TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — All week long, the State Capitol building in Tallahassee is being lit to honor the victims of last year's Parkland school shooting.
The capital is where students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School went just a week after the shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, to fight for stronger gun laws. That’s when WPTV first saw the impact of the March For Our Lives movement.
"All these things Adam and I have been doing, they just add together and you don’t focus on the time," said Zach Hibshman, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. "How fast the months go by."
Hibshman and Adam Buchwald reflected with WPTV on their thoughts in the days after the massacre.
"Adam and I were just filled with emotion and passion and we want to make this change," said Hibshman.
Change was and still is the motto.
"That fire changed into a giant fire," said Hibshman.
The students were part of a nationwide movement pushing for tougher gun laws. They created Parents Promise To Kids before the November midterm election. They called on parents to sign a contract pledging to vote for candidates supporting stricter gun laws.
"Persistence is key," said Buchwald.
Now there’s a new step in their movement.
"We want to have these politicians sign these contracts limit firepower on the streets," said Buchwald.
Nowadays, the movement has slowed down. Those students realized they are 17 years old and seniors in high school with their whole lives ahead of them. It can be tough at this age to be an activist.
"I have a lot going on in my life," said Buchwald. "My DJ business, I have school work, getting ready for college."
"The fire might pick up because people might remember. Although Adam and I have slowed down, we haven’t stopped," said Hibshman, who added they don’t plan to stop even as they move on to college. "We want to help inspire people. If you want to make a change, go make a change."
The fire still burns for these young activists.
"If we keep fighting for that and we keep being inspired," said Hibshman. "We’ll see what we want to see."
