The Most Powerful Moment At The ‘March For Our Lives’ Rally

Emma González, a senior at Marjory Douglas High School and a survivor of the mass school shooting that claimed 17 innocent lives, delivered an incredibly powerful speech at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC. today.

Emma’s speech was six minutes and 20 seconds long, the same amount of time it took the gunman to kill her friends of fellow students and faculty members. For the first two minutes, Emma recited the names of the Parkland victims and the effects of gun violence.

“Six minutes and about 20 seconds. In a little over six minutes 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered. Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands. For us, long tearful chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing. No one understood the extent of what happened. No one could believe there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day. No one knew that the people who were missing had stopped breathing, long before any of us had even known that a code red had been called. No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this would go.

For those who still can’t comprehend because they refuse to, I’ll tell you where it went. Right into the ground, six feet deep, six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15 and my friend Carmen would never complain to me about piano practise. Aaron Feis would never call Keira, Miss Sunshine. Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother Ryan. Scott Beigel would never joke around with Cameron at camp. Helena Ramsay would never hang out after school with Max. Gina Montalto would never wave to her friend, Liam at lunch. Joaquin Oliver would never play basketball with Sam or Dylan. Alaina Petty would never, Cara Loughran would never, Chris Hixon would never, Luke Hoyer would never, Martin Duque Anguiano would never, Peter Wang would never, Alyssa Alhadeff would never, Jaime Guttenberg would never, Meadow Pollack would never.”

Then Emma said nothing for over four minutes.

At the end of six minutes and 20 seconds, a timer went off.

“Since the time I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting, and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest.

Fight for your lives, before it’s someone else’s job.”

Emma, along with other survivors has spent the last month petitioning for gun control across the country.

You can learn more about March For Our Lives HERE.

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