ted deutch of florida held a town hall to address gun violence two months after 70 people were killed during a mass shooting at marjory stoneman douglas high school and parkland florida, which is in the district he represents. this is about two hours. [applause] >> good evening everybody. my first job tonight is to give notice that bit of our mayor cannot be here tonight. he called me about 20 minutes ago. he had a case in west palm beach. he is an attorney, you know. traffic is so bad he is still hung up over there. he said to say hello to everybody, so hello from mary campbell.

-- mayor campbell. commissioner bernie parmet. by the way, i am your vice mayor. i can't forget about me. mark pocan, broward county vice mayor. representingson, the 20th congressional district. vivian pearson, representing debbie wasserman schultz. tooley, commissioner.

commissioner pompano beach. grace solomon, commissioner. kagan, vice mayor city of parkland. jacobs, state representative district 96.

bob mayerson, commissioner of parkland. christine, mayor of parkland. sandra welsch, vice mayor of coconut creek. , commissionereast of coral springs. with that i would like to introduce somebody who is very special to all of us, united states representative ted deutch. [applause] last but not least, commissioner of coral springs. with that, i would like to introduce somebody very special to all of us. the united states representative ted deutch. thanks, everyone.

thank you very much. thanks, everyone for being here. elected's,ny lamarr. please, for everybody to hear. >> lamarr fisher. inc. you. [applause] from parkland. [applause] >> anthony, vice mayor of margate. [applause] >> mandarich. broward county commissioner. ottmonica may oug rep. deutch: state representative is here. let's give him a hand.

before we get started, i would like -- i would like to do two things. first of all, if you are here tonight and you have served our and are a veteran, i would ask you to please rise for a moment so we can acknowledge you and express our gratitude for your service. [applause] and, don't sit down. thank you for your service and i would ask you to rise again and lead us in the pledge. allegiance to the flag and to the united states of america. and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, individual liberty and justice for all. thank you very for

being here. now almost tonight seven weeks since the shootings at was. we are having this town hall meeting because this is an issue that has not gone away. [applause] issue --ch: it is an the issue of gun violence sadly we saw play out just today again in california. parte here today in large not because of the discussions -- certainly not because of the discussions taking place in washington or tallahassee, we are here because the brave families who lost loved ones at stoneman douglas have stood up courage, haveeir

set examples for the rest of us in all the ways we should be looking to keep our schools safe and to prevent this from happening again. to express our gratitude for the student survivors who have not allowed this issue to go by the wayside. [applause] rep. deutch: to all of them, i say thank you and i would like, before we go any further in the spirit of what brings us justher, to take a moment to recall the 14 students and three staff members who were killed on february 14. was 14. nicholas was 17.

feis was -- 37. jamie gothenburg was 14. luke hoyer was 15. tara laufer was 14. gina mutombo was 14. blocking oliver was 17. alaina petty was working. was 18.ollack eleanor ramsay was 17. carmen schentrup was 16. peter wang was 15. loss, andn their commit to take action to honor their memory, i would like us all to stand for a brief moment of silence.

rep. deutch: thank you very much. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge him and not by name, but i would like to acknowledge all of the individuals who were injured at stoneman douglas, some of whom are here or there family members are here. please know that, even as we mourn the loss of life, we continue to pray for their speedy recovery. we are grateful for those have come to join us. here is what i would like to do tonight. this is a town hall. i have asked the elected officials, who are in the auditorium with us to join on stage so that we all have an opportunity to hear from you. i will quickly layout what i would like -- what i think we

can accomplish tonight and then i will turn it over to all of you. said of all, as i have from the very start, since february 14, the issues we have to grapple with our many. thoserateful for all of who have chosen different issues among these to make their own. to focus on in ways to move the the ahead. yes, i will talk about gun safety reform. i will talk about it because it is important and because there is such broad bipartisan support for it. we also have to talk about school safety and the many ways we can keep our schools safe here it is important to focus on mental health. [applause] in significant ways acknowledge the fact that our state's 51st in per capita

spending on mental health, coming in below the 50 states and district of columbia but this isve puerto rico an issue we need to grapple with all the time. particularly at this moment. when the suggested ratio for school psychologist in this 500, and inne per our area it is one per 2000, it shows that there is more that we have to do. andlso have to talk about be honest about the analysis of all the investigations going on to find out what happened that day. the meetings i have had with the fbi and the breakdown that occurred and the fact that we are still awaiting a vinyl report from them and what happened here, speaks to one important message. this community needs to know exactly what happened. it should not have to wait much

longer to get the results of those investigations. [applause] finally, i want to get back to where i started. that is the issue of gun safety. the fact that right now, there are ongoing and important efforts in a bipartisan way to take action both in tallahassee, which we will hear about, and in congress to help keep our schools and communities safe. the stop school violence act that was just passed and signed into law is a step forward. a small step, but it is a step forward. 21 to buy a gun, something the state legislator passed as a piece of legislation i introduced with my republican colleagues tom rooney. again, bipartisan legislation that just makes sense. violence restraining orders. the state legislature passed and

