One hundred and fifty participate in March for Our Lives in Cedar City
By Jean Bjerke
Along with hundreds of thousands nationwide, 150 people in Cedar City gathered at the clocktower on Southern Utah University’s campus March 24 for the March for Our Lives. They began by bowing their heads for an emotional 30-second moment of silence in memory of victims of school shootings — including the 17 killed in February at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Then they were invited to text VOTERISE to 788-683 to register to vote from their cell phones.
SUU students, high school students, elementary school students, community members, and children marched through Cedar City carrying signs with messages such as “No one has a right to weapons of mass murder,” “Hey politicians, you work for us, the people, not the NRA,” “Make our schools safe again,” “How many more will it take to end gun violence?” and “Ban Assault Rifles.”
The march in Cedar City was organized by Human Rights Advocates, a student club at SUU, and co-sponsored by Action Iron County, an independent group. It was one of hundreds of marches nationwide held in all 50 states.
At a “talk-back” session following the march, people had the opportunity to voice their own thoughts. Speakers ranged from a nine-year-old boy to a mother, a teacher, and a military veteran.
“I’m a veteran and I come from a demographic that has overwhelming support for free guns,” said David Handy, a former U.S. Marine who served in Afghanistan. “Frankly, I’m sick of seeing it. To those high school kids that came up here, I want you to know that you’re not alone. We all support you, we’re all proud of you, we’re all trying to protect you.”
“Everyone that’s talking about putting guns in schools, think about it,” he said. “Open your eyes, use some common sense. I’ve seen trained Marines cower and cry and piss themselves when rounds start flying down range. And you want teachers, teachers to stare down the barrels of guns!? It’s not right, it’s not a solution, it’s an excuse. We need to take guns out of schools.”
Matthew Eddy, a sociology professor at SUU, spoke from a historical perspective, saying that there are 33,000 gun deaths and 70,000 people injured by guns every year in the United States.
“More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than in the entire history of warfare in the United States,” he said. He emphasized that “96 percent of U.S. adults support background checks for all gun purchases … and 60 percent of Americans say that the NRA has too much influence with our politicians.”
“No child should ever have to even imagine a situation like that,” said Robyn Eddy, a mother and first grade teacher in Cedar City who has had to conduct active shooter drills in her classroom. “Something is wrong with our society that we have to be prepared for something like that. It’s good to be prepared, but still it’s like terrorizing the children.”
“Another thing I want my children to know is that guns are absolutely not a solution for solving problems or for feeling more safe,” she said. “We are also a family of faith, and we pray. We pray that our children will be peacemakers in the world, people who will make a change and will stand up for what is right and to protect people who are vulnerable. One of the passages that’s been on my mind comes from Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4. It’s dreaming of a day when the swords will be reshaped, beaten into plows for growing food for people. When spears would be changed into pruning hooks so that we can care for the earth. And I dream of a day when assault weapons would be melted down and turned into swing sets and slides, and that we would not teach our children war anymore.”
“All I have to say is I am totally in with it, said Simon Blair, a nine-year-old elementary school student. “Common sense is needed.”
“I’m an individual who supports the 2nd Amendment,” said Brenden Whitelaw. “That the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” But he said about the students who were killed at Douglas High School that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has been infringed upon, and we need to make positive change now. If I wasn’t scared, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Ksenya Plumb, founder and president of the Human Rights Advocates student club at SUU, which organized the march, urged people to register to vote, to pay attention to issues, and call or write their congressional representatives. She said citizens should ask our senators and congressman about bills on gun trafficking, mental illness, domestic violence, and gun reform that are being blocked and not acted upon by Congress.
“Let’s take this conversation further and also keep the victims in your hearts and your prayers, and their families,” she said.
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