maybe you
aren't the people
I thought you were
really
Thank you Amy
Next it's my honor to introduce to you all an
individual who has mobilized Gen Z in the fight against
gun violence in February of 2018 David Hogg was a
senior at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in Parkland Florida when a
19 year old former student entered the school and started
shooting
Thankfully David survived and in the aftermath of this devastating
event David became a powerful advocate in the fight against
gun violence co founding March for our lives alongside his
fellow classmates through his passionate and tireless efforts
David has become a leading voice in the movement for
sensible gun safety measures inspiring young people across the nation
to engage in activism and advocate for meaningful change
Please join me in welcoming David Hawk
Sorry it's hot out here today
Um I never prepare remarks for these things because I'm
tired of preparing remarks for things that never should have
happened in the first place
So I refuse to do that today as well
After parking 17 of our classmates and administrators were murdered
by a 19 year old gunman that legally owned an
AR-15 and was able to continue doing so despite making
multiple threats against my high school despite having the FBI
called on him multiple times despite the police being called
to his house about domestic violence and other incidences multiple
times he was still able because of the NRA he
was still able to legally own that AR-15 in the
first place because they had actively lobbied against laws that
would have disarmed him with a right to counsel and
due process after the shooting people said you're just a
bunch of kids you can't change anything
It's really great that you care but you're really stupid
if you think that you can change Florida
And we said ok watch us
So what did we do We sit back and send
our gods and prayers
Did we just sit back and let the people in
power stay comfortable No
And part of the reason for that is and I
I don't know which Bible many of these men in
power because they mostly men that are against us
Red it's also mostly men that are making decisions about
many people's bodies that do not look like their own
Those men in power claim that thoughts and prayers are
the answer to this
I don't know what Jesus they learned about growing up
But the Jesus that I learned about didn't just send
his thoughts and prayers
He also flipped tables and it's time for us to
stand up against the lie
That is Christian nationalism
It is time for us to save
It is wrong to look at the divisions as a
weakness in our country that has so much beautiful diversity
And instead see our diversity as the strength that always
has been in the first place
We also need to stand up to a lie that
says that we can't do anything because this is a
Republican state legislature because in Florida we did despite what
those naysayers said despite Florida being called the Gun Shine
state being owned by the NRA we raised the age
to buy guns in the State of Florida to 21
We also passed we also passed a law that could
have stopped the shooting in Parkland from happening in the
first place that would have been able to disarm that
shooter
And there are people out there the naysayers that we
all are far too familiar with that say well gun
laws don't work
These laws don't work
Well guess what We still have laws against robbing banks
for a reason
We still have laws in general right And guess what
in Florida despite what those people said we have disarmed
over 6000 people that were a threat to themselves or
others and our people and to those people that say
well you know this isn't personal for you
You know even though this happened at your school you
don't know how these laws impact you
Well guess what I actually do unfortunately and it's because
an nr A supporter sent a death threat to my
own mother that said F with the NR A and
he will be D A if that happened before Parkland
before we if we just stood back and didn't do
anything and listen to those that said that we couldn't
change anything that said that we were just a bunch
of dumb kids that didn't know what we were talking
about
If we stood back and listened to them we wouldn't
have been able to disarm that man using a law
that we passed after Parkland the very law that we
passed after Parkland may have prevented me from having to
bury my own mother laws
Work
Now I want to talk briefly about the real cause
of these shootings which goes beyond gun laws
It goes to the three evils of society that Dr
King talked about of militarism of racism of poverty
And I want to add another one to that of
the anti democratic actions of our state legislatures
Like here in North Carolina
You know I heard earlier people talk about North Carolina
A and T University
In 2018 we went around the country registering students on
college campuses
North Carolina A and T is the only school I
have ever gone to where it was legitimately hard to
find people who were not registered to vote
We need every school every school needs to be like
North Carolina A and T where it is hard to
