THE GOOD NEWS:
Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez is standing strong after being smeared by gun rights activists.
Since the tragic Feb. 14, 2018, shooting that took the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, right-wing activists have attempted to smear the grieving students and administrators to fuel their pro-gun agenda.
The teens have been referred to as “crisis actors,” FBI plants, and perpetrators of a “false flag” conspiracy. 18-year-old Emma Gonzalez, one of the most vocal Parkland survivors, has been a favorite target for right-wing activists.
She was recently called a “skinhead lesbian” by a Maine GOP candidate running for state legislature who was later forced to end his campaign.
On March 24, 2018, the Parkland survivors helped organize the massive March for Our Lives event to bring attention to the gun violence issue. It’s estimated that over a million Americans across the country marched in the event, making it the largest demonstration in U.S. history.
In response to the students’ brave activism, a photo-edited picture of Gonzalez ripping up the U.S. Constitution went viral throughout right-wing circles.
At left is @tyler_mitchell’s photo of @Emma4Change for the cover of @TeenVogue. At right is what so-called “Gun Rights Activists” have photoshopped it into. #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/jW6tTOv2Db
— Phillip Picardi (@pfpicardi) March 25, 2018
#Vorwärts! pic.twitter.com/ffbcm6xjX3
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) March 24, 2018
The altered photo of Gonzalez was originally taken for the cover of Teen Vogue, which featured her ripping up a gun range bull’s-eye with the title #NeverAgain.
“The fact that we even have to clarify this is proof of how democracy continues to be fractured by people who manipulate and fabricate the truth,” Teen Vogue chief content officer Phillip Picardi tweeted. “From where we stand, these are even more reasons we have to listen to what she’s saying and continue our unwavering support.”
While callous gun rights activists attempt to smear Gonzalez and her grieving colleagues, the 18-year-old is standing strong. She took the podium at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., in front over around 800,000 people, speaking and then standing silently for 6 minutes and 20 seconds — the amount of time it took the Parkland shooter to kill 17 of her classmates.
Watch Emma Gonzalez take the stage for 6 minutes and 20 seconds — the exact amount of time it took for a gunman with an AR-15 to take 17 lives in Parkland pic.twitter.com/s2pCWdoPnB
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2018
