First lady Melania Trump spoke out Monday about the student movement for action on guns in the wake of the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead and launched a national conversation on gun violence.
“In my year as first lady, I have also learned that it is often times after a tragedy that you strength and resilience of the human spirit,” she said in brief remarks in the Blue Room of the White House, speaking to the spouses of the nation’s governors.
She continued, “I have been heartened to see children across this country using their voices to speak out and try to create change. They are our future and they deserve a voice.”
Many of the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and students around the country have channeled their grief into fighting the gun lobby, making impassioned pleas on television, meeting with lawmakers and preparing for a nationwide protest on March 24 dubbed “March for our Lives.”
President Donald Trump has called for specific action following the shooting, including comprehensive background checks, raising the purchasing age for some guns to 21 and ending the sale of bump-fire stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at a faster pace. During a listening session at the White House last week, the President also floated the idea of arming qualified school staff, a controversial idea that has been met with mixed reviews.
Last week, 14-year-old Parkland shooting survivor Lauren Hogg tweeted a direct plea to the first lady.
“Hey @FLOTUS you say that your mission as First Lady is to stop cyber bullying. Well then, don’t you think it would have been smart to have a convo with your step-son @DonaldJTrumpJr before he liked a post about a false conspiracy theory which in turn put a target on my back,” Hogg tweeted.
The President’s eldest son liked a tweet promoting a false conspiracy theory that claimed Hogg’s older brother, David, had been coached by his father — a former FBI agent — to speak out against President Trump.