find students that are not engaged
It is hard to find students that are not aware
of the fact that it is not because they are
not voting
It is because they have a corrupt system of gerrymandering
where politicians get their voters instead of voters taking their
politicians
And you know how I know that because the people
in power here are so scared of them that they
literally had to cut their campus in half through partisan
and racist Gerry
And the challenge that our generation faces is what are
we going to do about that legacy Because I I
hate to be so dark here but the reality is
we are going to outlive most of the people on
that hill
Thank God
The question is what are we going to do about
that legacy in the first place And I think some
of the young people here today offer us one thing
that we need more than anything in this fight which
is hope and a belief in the possible because we
know the vast majority of people in North Carolina the
vast majority of the American people support stronger gun laws
The reason we're not able to pass gun laws is
not because they don't have public support
It's because the public is not supported by their own
state legislature that needs to drain them out of power
Stand up every every young person in North Carolina likely
grew up hearing the same thing that I did and
pretty much everybody up here grew up learning alongside their
ABC the mantra of how to survive a school shooter
of run hide fight
Raise your hand
If you heard that growing up in your schools these
politicians want our kids our friends and family to be
on the front lines of this issue
Instead of having the courage to stand up to the
gun industry to the NRA and say responsible gun ownership
and strong gun laws are not antithetical to each other
They are essential to protect one another
In the first place we need to reverse the meaning
of run hide fight
We need to start running for office for state
Show that we are not just saying on the outside
of politics that we are getting involved
Now we are not waiting to get involved that we
are running that we are not hiding from the responsibility
that we have to make sure that no other generation
has to be up here like we are because we
were the responsible generation that stood up and had the
courage to demand better to demand democracy demand not just
say but save communities because it's not just schools that
face gun violence every day
It's black and brown communities and especially young black people
that face the vast majority of gun violence in this
country that does not make it on the news
As I mentioned earlier
Not to mention the fact that mental illness hatred racism
is not a mental illness
If you write a manifesto about how you were a
self declared white supremacist like that in Buffalo or like
that in El Paso where they talked about a Hispanic
invasion
Hatred is not a mental illness
Two thirds of gun deaths are suicides and that's where
mental health does role
Mental health plays a role is when you're waking up
and shaking at night because of the PTSD is the
multiple shootings that you've gone through
We need to not stigmatize mental health by just using
it as a scapegoat to avoid talking about the Bill
Cosby shootings which is white supremacy which democratic lastly we
need to start fighting for a future where these conferences
where these rallies aren't necessary anymore because we actually have
a democracy where the vast majority will of the people
is heard and act and guaranteed by that legislature and
not an obstacle to it in the first place
But the only way we're going to do that is
if we stand up and we start running as soon
as possible
So my number one take away that I would have
every young person that listens to
This is don't wait until this happens to you
Don't wait until there's a shooting in your community or
at your school start voting as soon as you can
make a plan and vote in every single election run
for office
Be the change that you want to see because it's
not going to come from up there
It's going to come from right here
So get out there and be that change
So it's not me it's all of us
Let's do this
Thank you so much David and thank you for making
the trip down here to Raleigh today
It's my pleasure to welcome to the podium House Democratic
whip from district 30
Representative Marsha
with a career that spans over three decades in the
criminal justice system
Representative Moy brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to
her role as lawmaker
Prior to her time in the house she served as
a district court judge where she earned a reputation for
her commitment to advocating for vulnerable populations
And Representative Moy when we're talking about the people behind
us you're not included in that
Don't worry I'm here because of David
I came to the General Assembly in 2017 and on
Valentine's day in 2018 David started challenging the adults in
the room do something do something
And David because of you we filed the first red
flag law in North Carolina
We we have filed it four times
Where has it gone nowhere
But I want you all to know my colleagues who
are all in the same party of the Democrats have
