The Florida state government debated on bills, and several companies severed ties with the National Rifle Association following the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February.
Ron Brooks, University of Memphis physical plant assistant vice president, knew the Virginia Tech facilities director during the 2007 shooting in Blacksburg, Virginia. Brooks said the same lessons still need to be learned from that shooting as with the Parkland shooting.
“They were all hoping that the lessons learned disseminated out to all the other institutions,” Brooks said. “It’s really sad the way that unfolded.”
While more could be done, some changes have been made by companies and legislators toward incorporating new firearm restrictions.
State laws changed
A Florida House of Representatives appropriations committee approved a bill that would increase the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21.
This bill came after other pieces of legislation that would give the state more authority to seize weapons and give teachers voluntary firearms training and was pushed by many high school and college students in Florida.
Students and protestors wanted an assault weapons ban but were dismayed when the committee voted it down, along with a ban on bump-stocks for firearms.
Companies responded
This resulted in many companies cutting ties with the NRA, including MetLife, Hertz, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
“Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program,” Delta said in a statement on Twitter. “We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website.”
Georgia Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle responded with his own statement and said he would repeal any tax breaks for Delta, which is Georgia’s largest private employer.
“They should put their money where their mouth is instead of engaging in viewpoint discrimination against conservatives and law-abiding gun owners,” Cagle said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Edward W. Stack announced the company would not sell assault-style weapons or high capacity magazines or sell to anyone under 21 years old after he discovered his company sold a shotgun to the Parkland shooter, albeit not the one used in the shooting. He said he thinks the laws in place are not enough to prevent assault-style firearms from falling into the wrong hands.
“We are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment,” Stack said in an interview on Good Morning America. “I’m a gun owner myself, but we’ve just decided that, based on what’s happened with these guns, we don’t want to be a part of this story, and we’ve eliminated these guns permanently.”
FedEx stated although they still oppose civilian access to assault weapons, the company will not cut ties with the NRA because that would be “discrimination.”
Walmart joined others Wednesday by raising the age to 21 for buying firearms or ammunition, echoing past changes made in 2015 when they ended sales of modern rifles, like the AR-15, in all states except Alaska.
“We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm,” Walmart said in a statement. “Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.”
Students spoke out
Along with changes by state governments and schools in the wake of the Parkland shooting, high school and college students protested in Florida by staging walkouts and marches.
Students across the country plan to observe the National School Walkout on March 14 at 10 a.m., which will last a total of 17 minutes. U of M President M. David Rudd supports students protesting but wants them to pay attention to their classes and not get behind because of it.
“It’s always good to see students, and any voter for that matter, exercise their voice and influence in the American democratic process,” Rudd said. “I would simply encourage students to be attentive to the issue of unexcused absences and their individual class circumstances and demands.”
