Transcript

of David Hogg’s March for Our Lives Speech

First off, I’m gonna start off by putting this price tag right here as a reminder for you guys to
know how much Marco Rubio took for every student’s life in Florida. One dollar and five
cents.

The cold grasp of corruption shackles the District of Columbia. The winter is over. Change is
here. The sun shines on a new day, and the day is ours. First-time voters show up 18 percent
of the time at midterm elections. Not anymore. Now, who here is gonna vote in the 2018
election? If you listen real close, you can hear the people in power shaking. They’ve gotten
used to being protective of their position, the safety of inaction. Inaction is no longer safe.
And to that, we say: No more.

Ninety-six people die every day from guns in our country, yet most representatives have no
public stance on guns. And to that, we say: No more. We are going to make this the voting
issue. We are going to take this to every election, to every state, in every city. We are going
to make sure the best people get in our elections to run, not as politicians, but as
Americans. Because this — this is not cutting it. When people try to suppress your vote, and
there are people who stand against you because you’re too young, we say: No more.

When politicians say that your voice doesn’t matter because the NRA owns them, we say:
No more. When politicians send their thoughts and prayers with no action, we say: No
more. And to those politicians supported by the NRA, that allow the continued slaughter of
our children and our future, I say: Get your résumés ready.

Today is the beginning of spring, and tomorrow is the beginning of democracy. Now is the
time to come together, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans. Americans
of the same flesh and blood, that care about one thing and one thing only, and that’s the
future of this country and the children that are going to lead it.

Now, they will try to separate us in demographics. They will try to separate us by religion,
race, congressional district and class. They will fail. We will come together. We will get rid of
these public servants that only serve the gun lobby, and we will save lives. You are those
heroes.

Lastly, let’s put the USA over the NRA. This is the start of the spring and the blossoming of
our democracy. So let’s take this to our local legislators, and let’s take this to midterm
elections, because without the persistence — heat — without the persistence of voters and
Americans everywhere, getting out to every election, democracy will not flourish. But it can,
and it will. So, I say to those politicians that say change will not come, I say: We will not stop
until every man, every woman, every child, and every American can live without fear of gun
violence. And to that, I say: No more.

Thank you, I love you all, God bless all of you, and God bless America. We can, and we will,
change the world.

© Tim Pruzinsky, InThinking 2018

www.englishalanglit-inthinking.co.uk
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