David Hogg, Parents Of Parkland Shooting Victim Reveal 'Gun Safety-Certified' Logo At Boston Event
BOSTON (CBS) – One day before the second anniversary of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, the parents of one of the victims joined survivor David Hogg in Boston to announce a new gun safety initiative.
Hogg joined Manuel and Patricia Oliver, the parents of Joaquin Oliver, who died during a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, at the event.
"When our supposed leaders are failing to lead us, it is up to the people and businesses to lead ourselves," said Hogg. "We need business owners to stand up too, because we cannot do this alone. We need you to stand with us and we need consumers to show that we will only stand behind companies that support common sense gun legislation."
The gun safety advocates announced a new initiative that would allow businesses to display a symbol in support of universal background checks and other gun safety policies.
"We decided to move forward and become part of a solution, and try to prevent what happened to Joaquin from happening again," Manuel Oliver said.
The new "Gun Safety-Certified" symbol displays the face of Joaquin Oliver, who was one of 17 students killed February 14, 2018 in Parkland.
"Starting today, I have the perfect answer for all of those business owners who ask me 'How can I help?'" said Manuel Oliver, adding that gun violence is an issue "bigger than schools, bigger than Parkland and bigger than Florida."
The event was held in cooperation with Stop Handgun Violence, a Massachusetts-based organization.
"The majority of Americans support background checks for all gun sales, yet the Senate will not enact the bill that was passed in the House," said John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence. "This gun safety certified mark is not going to be only about background checks for all gun sales, but it's going to be whatever a business person wants to do to be a part of this movement to frankly replicate the successful gun laws here in Massachusetts."
The Massachusetts chapter of the NRA pushed back against the campaign. They released a statement Thursday: "This recent campaign by anti-civil rights groups is just another attempt to push forward policies that are already proven to fail."
