Gun violence has taken the center stage of news within these past couple of years. Each story brings its share of passionate debates and distasteful rhetoric. 

A commonality all  these stories share is that they are from the voices of adults. 

It has not been until recently that outraged students have taken the head of the conversation of gun control. In this time where adults and politicians are acting like children about gun laws, kids are rising up and being the adults of the situation. 

The mass shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., left 17 dead and and dozens of others injured.

The students of the school have taken to every form of media to express their outrage and sorrow over the issue. 

As Parkland student Emma Gonzalez said in her now viral speech, “We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks. Not because we’re going to be another statistic about mass shooting in America, but because…we are going to be the last mass shooting.”

Responding to President Trump’s tweet offering “prayers and condolences to the families of the victims,” 16-yearold Parkland student Sarah Chadwick tweeted, “I don’t want your condolences you (expletives), my friends and teachers were shot. Multiple of my fellow classmates are dead. Do something instead of sending prayers. Prayers won’t fix this. But Gun control will prevent it from happening again.”

Across the nation, students have helped organize walkouts, public speeches, and other events to protest gun violence. These individual events have merged into the #NeverAgain movement, started by the Parkland students and spread by millions of others.

Indeed, the kids’ #NeverAgain movement is adding a powerful new dimension to the conversation about gun violence. 

Experts see the massive youth uprising as a shift from the gun debates that typically follow a mass shooting. We at The Californian believe that this initiative taken by students is necessary step to bringing  change to stubborn gun laws. 

These students have shown that it is not a matter of life experience or higher education, but rather morals and an emotional maturity that far surpasses that of those leading our country. 

The imapct of the students’ efforts can clearly be seen. Multiple companies have cut ties with the NRA, nationwide protests and school walkouts have been planned, and students voices are finally being heard.v