Aiden Jackson decided it was time to respond to the wave of his fellow teenagers across the country who were calling for gun control and even confiscation following the shooting deaths of 17 people at a Florida high school in February.
Although he understood the emotional reaction of teens who had experienced such a tragedy, Jackson also believed stripping Americans of their Second Amendment right to bear arms was not the solution to ensure school safety.
So during the National School Walkout last month Jackson, a freshman at a Virginia Beach high school, decided to send a message.
“I brought a sign to the walkout on March 14, and my sign was kind of like a counter protest to the main point of the walkout,” Jackson told Breitbart News Sunday, hosted by Washington political editor Matt Boyle and deputy political editor Amanda House on SiriusXM Patriot 125.
“My sign said ‘Gun control is not the answer,’” Jackson said.
He said after someone grabbed his sign and destroyed it and everyone applauded, Jackson had an epiphany of sorts.
And now Jackson, 15, is joining a movement started by like-minded youth in Montana by staging a March for Our Guns gathering from noon to 2 on May 19 at Mt. Trashmore, Virginia.
“We are doing it to advocate for our Second Amendment rights and to protest against the attacks that have been levied on the Second Amendment,” Jackson said.
The movement the Virginia teen has joined states on its website:
The youth movement in Kalispell (set up by Columbia Falls students) is in talks to work with other youth across the country to link up in a national pro-gun effort. Their event is being held in Kalispell on Saturday, April 14th at Depot Park (In Kalispell). Youth in Virginia and Idaho have been contacted and in discussion with Kalispell Montana local grassroots efforts.
The website also promotes Jackson’s March for Our Guns.
“Together we stand as vicious defenders of our Constitutional rights,” Jackson is quoted on the website. “Together we protest the fight against our God-given rights.”
“Together we voice our solutions to this problem facing our nation,” Jackson said.
The website states the March for Our Guns mission, which reads, in part:
Not one more. We cannot allow one more gun to be taken from our hands. We must make it our top priority to make sure that people of this nation continue to have the right to defend themselves. March For Our Guns is created by citizens in Montana who will no longer risk the leftist agenda of seizing the opportunity to diminish our abilities to keep and bear arms. Politicians are correct in telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Guns is in 100% agreement. Alarmist leftist rhetoric should not take the guns from law-abiding youth that use the firearms to hunt and provide for their families.
There are more voices to be heard in this debate and not just a chosen group that has money or influence. MARCH FOR OUR GUNS and make sure that we stay free, are able to protect our families, and are able to ALWAYS have the right to keep and bear arms as a free nation!
We do believe in our constitution and the right to legally protect ourselves. To all those that perished in Florida, our hearts and sincere prayers go out to you.
Jackson said he also has support from the Virginia Citizens Defense League and the Republican Party of Virginia Beach and his family.
He even said his classmates are supportive.
“A lot of my friends at school they come up to me, and they say, ‘I don’t necessarily agree with your point of view, but I support what you’re doing,’” Jackson said.
Jackson told Breitbart News Sunday gun control has failed in the past.
“Gun control has never in American history been proven to reduce crime rates,” Jackson said. “Has never been proven to deter violent criminals.”
“We believe that there are other solutions to this problem that we have in America,” Jackson said.
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