Latest news with #MarchForOurLives
CBS News
27-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Jim speaks with Jaclyn Corin, who is leading a campaign against US Attorney General Pam Bondi
Jim talks to the executive director of March for Our Lives. Jaclyn Corin is a survivor of the Parkland massacre and is leading a campaign against U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for reversing course on her initial support of red-flag laws and raising the age to buy a firearm in Florida from 18 to 21. Guest: Jaclyn Corin/Exec. Dir., March For Our Lives U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took a tour of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay Thursday morning as part of President Trump's directive to revert the popular tourist attraction to a federal penitentiary. Bondi toured Alcatraz, currently part of the National Park Service, along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, arriving on a Coast Guard vessel. They were joined by a contingent of administration officials and Secret Service staffers who walked in the chilly bay air among the crumbling buildings, many dating back to the late 19th century.
Time Magazine
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
Parkland Shooting Survivor Jaclyn Corin Calls Out AG Pam Bondi
On Valentine's Day 2018, Jaclyn Corin, now 24, sheltered in a classroom while a former student shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—including Corin's 14-year-old friend Jaime Guttenberg—and wounded 17 more. In the wake of what came to be known as the Parkland shooting, Corin, then a junior and her class president, helped organize a two-day trip for 100 students to Florida's capital city Tallahassee to press elected officials for gun-safety reform and co-founded the organization March For Our Lives. On March 24, 2018, an estimated 800,000 people joined the first march in Washington, D.C., while 800 other marches took place around the U.S. Since then, Corin has completed degrees at Harvard and Oxford, interned at the Biden White House, and had a brief stint as management consultant. Earlier this year she was appointed executive director of March For Our Lives. She talked to TIME from D.C. about the way the gun lobby and resistance movements have changed and why the group is organizing a social media, petition, and advertising campaign calling out 'Parkland Pam,' the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. You've recently taken over the leadership of the organization you co-founded. What are you hoping to achieve? The gun-violence-prevention movement has evolved significantly since 2018. We have been able to accomplish a lot; over 300 gun-safety laws were passed on the state level, the NRA was effectively bankrupted, and young people really started to prioritize gun-violence prevention as a key political issue. But as urgency faded in the public eye, in some ways, the crisis deepened. In the time of all the federal progress, we saw the gun lobby adapting. It moved away from the NRA bluster and towards a quieter, more dangerous strategy, of dismantling enforcement and targeting vulnerable communities with militarized marketing. So we are focusing on accountability, going back to the real human impacts of this issue, so as to not let those we've lost or been damaged by this issue go forgotten. Do you see the NRA as defanged permanently or just dealing with a setback? March For Our Lives played a major role in taking down the NRA. We exposed their corruption. We filed a legal complaint that led to Wayne LaPierre's downfall, and since we marched in 2018 they've lost over a million members and nearly half of their revenue, but the larger infrastructure of the gun lobby has not weakened. It has diversified and become more difficult to track. The most alarming shift is the lobby's strategic focus on eroding enforcement. The absence of enforcement, especially under attorneys general like Pam Bondi, has created a de facto deregulation that makes it easier for illegal gun dealers, domestic abusers, and others to access deadly weapons when they shouldn't. U.S. Attorney General Bondi was the attorney general of Florida at the time of the Parkland shooting. Did you meet with her in the aftermath? Yes. One week after the shooting, I sat across from Pam Bondi with nine friends as a grieving 17-year-old, still processing the loss of my classmates, and she looked us in the eye and told us she was with us. I was disturbed that she kept moving the conversation from guns to a hollow school-safety message, and yet, because of the political conditions and conversation in Florida, she ended up publicly supporting measures like red-flag laws and raising the age to buy a firearm in Florida from 18 to 21. But once the cameras were gone and her political career advanced, she quietly reversed course. Have you asked her about the differences between the Florida legislation that she endorsed and the types of rules that she's endorsing now? I wrote her a letter, and we sent it to her team last week, but we have yet to receive a response. We are initiating a campaign to publicly showcase the hypocrisy she has demonstrated. It's not about vengeance, but rather accountability: if she's not willing to meet with us and reckon with the promises she made back in 2018, then we will continue to call out the discrepancies in what she has claimed she will deliver and what she is actually doing. What were the promises she made in 2018? She didn't make specific promises in our meeting, but publicly, she did advertise her fervent support of those red-flag laws and raising the age to buy a firearm, and more than that, she consistently reiterated her commitment to supporting victims and families. I couldn't think of a worse way to support victims and families than to destroy all of the progress the gun-violence-prevention movement has made over the last few years. [TIME's request for comment to the Attorney General's