By Dasha Boswell
In 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
On March 24, 2018 members of the Rye Neck community gathered at Rye Neck High School to march together as part of the March For Our Lives event taking place in cities across the country. Close to 1,000 residents came out to make a statement to members of Congress that #EnoughIsEnough, and advocate for gun control. At the front lines of Rye Neck’s march were kids, demonstrating that this movement is led by the youth of America.
Members of the community were there to support their children, who should never have to worry about the potential of a gunman in their school and be vulnerable to what the students of Stoneman Marjory High School experienced in Parkland, Florida. Parents and students emphasized that action <must> be taken by legislators to ensure student safety in schools and to reform gun control laws. It was inspiring to see dozens of children from elementary school through high school marching, encouraging voting in the upcoming elections, with the support of the adults around them. The Rye Neck march passed by all three schools in the district.
It is important to remember that the March For Our Lives is not just for students. Everyone is vulnerable to gun violence. We have seen it in the movie theaters of Colorado, the churches of Charleston, the nightclubs of Florida, and schools all around the country. And the instances of gun violence that we see on the media are only a small fraction of gun violence impacting Americans every day.
I think back to the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. We need to act now and not postpone action on gun control. There have already been over 14,000 instances of gun violence in the United States this year.
Those who took part in March For Our Lives-Rye Neck know they will have to continue to fight because this fight truly does not end until complacency ends.
