David Hogg: Attitudes on gun control ‘changing for what feels like the first time’

Gun control activist David Hogg said in a Fox News op-ed Friday that he feels attitudes on gun control are “changing for what feels like the first time” following multiple high-profile mass shootings in the past month. 

Hogg, who survived the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., said more gun owners and former gun industry executives are speaking out in favor of reform because shootings like the one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two adults “do not reflect their values.” Hogg urged readers to participate in one of the more than 450 marches that March For Our Lives, a movement that Hogg co-founded to support gun control legislation, is holding Saturday following the Uvalde shooting. 

His op-ed comes as a bipartisan group of senators is working to reach a deal on gun legislation. 

Some of the reforms that Democrats and gun control advocates have called for, such as instituting universal background checks nationwide, appear unlikely to pass in the evenly divided upper chamber, but senators have expressed optimism at reaching an agreement on a narrower bill. Negotiators are considering providing more money to address mental health and incentivizing states to pass red flag laws, which allow those around an individual to petition for their firearms to be temporarily removed if they might pose a threat to themselves or others. 

Hogg previously marched in Washington with March For Our Lives in 2018 following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 of his classmates and school staff members. He said in his op-ed that there have been many additional incidents since then, giving him “countless reasons” to give up. 

But he said the outcome of activists’ efforts must be different this time, and “responsible citizens” are needed to ensure it is different. 

“I know there are millions of you who want to do the right thing. You are being compelled to speak out. Some of you have told me personally that it’s because you are ‘tired of seeing children being slaughtered,’” Hogg said. 

Hogg spoke with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) earlier this week about achieving “anything” on the issue of gun violence. Murkowski said Congress owes “some steps here” on the issue and there is work to be done. 

He said in the op-ed that those involved in the issue should follow a similar approach to the one used to cut down cigarette use — addressing what causes someone to want guns and understanding how they get them. 

“No law is perfect, but if we focus on stopping the process of radicalization to violence, we can reduce gun deaths by half over the next decade,” he said. “And we need to act now.” 

Hogg said no party or organization is his enemy, only gun violence. He said he and gun rights advocates might disagree on a lot, but they also agree on a lot. 

“The problem is that we don’t listen to each other long enough to find out,” he said. “What we both can’t accept is the idea that we can’t do anything to stop the murder of children. We can.”