After Florida shooting, students who support gun rights feel marginalized

By McClatchy Washington Bureau, adapted by Newsela staff

3/06/2018

Young supporters cheer as President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on February 23, 2018, in National Harbor, Maryland. This was Trump's second year in a row addressing CPAC, the largest convention of political conservatives in the country. Photo by: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

OXON HILL, Maryland — At Justin Vaughn’s Maryland high school, support for changing gun laws is strong, “and I’m on the ‘wrong’ side,” the 17-year-old says.

Weeks ago, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering for conservatives, Vaughn was no longer alone. He got some relief mingling with like-minded conservative students from across the country. Political conservatives in the United States believe that the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights is very important. The Second Amendment gives Americans the right to "bear arms" or own guns.

“This is like the only place I’ve seen where kids are on my side,” Vaughn said. At his high school, he said, his pro-Second Amendment views are not received well. To those who disagree with him, “I’m supporting killers," Vaughn said, "when I’m really supporting people who want to protect the Constitution.”

The students who survived the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida have captured the nation's attention with their political activity. They have turned their grief and anger into a powerful political force in support of more gun laws. There is another side, however. The young adults speaking up for gun rights at CPAC say they feel increasingly marginalized.

“Not liking guns is a millennial thing, it’s the cool thing to be against guns,” said Vaughn.

Some Students Back The NRA

Jacob Thomas, age 20, is a student at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, who has experienced the same situation. “You can’t express that opinion, especially on college campuses,” he said.

Their peers across the country have been adding their names to campus walkouts to protest gun violence. Meanwhile, pro-Second Amendment students have taken advantage of the National Rifle Association’s show discount and signed up for membership. The National Rifle Association is a very powerful group that defends the Second Amendment. It supports politicians who promise to not vote for laws that would weaken people's Second Amendment rights.

Abby Brinkman is 22 years old and a senior at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. She is wearing a dress imprinted with the words “We the People.” Brinkman is intent on securing her constitutional right to bear arms. “The Second Amendment is what we’re protecting,” she said. According to Brinkman, there have been talks on her Ohio campus about starting a group to help students who are turning 21 and are interested in carrying a concealed weapon.

“People have been so quick to turn on gun owners rather than smart solutions,” she said.

The Issue Of Guns Is Very Political

Eric Folkerts, age 20, is a freshman at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. He believes the Parkland students are “victims being used as pawns in a way to advance a political agenda.”

“They’re 16, 17, 18, the reality is they really don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said. “Just because you go through a tragedy doesn’t mean you know the issues, the policy and the legislation.”

Liberty Fuchs is 19 and a self-identified libertarian from Los Angeles. Libertarians believe that the government should have limited power in what they tell people to do and not to do. She said she strongly empathizes with the Florida students, but is afraid their tactics are alienating even those sympathetic to them. She said she’s read statements on social media that equate support for gun rights to approving of school shootings.

“It’s so upsetting to hear them say you’re either for gun control or dead kids,” she said. “I don’t question their motives, of course they want to do something and it’s been so powerful, so strong. But to turn it into an attack on the right wing? It’s like the feeling when you get bullied in high school because you believe in something different.”

DMU Timestamp: February 08, 2018 18:47

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