On Memorial Day weekend, Andrew Pollack will continue his tireless work to honor his daughter, Meadow, who died along with 16 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day when an armed former student with mental health issues stormed the school.
Hundreds of bikers will hit the road in Fort Lauderdale for the second annual Ride for Meadow to raise money for a playground that will bear his daughter’s name and a memorial to all of the victims at a park in Coral Springs.
Pollack told Washington Political Editor Matt Boyle and Deputy Political Editor Amanda House on Breitbart News Sunday on SiriusXM Patriot 125 that the event is a “positive” way to remember Meadow and the others who died in the wake of the politicization of the tragedy to push a gun control agenda.
Pollack has been working instead to find ways to protect students in the same way people are kept safe when they visit a courtroom, government building or sports venue.
“What about looking at what happened there?” Pollack said. “The guy just walked out of an Uber with a rifle bag,” Pollack said. “He walked into the school with a rifle bag and wasn’t stopped.”
Pollack told Breitbart News Sunday, when he visited Washington, DC, to meet with President Donald Trump, he was struck by all of the armed officers and metal detectors.
He believes students in school deserve the same protection.
“We need change,” Pollack said. “The new norm has to be kids need to be protected, and that’s what I’m working on every day.”
Pollack cited airports as another public venue where armed officers and security equipment is in place to protect the public.
“The school has to be the same way,” Pollack said.
Pollack also was instrumental in helping Governor Rick Scott pass legislation in Florida to make campuses in that state safer.
The “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act,” passed just weeks after his daughter’s death and provides $400 million to fund security officers on campuses in the state, raises the legal age to acquire a gun to 21, and prevents people with mental health issues from owning a gun.
Pollack said the man who killed his daughter was well-known to law enforcement and school officials for having mental health issues, including violent behavior.
That’s why the law will allow authorities, according to Pollack, to confiscate weapons if an individual is believed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Since his daughter’s death, Pollack has dedicated his life to school safety, including founding Children’s Lives and School Safety (CLASS), which is “devoted to helping parents advocate for the security of children and school personnel in schools. We believe children deserve to be in a protected environment during their school day so they can focus on learning. The safety of our children is a common goal for all Americans, regardless of their individual background or political affiliation,” the website states.
Pollack remembered his daughter during the Breitbart News Sunday interview.
“She lit up a room,” Pollack said. “She was incredible. She’s beautiful inside and out.”
And Meadow still inspires him to work every day to make sure others do not have to face the horrific reality that he is facing.
“This is a lot of work that I’ve been doing, and I feel like just quitting, but when I see a picture of my daughter I can’t tell you how it lifts me — that I can’t just let her die in vain,” Pollack said.
“It just empowers me to keep going,” Pollack said.
Part of his efforts going forward will be as a member of the governor-appointed Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission.
“We’re going to be able to look into all the failures that happened and prevent it from happening again,” Pollack said.
Breitbart News reported that Pollack is also taking legal action against Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, who allegedly did not enter the high school to engage the shooter. Pollack filed a wrongful death suit in Broward County on Monday.
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