office went unanswered.] Is there a reason you call out Bondi over somebody like Senator Rick Scott, who was governor of Florida then, and passed some of those red-flag laws? Rick Scott is certainly on my sh-t list, but Pam Bondi represents a unique and deeply personal betrayal, both for me and the Parkland community at large. She was the first official I met with formally after the shooting. And her words carried weight for me because they were delivered directly to survivors in this moment of both national and personal crisis. She [publicly] made specific commitments, and then actively dismantled the very safeguards she once said she supported. Can you name two or three things that she has done since becoming U.S. Attorney General that you feel are a betrayal of the assurances she gave you? She has supported budget cuts to the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms]. She has destroyed funding for community-based violence-intervention programs that are proven to reduce gun violence in the communities most impacted by it, and she has gotten rid of the ATF zero-tolerance enforcement policy for rogue gun dealers who repeatedly break the law and supply weapons used in crimes. Back in 2018 she constantly reiterated that she wanted to make sure that rogue gun dealers didn't get away with literal murder, but now she is dismantling the policies that would make that possible. Governor Ron DeSantis said recently that he wants to repeal Florida's red-flag laws. Does that alarm you? It's true that Ron DeSantis has tried to push for the repeal of red-flag laws and reduce the age to buy a firearm back down from 21 to 18. So in response to that threat, which happened to occur around the time of the shooting at Florida State University, where a number of Parkland survivors then survived their second mass shooting, March For Our Lives convened a group of folks from both Parkland and the FSU community to sign a letter to DeSantis, demanding that he veto that legislation to roll back the progress we made if it were to ever reach his desk. How do you stay positive and hopeful when you see the kind of progress that you made being whittled away? It's devastating. I can't lie. There are days where I'm so exhausted and feel defeated. But for every elected official who breaks their promises, I've met dozens of young people who have proceeded to organize voter drives or start local coalitions or show up to town halls and begin conversations with their friends and community about what public safety should look like. Are you in touch with other survivors? Do you guys hang? I think surviving a mass shooting breeds closeness that can't be replicated. So I have stayed in close touch with many people, David Hogg included. Those friendships definitely make the aftereffects of experiencing a trauma like that a bit lighter. How many have moved on to other things? Most of the other co-founders of MFOL have moved on to other things. There are two co-founders, one of them being David, who are still heavily involved with the organization. Sometimes it's hard to be in a space like this for so long and stay personally committed to the mission to end gun violence. So they just exercise that commitment differently in their lives. Is there something that keeps you awake at night about the outlook for your generation or among your peers? I think there is a disillusionment among my generation with regard to American politics. By the time many of us hit 30, Donald Trump will have had influence over our politics for nearly half of our lives. We've grown up in a society where that is the case and where we feel like many of our efforts—whether voting or organizing or talking to family members—go nowhere. But that's part of why I wanted to come back to lead March For Our Lives, because I think we can reinvigorate our generation so long as we are calling out the people who are doing us wrong as much as we are lifting up one another and inspiring true hope. I think seeing one person step up and make a difference makes all the difference in inspiring others to do the same. With the benefit of seven years' hindsight, is there anything you would do differently now in the immediate aftermath of the shooting? That's a hard one to answer, because on the one hand, the raw authenticity and pure anger that was at the forefront of all of our communications back then made March For Our Lives so compelling. We were kids, 14, 15, 16, 17 years old, who were speaking from the heart and not delivering polished talking points. But I suppose in hindsight, I would tell both myself and all of us that progress is going to take a long time. We genuinely thought that we were going to end gun violence within a year or two. So I would tell us to slow down a little bit and celebrate even the slight progress we were able to make. That potentially would have helped me close my computer at a reasonable time of night. I know that David Hogg and X Gonzalez attracted a lot of criticism and even harassment. Has any of that come your way? X and David were the main two faces of the movement, but I personally experienced a number of death threats. I had the FBI on the speed dial. Getting involved in the gun-violence-prevention movement is scary, because I know what comes with putting your name out there. And I know so many women especially experience unique, horrific threats when they are to speak out for what they believe in. But there are thousands of innocent Americans, many of them children, who never got the chance to speak out about gun violence before their life was ended by it, so I am committing to continuing the fight. You went to Harvard for your undergraduate and Oxford for your master's. The world was your oyster. Was there a little bit of you that was like, do I go back to this gun-violence space? It's such a difficult issue and it attracts a lot of negative attention. At Harvard, there's a competitiveness that blooms in the air where, if you don't join McKinsey, Bain, or BCG or have an active plan to go to law school, then you are failing. Immediately after I graduated from Harvard, I was a White House intern for the Biden Administration, and I had secured a job in management consulting [after graduation] a month into my time at Oxford. I worked in management consulting, in a public-sector department. I hated it, because it felt like I was not contributing to something bigger than me. And I recognized about myself that I wanted to have my hands on the clay and play an active role in molding it. So when the opportunity arose to lead March For Our Lives into its next chapter, I quit my consulting job at the six-month mark, and I am not regretful. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now in my life.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