stood strong
We have introduced 12 bills
We will not stop
We want we want sheriffs to destroy weapons
We want background checks
We want what you want
We will not be trampled we will not be stopped
We will never give up because the gun right does
not trump our constitutional right to life liberty and the
pursuit of happiness
The only way we can get there what the majority
of citizens in North Carolina want is gun safety but
the majority in that building right now they're debating casinos
not your lives
It has got to stop and it will stop
If you get out the boat and you get your
friends to get out the boat we can do it
Thank you so much representative
It's my pleasure to introduce you all to a woman
making history in North Carolina
Durham County Commissioner Nita Alam is the first Muslim woman
ever elected to public office in North Carolina
As county commissioner
She works to raise wages wages help low income families
and obtain reproductive justice for all
Please join me in welcoming to the podium
Durham county commissioner Nita
I hate that we have to be out here again
I hate that our students and that our kids should
be enjoying their time and their youth but instead are
out here having to march for their lives
It's not fair and I look at everyone who's here
today and I look at the students behind me and
my heart breaks my heart breaks for your parents
My heart breaks for you as a new mom of
a one year old it breaks because I look at
you guys knowing that you have to go into school
in fear
Your parents send you to school to learn to have
brighter futures
But every single day you're wondering if you're gonna be
the next statistic and that's not fair that our legislators
continue to let that happen every single day
And I just wanna say thank you to each and
every one of you
Thank you as a mom as a new parent because
every day when I look at my one year old
I fear of what it's gonna be like for her
when she goes to school
And I thank you for fighting for her because I
don't want her to have to be up here fighting
and marching like you guys are
And the work that you guys are doing is making
sure she doesn't have to
And my heart breaks for your parents who have to
go through that every single day and what they had
to go through uh a few weeks ago when there
was a shooting at Chapel Hill
The fear and the unknown that existed through those hours
is just unimaginable for any parent to have to go
through that in February of 2015
I lost my best friend
Yura Buha and her husband and her younger sister Razan
Abu in the Chapel Hill shooting where their neighbor came
and murdered them because they were Muslim
The weapon that he used
The gun that he used is the same type of
gun that now the state legislature has made it possible
for people to attain without a permit
Bye
After he had turned himself in
When police went investigated and searched his apartment they found
what they called an arsenal of weapons of handguns and
AR-15 style combines and ammo that just no individual would
need that type of arsenal
And now that the legislature has made it even easier
for individuals to get to be able to stock up
and build up this type of arsenal
What logic is there behind this We've seen time and
time again families being torn apart and broken you know
my community the Muslim community being torn apart on that
February 10 that we're never going to get our best
friends back
My daughter that I talked about you know
Yes
And I had talked about when we were planning her
wedding just celebrating her wedding just seven weeks before we
joked about you know what our lives are going to
be like when we grew up how we were going
to have kids and our kids were going to be
best friends and they were going to go to college
together like me and her went to college together and
we're never going to have that
We're never going to have that because an individual with
a gun came and ended their lives and their parents
are never going to be able to celebrate becoming grandparents
of and Rozanne and Diaz kids when our legislators going
to look at the lives that have been lost and
say enough is enough is enough
We are just asking for you to care about us
to want us to live and be able to thrive
and be able to go every single day with joy
of wanting to see the moments of our young kids
growing up wanting to see the moments of our families
growing
But every single day the legislature goes on continuing to
repeal permits from being required to purchase handguns
Every day they go on without taking action on banning
assault rifles
That's a day that they're going on telling us that
our lives do not matter
And every day that they go on telling us that
they are pro life they are lying to us
Mhm
Because if they were pro life they would care about
my one year old daughter
Now that she's out of my stomach they would care
enough to provide her a high quality education
They would care enough to make sure that she's able
to graduate high school graduate college and be able to
be a contributing member to our society
Without the fear put into our family's minds into her
