Five Years After the Mass Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Everytown, Students Demand Action, Moms Demand Action Statements

NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Students Demand Action and Moms Demand Action, released the following statements today ahead of the five year mark of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during which 17 people were shot and killed and 17 others were wounded.

“No matter how much time passes, the pain stays with me every single day,” said Sari Kaufman, a survivor of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and a volunteer with Students Demand Action. “Today, we remember the lives of the 17 classmates and staff members who were killed at my school, and every day, we continue to honor them with action to make sure that a tragedy like this one can’t happen ever again.”

“Five years after 17 students and teachers were murdered and tens of millions of Americans were mobilized, we stand hand-in-hand with the survivors of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “The Parkland survivors and the generation of gun safety advocates they inspired remain a driving force in our movement, and we will fight alongside them for as long as it takes to end our nation’s gun violence crisis.”

“On Valentine’s Day in 2018, 17 students and educators were murdered in a place that should’ve been safe, and so many others were wounded and forever traumatized,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “In the five years that have passed, the survivors of this tragedy have moved an entire generation of young advocates and changed the landscape of the gun safety movement forever. As we continue to fight for the safety of our communities, we are grateful for their fearlessness and courage.”

Since 2013, Everytown has identified at least 1044 incidents of gunfire on school grounds. But gun violence goes far beyond school campuses — every day in the United States, more than 120 people are killed by guns, nearly twice as many more are shot and wounded, and countless others witness acts of gun violence. This public health crisis is traumatizing Americans across generations, and the scars stretch far beyond those killed and wounded, impacting the well-being of survivors, their families, and entire communities. 

While the path to healing looks different for everyone, many survivors of gun violence have found strength in advocacy. In Parkland, Florida, and all across the country, survivors are leading the fight to save lives through action — be that sharing their stories at community events, advocating at statehouses, or fighting to hold the gun industry accountable.

In the wake of the tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, the Florida legislature passed several strong gun laws, including an Extreme Risk Law to allow for the temporary removal of firearms from people who pose a danger to themselves and others, along with two additional measures to strengthen the gun purchasing process. As we mark five years since the shooting, Florida lawmakers are now actively working to weaken the state’s gun laws. Last week, the House Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee passed HB 543, a dangerous policy that would dismantle the state’s permitting requirement to carry a concealed firearm in public. The bill is expected to be heard in the Judiciary Committee following the House recess. Just days later, the state Senate filed its own version of the bill that also includes a proposed expansion of a program that allows school employees to carry firearms on campus.