-Welcome back to the show. For those who may not know you,
you were one of the students who started March for Our Lives
in 2018 after a mass shooting
at your high school in Parkland, Florida.
You know, we keep seeing this happening,
and sometimes it feels like nothing is changing.
And I just wanted to have you on so that you could maybe tell
everyone what things have happened since you started
March for Our Lives and what we can all do.
-Yeah. I mean, I'm actually really glad that you asked that
because people tend to feel really hopeless about
the prospects of ending gun violence.
But since the march in 2018, so much has changed.
Actually, over 150 laws have been passed on the state level
all across the country.
[ Cheers and applause ] Yes.
-Amazing. -Yeah.
Ranging from, you know, upping the age to buy a firearm
in Florida from 18 to 21,
passing extremist protection orders in Virginia,
and prohibiting firearms at polling sites in Colorado,
so a lot really has been done.
But the reality is that we need more.
We need more on the state level, and we need more especially
on the federal level because of
gun trafficking across state lines.
So that's why we're marching again.
[ Applause ] -Yeah.
It's amazing what you've done.
I don't know if you remember, but I met you back then.
I brought my daughters to that protest.
-Yeah.
-And actually Demi was at that protest as well.
-Mm-hmm.
-You just never stopped, and you just kept going.
And I feel like just seeing everyone and trying to talk
to everybody, you're talking to students and you're talking to,
you know -- you're talking to adults as well.
But you're talking to a lot of kids out there.
And you go like, "Ah, what can one person do, you know,
to get -- to make a change?
And can one person do something that can make change?"
And you can. -Yes.
-You've proven that you can.
-Oh, my God, individuals can do so much.
After all, I mean, movements are just
a collective of individuals doing their part.
So, I mean, if you're watching, you can vote.
Vote in the midterm elections this November for officials
that care about ending gun violence.
You can donate to victims of gun violence
or community aid funds or organizations like
March for Our Lives that are doing this work every day.
You can lobby.
I was 17 years old when I first talked to
a state senator in Florida.
I mean, I didn't really have a lot of
political knowledge back then.
So if I can do it back then, anyone can really do it.
-Yeah. You can. -Yeah.
And I think the most important thing
is also just to talk about this.
It's really easy to look at your phone and think,
"Oh, just another shooting just happened."
And it's easy to feel, you know, really dissuaded.
But we really can change things.
And if we talk to people, especially people that might
disagree with us about gun-safety policies,
I often find that you can find one thing to agree upon,
whether it's universal background checks or,
you know, disarming domestic abusers.
There's always something to compromise on.
[ Cheers and applause ] -That's correct.
You're marching in Washington, D.C.,
this Saturday,
and there's going to be rallies all over the country.
-Yeah, there's over 450 all over the country.
-Tell us about this.
How do people know about this and where to go?
-Yeah, well, you can go to marchforourlives.com
You can put in your ZIP code,
and it will show the local march near you.
And if there's not one, honestly, I just want to
emphasize that, you know, you can just go grab five friends
and go to your local city hall with some posters
and get your voice heard.
Really, I want to show case the geographic diversity
of the gun-violence-prevention movement.
It is so strong.
And with all of us getting out there on the streets,
I think it will really prove to our elected officials
that we mean business.
And if they're not going to listen to us,
we're going to vote them out this November.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I know you're also -- Is this your senior year,
or you're going into your senior year?
-I'm going into my senior year. -At Harvard.
-At Harvard. -Not bad.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Cool.
You're getting your degree in government?
-In government and education. Yes.
-Was that always the plan for you?
-Um, honestly -- -Or just the last four years?
-Yeah, I think I really got into politics and youth advocacy
after the shooting at my high school.
That was never really the plan.
But now, I mean, who knows, maybe I'll be the one writing
the policy in a few years that I've been advocating for.
-Yeah, exactly right. [ Cheers and applause ]
I love that.
Jaclyn Corin, everybody.
For more information on this Saturday's march
and how you can get involved, go to marchforourlives.com.