mind of whether she's going to be the next statistic
So I just want to thank each of these students
once again for fighting for my daughter and for fighting
for my family
I just cannot tell you how much it means to
me
And I'm sure to all of the young I see
here with young kids to have our Children our youth
stepping up to fight for us
Thank you
Yes
Thank you so much Nita
When we were hiding in lockdown for three hours two
weeks ago our Republican legislators tweeted out thoughts and prayers
In fact Representative Chris Humphrey even called our traumatizing instance
of gun violence a mental health and woke society issue
We know that's not the case
They're trying to make it harder for us to vote
and easier to buy guns
Now to talk about the importance of making your voice
heard through voting is my good friend President of the
unc young Democrats
TJ
I'll keep this brief
Uh We're here today because some actors are not motivated
by good intentions for justice
Stop when they hear about kids being slaughtered in hallways
there's no conviction there
I want a mother here is that her child has
been fatally shot or in my case when students are
barricading their classrooms and buildings because of an active shooter
being spotted on campus
There's no moral conviction there
These actors are motivated by power greed and ego as
injustice is only unbearable until it affects them
So let me be very clear
We do the work that we do to challenge and
to jeopardize their power their greed and their ego
The facts are quite clear
Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death
for the United States
For those aged one through 18 is the leading cause
of death
Mental health has a role here and so does interpersonal
conflict
But as core this is a result of bad public
gun policy
But instead of facing this issue at all our state
legislature right now is trying to make it harder to
vote
Efforts are being made right now to limit the number
of early voting sites throughout the state and make it
hard at the ballot box
This is a prerogative of our state legislature and so
we can't let them in line with this event
We'll be back here on Sunday September 17th with Justin
Jones of the Tennessee three Nancy DT chair Anderson Clayton
and led by Gordon Palmer and W Nancy
So this is the task at hand
We gotta keep on showing up here in their voice
mails in this election in next election and in every
election until gun violence is no longer a reality in
the United States
Thank you very much
Thank you so much TJ
Next I would like to welcome to the podium a
Chapel Hill native mayor pro Time of Chapel Hill Karen
ST
has served on the Chapel Hill Town Council since 2017
and is also a board member of North Carolinians against
gun violence
We're grateful to have her leadership in Chapel Hill and
here today please welcome Mayor Karen Seg
Thank you shots fired while Raleigh police unseen of apartment
complex overnight one man shot and killed in an early
morning shooting in Durham
Multiple gunshots ring across carry apartments as shooter aims at
young girls five in custody after a shooting at Lumberton
High school football game
These are this weekend's headlines just two days of headlines
the tragic shooting death at UNC S campus only two
weeks ago not even mentioned
It's been replaced by horrific new instances of gun violence
and these are only the ones that made the news
You've heard about the horrible impact of a single gunman
at UN C from these students and throughout our state
thousands of people live in similar fear of being shot
every single day in impacted communities
The leadership at the General Assembly wants you to believe
this is normal and acceptable that the only solution to
this is more guns
We must reject that narrative that this violence and death
is inevitable
The way forward is clear we need to elect better
leaders who will pass better laws leaders that care more
about kids than guns more about community safety than guns
more about campus safety than guns more about all of
you than guns to the students here to the young
people
I'm so sorry I'm so sorry that we have not
solved this yet
And while I wish it were not needed your resilience
is astonishing your leadership will get this done
I know that they fear you because you are stronger
You are braver and you have a commitment to what's
right that they will never know they hide they try
to lock us out and they pass bills in the
middle of the night because they know they are wrong
But this is our state and that is our house
You can and you will take our house back our
job
My job as an elected is to support your vision
to lift you up high enough to take them down
I am committed to that North Carolinians against gun violence
is committed to that
We are your allies and together we will win this
fight North Carolinians against gun violence in the town of
Chapel Hill
Wrap our arms around you we mourn with you we
fight with you and together we will elect better leaders
who will pass better laws and we will fight with
you and beside you until we do those laws will
save lives
Thank you
Thank you so much
Next I would like to welcome to the stage a
