Public Story
For TIME: The Education of David Hogg
In the four years since American gun control activist David Hogg, 22, and his friends in Parkland, Fla., launched the March for Our Lives movement, there have been at least 611 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Firearm-related deaths have overtaken auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
“I’m sick and tired of us giving ourselves pats on the back for trying,” Hogg said on the morning of June 9, two days before the March for Our Lives movement held rallies around the country on June 11. That may finally change, now that 20 U.S. Senators have announced a modest bipartisan framework to address issues.
“If we pass this right now as it’s described, it’s been more than has ever been done in my lifetime on the federal level,” he says. “And that’s progress.”
Hogg knows he has one key political advantage as an activist. Studying the history of conservative movements has taught him the power of endurance as a compounding political force.
“We have the most valuable thing in politics besides a boatload of money, which is time,” Hogg says. “We’re going to outlive almost everyone else in this building.”
Photo Editor: Eli Cohen
Correspondent: Charlotte Alter
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