World Social Media Day: 10 golden rules to be 'social', responsibly
Remember the saying, 'Think, before you speak?' In today's digital world, it's 'Pause, before you share!' Every June 30, the digital world pauses to celebrate World Social Media Day, a global festivity to honor how platforms like Facebook, X (formerly, Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp have reshaped our conversations and connections. What began as a nod to the rapid evolution of online communication has grown into an annual reminder: social media connects nearly half the world, sparking movements, lifelong friendships, and sometimes, strife. But beyond likes and hashtags lies a deeper question – how do we stay 'social' without losing our humanity and mental sanity? On this special day, let's explore ten golden rules to help you post, connect, and engage responsibly – so the next scroll, tweet, or share becomes a mindful exchange that uplifts rather than divides. After all, good digital manners make good human connections. Let's dive in! Know the day, know the history Understanding why we celebrate grounds our behavior. On June 30, 2010, Mashable initiated this day to mark the global impact of social networks. Since then, users have grown to approximately 4.9 billion globally in 2024. It's a reminder that what began as entertainment has evolved into instruments of learning, activism, and community. Recognizing the day's origin reminds us that social media isn't merely entertainment – it's an evolving force for communication, learning, and even mobilization. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Celebrate the good, but stay critical Social media has fueled grassroots activism – from the Twitter-fueled protests in Iran and Egypt during the Arab Spring to activist hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. These show social media's power – but with influence comes responsibility. Alongside sharing, we must also question, verify, and stay alert to echo chambers and misinformation. Be a thoughtful sharer: Verify before you amplify As we said, 'Pause, before you share.' Remember, clicking 'share' adds you to the content's diffusion chain. Before hitting 'share,' pause. Experts stress the need to 'pause and verify' before resharing, a major theme from UN and EU campaigns. According to spectrum-guided etiquette, always verify sources and intent – is it accurate, current, relevant? Misleading posts cause real-world harm. Make it your personal mantra: if you're unsure of the source, don't share. It's a simple step to curb the spread of fake news. One golden rule: don't click 'share' unless you'd share it face‑to‑face. Better safe than viral – but wrong. Hashtag activism: Use hashtags wisely Hashtags can unite people, ignite change, and frame narratives. But 'hashtag activism' isn't activism unless followed by action – real-world or online. Remember, hashtags are tools, not bandwagons. #MarchForOurLives drew millions of voices; the real measure came when those voices joined protests. Movements like #MeToo (over 19 million mentions) show that hashtags can catalyze action – but real impact comes afterward. #Hashtag activism raises awareness, but it's not enough. Don't just tag – support, donate, volunteer, and engage thoughtfully. Mind the algorithm (but don't become its puppet) Social media platforms rely on algorithms to curate your feed – and these invisible scripts can narrow what you see. Leading figures like Spain's Prime Minister Sánchez are calling for algorithm transparency and accountability. You can't rewrite the code – but you can diversify your network, follow different viewpoints, and turn off personalization settings for more balance. Be kind, not combative Online anonymity often emboldens nasty behavior. Spain's leader is even urging governments to tie accounts to real identities to curb abuse. Meanwhile, various communities, like Reddit's r/WomenInNews, instituted rules banning unverifiable screenshots to slow misinformation (no sharing content without attribution or verification). Be courteous. No trolling, no harassment – if/when provoked, don't respond. Trolls seek attention and reaction. Ignore, block, or mute trolls instead of fueling negativity. Save your energy for people and discussions that matter. Keep in mind, 'netiquette' matters: don't say online what you wouldn't say in person. Safeguard privacy – yours and others' Social isn't oversharing. Refrain from sharing personal details – like home addresses, GPS check-ins. Respect boundaries: don't tag people in everything, don't screenshot private moments, don't post addresses or personal info. Privacy guidelines stress using strong settings, being selective about friends, and respecting confidentiality. Digital footprints last forever: post with care. Balance engagement with purpose Strive for authenticity: mix positivity, insight, and inspiration. Whether sharing news, personal stories, or user-generated content, tag thoughtfully, credit sources, and offer context. A well-balanced feed builds trust and connection. Influencers and creators can build communities, but labels