Hunter Pollack Wanted to Remember His Slain Sister at March for Our Lives, but Organizers Denied Him Chance to Speak

Hunter Pollack, the brother of Meadow Pollack, who was shot and killed in the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, says he was denied an opportunity to speak at the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC.

Pollack’s father Andrew said they tried for two days to work with organizers for a chance to speak at the march but that organizers denied the request.

“At first they told him, yes, then it turned to no,” Pollack told Breitbart News. “They claimed no time.”

“I was going to give a speech about Meadow and how devastated I am and how we need to make change, but they won’t allow me to put my voice out,” Hunter said in an interview. “I feel that they don’t really care about the victims’ families. If they did, they would have let me speak, and they didn’t. I don’t know what this is about.”

Hunter read part of his prepared speech on camera, which was shared on Facebook:

Hunter’s father, Andrew Pollack, shared his frustrations in a Facebook video on Saturday.

“My son, he got denied to speak at the march, so I’m not going to the march,” Pollack said. “He was pretty disappointed that he didn’t get to speak at this march. I guess he’s got a different agenda than their agenda.”

Pollack sent Breitbart News the full text of Hunter’s speech, posted below:

On Valentine’s Day, I had my heart broken. … We all did … and there’s too much sad irony in that to ignore.

So today, on this historic event in our nation’s capital with the entire world watching us — as they listen to every word we say — I want to speak about our broken hearts, and what we can do as a country to turn this heartbreak into a mission worth fighting for.

In my heart, I know this is not a mission-driven by politics, nor should it be dictated by the left or the right.  This is not a mission specific to color, religion, or economics, but, rather, it’s a mission of love. It’s a mission of safety built upon a foundation filled with common sense and fueled by a common denominator that can bring together every American across this great country.

The one common denominator we all share is a desire to LIVE. … We all want to LIVE the greatest life possible.

My sister, Meadow Pollack, was living an amazing life filled with love, passion, dreams, family, and fun. She had so much to offer this world. She had so much ahead of her — but — because WE as a school and WE as a community and WE as a society and WE as a state and WE as a nation failed to protect her — my baby sister is no longer part of this equation we call LIFE.

What pains me most is that her beautiful life was NOT lost to an incurable disease or a freak accident. She is gone because our schools are not safe.  

She is dead because the madness of one young man and his determination to kill was greater than our desire to stop him. 

Remembering Meadow and the Parkland 17 is something we must all vow to here today. We must promise to take action each and every day until we protect the students of this country. We must protect our students and our schools in the same way we do the patrons at an NFL football stadium and the passengers at an airport and the diamonds in a jewelry store.  

We, the students of America, are the most valuable assets this nation has. Therefore, we hereby put all the leaders and parents in this country on notice. Today, we demand you to put a value on our lives — and to protect us above all and everything else.

We, as the students of this country, must take our anger and our pain and our desire to LIVE this LIFE to the fullest, and we must channel it into a mission that is obtainable — one that can be achieved without heavy debate, one that everyone can agree upon today, tomorrow, and for decades to come.

What happened in Parkland should have resulted in immediate action across America — but it has not. Two weeks ago, a student in Utah tried blowing up a school with a bomb. And then this week in Maryland, we lost another life in a school shooting. The weapons may be different, but the objective is the same, so we NEED to protect our schools from the killers who want to kill.

The hatred and sickness that fuels a killer to kill innocent students is something most of us will never understand, but that doesn’t mean it’s something we can ignore. We need to be on a mission to stop these monsters before they take action inside the school. We must demand our leaders help those who are sick, but we must also demand that they protect those of us who are not.  

In closing, I ask you to say my sister’s name to yourself. It’s such a beautiful name: MEADOW. If you say her name, it’s impossible not to feel the beauty of who she was and who she always will be.  

MEADOW: it makes me think of a sunny day, like this one. A day where the sun shines on our youth and shines on our desire to LIVE a safe and happy LIFE.   

I can feel MEADOW right now. She is asking us to come together. She wants us to thank the families and parents of the victims — like my dad, Andrew — and Mr. Ryan Perry — and all the others who are turning their grief into something positive.  She says, “Thank you” for continuing to fight for the survivors and students of all ages.  

MEADOW is asking us to be smart and to love and to share the common denominator we share. Embrace this LIFE, make the most of it. … Don’t let it be wasted — and do not allow it to be taken away by a weapon of any kind.  

To my sister, MEADOW — who is up in heaven — I promise you here today that dad and I, along with millions of people at our side, will do our part in making schools safe so that this never happens again. We vow to protect America’s children in a way you should have been protected. We will keep them safe from the killers and all the weapons they use. Until we meet again, Meadow, I miss you like crazy.  

I love you. We all love you. May you shine on us today and every day going forward. 

Thank you.