great friend to the UN C young Dems and the
friends of dems of all ages across the state
First vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party
Jonah Garson a practicing attorney
Jonah formerly served as the chair of the Orange County
Democratic Party Jonah I'll be brief
A very wise American once said that it is our
job as Americans to pierce rotten diction and fasten words
again to visible meetings
That picturesque language again again becomes a certificate of authority
for those who wield it in alliance with our fellow
Americans and with God Anderson thoughts and prayers thoughts and
prayers
Those words are so hollow as speaker after speaker today
has testified to what is it what is it on
us to do as North Carolinians If we're to take
up a little grade school motto we learn as our
great state motto as a daring to be rather than
to see to make things real
It is our job to find the only way through
there is which is to vote out the current Republican
majority that has a stranglehold on this state that has
pushed through major majoritarian policy for a lost decade
And now we're in decade two
My ask for you as a representative of our state
Democratic Party is not just to commit to voting but
understand that at a time when the Democratic Party is
fighting fires from a Republican party that has a legal
strategy led by Trump coup attorney Cleta Mitchell who has
a specific strategy to prevent students from voting in North
Carolina
That is our Democratic Party's job to fight fires from
week to week to week to pop the next hydra
headed voter suppression measure that it is our job to
help our friends and those we care about vote as
well
That is our duty
Voting is not a private duty voting is not an
act of private public participation
It is our job to lift each other up to
empower ourselves to participate in the life of this democracy
If you have not helped friends make voting plans who
don't always vote then the stern talk is that you
aren't doing it right
And so that's all I got
Thank you all for letting the party have a place
here today
Thank you so much Jonah
Now for another student perspective I'd like to invite you
to the stage A UN C Chapel Hill freshman and
president of the Carry March for our Lives chapter
Ashley
to hello everyone
Thank you all for coming out
And like many of you I stand here today with
a heavy heart
My name is Ashley and I've been advocating against gun
violence since my freshman year in high school
Little did I know that four years later I would
stand here as a freshman in college experiencing it first
hand
Just two weeks into my first year of college my
university turned upside down my classmates and I hid for
hours trying to find anything to barricade the doors even
though we didn't have blinds to cover our windows
We were considered lucky as some classrooms that didn't even
have locks that worked for hours
We barely got any updates from authorities
So we turned to social media for any information we
could get
But instead of helpful information we found terrifying rumors of
multiple shooters disguised as police and numerous students dead or
injured
Among these horrifying rumors countless online comments spread anti Asian
hate after the shooter's racial description was released during the
entire lockdown
Many of my classmates were hysterically crying and having panic
attacks while others appeared unfazed because this violence has become
so normalized that some professors continued to teach while the
shooter was still at large
Imagine you were in this horrifying situation
Imagine you are a parent grandparent sibling or friend thinking
that your text messages would be your last words to
your loved ones
But for many of you you don't even have to
imagine because you've already gone through it
This traumatic school shooting at UN C and the tragic
loss of Doctor Yen has solidified a truth
We cannot ignore
Change is not a choice
It's a necessity
Legislators need to act like our lives depend on it
because they do
like many of you
I just became eligible to vote and I'm here today
to protect that right
And let my legislators know they are recognizing us and
the countless others who demand demand common sense laws know
our collective pain our shared trauma and let them know
we need change now not just for ourselves but for
those innocent victims who are just going to school to
a place of worship to the store
Let's make sure that our voices our advocacy and our
determination resonate so loudly that they drown out the gunfire
We hear the force for change and it's time to
say enough is enough
Thank you
Thank you so much Ashley and thank you everyone for
staying out with us in the heat today
Um To wrap up today I want to uh introduce
three more speakers to come speak together
That's Claire Burke from UN C double NAACP um Marcus
Bass from Advanced Carolina and Reverend Nelson Johnson from the
beloved community center in Greensboro
Thank you
Hello everyone
My name is Claire Burke and I'm the vice president
for the UN C Chapel Hill Collegiate Branch of the
N A AC P
And it's an honor to be able to speak