matter. Use your platform for authenticity, not just clicks. If you're blogging, vlogging, or even posting family photos, remember the power these share to create digital footprints – both uplifting and permanent. Maintain your mental space Social media is a double-edged sword – entertaining, but potentially overwhelming. Practice digital self-care: mute toxic comments, unfollow negativity, and set usage times. Just like one Redditor suggested, 'delete or turn off comments…comments can change the context of your message.' Mental health matters. It's okay to curate your experience. Social media should serve you, not stress you. Reflect and recharge: Be social offline Social isn't just digital. No substitute exists for laughter in the room, hugs, and shared meals. Step away, breathe, and connect face-to-face. Social Media Day is a great reminder to balance virtual friendships with real ones. Treat it like celebrating your birthday: take a moment offline to enjoy life beyond the feed. Celebrate real-world community: reach out to a friend, walk in the park, savor the moment – real life matters the most. Prince Harry's Shocking Speech at NYC Summit: Meghan's Online Torment Unveiled
The Independent
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
DNC chair unloads on David Hogg in Zoom call: ‘It's really frustrating'
Democratic Party chair Ken Martin said Sunday that he wasn't stepping down from the job after Politico obtained audio of a meeting at which Martin expressed doubts about his ability and willingness to unify the party. In the audio recording, Martin lays the blame on the party's continued infighting at the feet of one of his youngest colleagues, March for our Lives co-founder David Hogg, and claimed that Hogg had 'destroyed' his ability to lead the party out of an electoral abyss it found itself in after 2024. 'I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it's really frustrating,' Martin told Hogg on the Zoom call, according to Politico, after stating:'No one knows who the hell I am, right?' 'I'm trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win,' claimed the chair on the call. On the same Zoom, Martin would go on to make a frank admission: that he'd faced his first doubts about his desire to hold his job any longer. 'I'll be very honest with you, for the first time in my 100 days on this job … the other night I said to myself for the first time, I don't know if I wanna do this anymore,' said Martin on the May 15 call. The Independent reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment. A spokesperson for the party released a statement from Martin to Politico, in which Martin said he was 'not going anywhere.' 'I took this job to fight Republicans, not Democrats,' said the chair, according to Politico. 'As I said when I was elected, our fight is not within the Democratic Party, our fight is and has to be solely focused on Donald Trump and the disastrous Republican agenda. That's the work that I will continue to do every day.' Martin's gripes are at least somewhat grounded in reality. The relatively unknown Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Labor party chair was selected to lead the party after 2024 over several other candidates including at least one with arguably better name recognition: Ben Wikler of neighboring Wisconsin's Democratic Party. Since his election, Martin has not been timid from news cameras but has still struggled to step out of the shadow of Hogg, whose activism in the wake of the Parkland school shooting propelled him to national prominence long before Martin. Hogg, as well, continues to generate headlines — further complicating Martin's position. The brash, young DNC vice chair vowed earlier this year to support primary challenges against the party's graying electeds in Congress, drawing immediate and visceral anger from the party's chastened yet still powerful establishment. Hogg and Martin personally clashed over this issue, and have apparently not reached an amicable compromise. There's also the issue of the party's overall brand, which is in tatters after the 2024 election. A botched campaign season saw former President Joe Biden, wracked by physical and mental decline, run for re-election until the summer, well past any viable point for his party to hold a primary to select his replacement. He then was unceremoniously jettisoned from the Democratic ticket in favor of his former running mate, Kamala Harris, after he appeared lost and confused onstage during a debate with Donald Trump — who'd go on to win the general election. Martin and others face questions about why those closest to Biden, including Martin's predecessor, insisted for months (years, even) that Biden's decline was a right-wing conspiracy and a result of journalists ginning up a fake story. Harris's defeat in 2024 also saw the party fail to make gains in the House while losing multiple seats in the Senate, ending a Democratic Senate majority.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
David Hogg draws attacks from both sides as his star rises
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg is seeing his political star rise — along with the number of attacks lobbed at him from both parties. Hogg has drawn ire and praise from Democrats for his move to get involved in the party's congressional primaries, part of what he says is an effort to bring about generational change. Republicans, meanwhile, have long sought to turn him into a foil. And now that the 25-year-old activist-turned-party-leader finds himself at the center of a feud among Democrats, the GOP sees a golden opportunity. 'Someone brought up to me today that your average voter doesn't know who David Hogg is,' said one national Republican operative. 'What's your strategy? Why are you guys talking about him so much?' 