March for Our Lives launches gun control plan to spur 2020 youth vote
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David Hogg speaks onstage at March For Our Lives in 2018. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for March For Our Lives
March for Our Lives, started by student activists who survived the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., launched a massive gun control plan Wednesday aimed at kicking off a youth voting surge in 2020.
Why it matters: It was the influential group's first public action since the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
The big picture: The sweeping proposal, branded as its "Peace Plan," attempts to push the national conversation on addressing gun violence further than "red flag" laws or universal background checks, which are both solutions that have been mentioned by the White House and congressional leaders.
Highlights from the proposal:
- Raise the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21.
- Create a national licensing and gun registry that would include in-person interviews and a 10-day wait before gun purchases are approved.
- Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- Implement a mandatory gun buyback program.
- Install a "national director of gun violence prevention" who would report directly to the president.
- Create a "Safety Corps," similar to the Peace Corps, for gun violence prevention.
- Create community-based programs for suicide prevention, domestic violence and urban violence.
What they're saying: David Hogg, one of the biggest names from the March for Our Lives movement, tweeted: "We know this seems ambitious given Washington's apathy to decades of bloodshed in our schools, neighborhoods, and even our houses of worship."
- He added, "Policymakers have failed, so survivors are stepping up. The #PeacePlan is written by the generation that's only ever known lockdown drills. But we WILL be the last."
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke became the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse the plan, calling on "everyone else in this race to do the same."
Reality check: Talks between the Trump administration and Congress about acting on gun control solutions have slowed in recent days.
- While President Trump said earlier in August that he was open to signing universal background checks into law, he backed away from that position this week, instead signaling an increased focus on mental health solutions — which are not scientifically linked to mass shootings.
Go deeper: Where 2020 Democrats stand on gun control