'It's the most obvious point to show the national media, which is the Hogg wing taking over the Democratic Party,' the operative continued. Hogg has seen his profile steadily grow since he first burst onto the political scene following the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., when he was a senior. He quickly became one of the leading voices of the gun control movement and later co-founded March for Our Lives. In February, he was elected a vice chair of the DNC. And in April, he made waves when his group Leaders We Deserve launched a $20 million initiative aimed at primarying incumbent Democrats in safe House seats with the hope of electing a new generation of members. Hogg explicitly noted that the group would not target front-line members or members in competitive districts. So far, the group has only publicly endorsed one candidate, backing Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters (D) in the open seat race for the state's 2nd Congressional District. But Hogg's decision to engage in the primaries has drawn criticism. While many members of the party acknowledge that Democrats need to do a better job of paving the way for new voices and a cohort that's more responsive to the party's needs, others have criticized him for overseeing the effort while serving as a DNC leader. Now, the Gen Z firebrand is contending with the possibility of losing his DNC position altogether. Members of the organization's Rules and Bylaws Committee decided earlier this month that they would hold an electronic vote in June to determine whether they should redo the elections of the vice chair positions won by Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. The decision was made after one of the candidates who lost, Kalyn Free, challenged the way the election was conducted. Free's challenge is unrelated to Hogg's efforts to primary Democratic incumbents. Hogg has criticized the move, saying it's 'impossible to ignore the broader context' in which it's being implemented — a nod to the criticism of his primary efforts. Other Democrats have pushed back on Hogg's claims, including Kenyatta. 'David's first statement out of the gate was, here's the Democratic Party doing some maniacal thing to push me out because of what he's doing with his PAC,' Kenyatta said in an interview with MSNBC earlier in May. 'David knows that that is not true.' In an interview with Fast Company, Hogg did not go into detail about his conversations with Kenyatta but said he sees their disagreement as a 'strategic' one. Howard Chou, a DNC member from Colorado who voted for Kenyatta but not Hogg during the initial vice chair election, praised Hogg and his ascension within the party, saying that for Hogg 'to rise to a level that he's gotten to is pretty impressive, to be honest.' But Chou acknowledged Hogg's DNC vice chair tenure 'can be seen as tumultuous' and said he disagreed with the idea of engaging in primaries as an official. 'He's done some revolutionary things, but we should still hold to standards and rules of … what we're doing here … we're the governing body of the national Democratic Party,' Chou said. DNC Chair Ken Martin, who has lauded Hogg as an 'amazing young leader' and said he had 'great respect' for him, has also told reporters he's against Hogg primarying members while holding the vice chair position. 'No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election,' Martin said on a press call last month. Some Democrats are more conflicted. For Paul Eckerstrom, senior vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party and a former DNC member, it's a question he has struggled with. 'Whether a challenger in a primary is successful or not, I think it's probably a good thing even for the sitting congressperson to at least, you know, pay attention to their constituency, pay attention to certain issues and not get complacent,' Eckerstrom said. 'So I have a hard time criticizing David for doing what he's doing.' At the same time, Eckerstrom added, 'maybe Ken's got a point' about not primarying members while being a sitting DNC member. Hogg has defended his plans and says Democrats need to better meet the moment as the party looks to reset heading into 2026 and 2028. 'We can't just hope that Donald Trump screws everything up so much that voters come begging back to us for any alternative.' he told Fast Company. 'We don't want people to feel like they're just voting for the less bad of two options. What we're trying to do is light a fire under everybody's ass in our party. And frankly, if that makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should question whether or not you should run.' Still, the drama surrounding Hogg and Free's efforts to challenge the election results are threatening to deepen divisions within the party as Democrats look to win back the House and possibly the Senate next year. Republicans, for their part, can't get enough of Hogg. The party has sought to paint Hogg as a liability for Democrats, tying him to every young, progressive Democrat primarying an incumbent. 'If he wants to work to elect more Democrat crazies and encourage more wokeism and nonsense, I'd say fantastic,' said Brian Seitchik, an Arizona Republican strategist and alum of President Trump's campaign. Democrats do not necessarily look at Hogg as a threat to their incumbents. While they argue Hogg has seen major success in the activist space in co-founding March for Our Lives, some Democrats note he is not the only influential player in the party and still has more experience to gain. 'He's an unbelievably talented activist and advocate, and he certainly has the ear of many influential people and in the progressive movement he's an all-star,' said one Democratic strategist. However, the strategist added that they did not understand how Hogg's group primarying other Democrats would be beneficial to the party. 'He's leading an organization that is publicly calling for primaries against longstanding Democrats on the basis of are they good? Like let's define that,' the strategist said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