congress is working on this issue. senators nelson and rubio are working together just as we are working with congressman the patrick -- congressman fitzpatrick. also in india networking on this issue. i'm confident something will come soon on that issue. there are three other issues i would mention that also need to be part of this discussion. that universal background checks, the simple idea that if you buy a gun you should have to have a background check wherever you buy the gun, is an idea that is supported -- [applause] thatdeutch: it is an idea has the support of over 90% of the american people. straightforward and common sense. it can help do what everyone, democrats and republicans, gun enthusiasts and people who don't like them at all think should be

done. that is keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. universal background checks can help save lives. it needs to pass in washington. it must be a priority of all of ours. finally, to others. the issue of high-capacity magazines that senator rubio has expressed an interest in revisiting. i'm ready to work with him and anyone else to and high-capacity magazines. [applause] rep. deutch: finally, this. republican veteran, who and losts nation nobly both of his legs in so doing, mike kelly congress and mast -- my colleague cognizant mast.

he wants that weapons of war do not belong in our communities. this -- [applause] let anyone: don't tell you this is not a bipartisan issue but there are members of congress like others working -- who understand why it was that the assault weapons and was in place until 2004 and why it is in time to reimpose it now. [applause] so, i want to finish with this and then i will open for questions. i want to thank everyone for being here. i want to thank the parents and community members of parkland and coral springs who immediately after this terrible event decided that something had

to be done and went to tallahassee. and it took leadership roles in pressing the legislature to take action and to do it in a way that can save lives. want to thank you for what you did there and in advance for the efforts you will continue to put forth until we take the next steps necessary to keep the community safe. i also want to take a minute to take -- to thank the student survivors. [applause] peoplere than a million turn out in washington, d.c. and around the country, more than a million people and all around the world to march to keep the issue of gun safety on our agenda, to know that there are

close to for over 200 townhall meetings taking place this week around the country because of the advocacy of the student leaders here in our community and around the country, that is what is keeping this moving. [applause] -- ideutch: and i know know because i looked at the list that i have colleagues who are holding townhall meetings to discuss this issue who would not have automatically that will those meetings who will participate in this discussion and no doubt because of the way that these two didn't leaders

and those they have inspired all around the country have caved. my colleagues will be forced to think about how they have approached these issues and be forced to answer basic questions , isn't it time we do everything we can to keep our communities are kids at our schools safe? [applause] rep. deutch: so i'm grateful to the students. i want you back to where started which is to thank the families -- those families who, even as you struggle with the intense one, of losing a loved have focused on ways that can help prevent something like this from happening again. before we open it up to questions from the audience, there are a couple of parents

that i know wanted to speak. fred guttenberg, if you want to come up. [applause] fred: thank you. february 14, not even two months ago, i lost my daughter jamie. jen, my wife, my son jesse -- our family got broken apart. there were 17 other families who are dealing with injuries of some sort or another. what i want to tell you today is

gun violence -- i talked a about that day over the past few months. i talked about that morning in my house. , i last time i sold my kid can't remember if i said i love u.s. she ran out the door. want something that will to me for the rest of my life. the past two months, people suck about how it will get easier every day. it will go further away. hell no. depressedn really these past few days. i will tell you the truth. it does not get easier. i miss my kid. because of a gun. -- those in our country before i go to those who won't do anything, i want to talk about those who are doing everything. [applause] to my fellow parents, you know i love you and i appreciate you. but do you kids, when i tell you

i am amazed by you, i always thought that you didn't know how to communicate because you lived in your phones. i was wrong. you are fierce. you know what you want. you say what you want your you don't care what anyone says back. that is amazing. [applause] fred: so to you kids, i just want to tell you the gun safety argument on the merits has been won. the proof is no one is debating about it anymore. is that all personal attacks directed at you. shame on them. [applause] this needs to go forward in a bipartisan way. t, irding congressman mas have spent quite a bit of time

with him and past few weeks. long-term, wehe need to break the back of the gun lobby that have their grip on our legislators. [applause] fred: and to those legislators who don't come along and do the right thing, we will fire you. [applause] fred: fortunately, we do have a lot of responsible legislators and i want to say thank you to everybody up here. we do have some of those who run president int and the middle of the sandbox kicking sand in everybody's face. ,ut it is activities like this

it is the work of all of you. this is going to get done. we will get common sense gun reform in this country. thank you. [applause] rep. deutch: fred, thank you very much. take you for your courage. again, the beauty of this community is the way every issue that can be addressed after a horrific traffic -- horrific tragedy like this.

i want to express my appreciation to andrew pollack for how he is trying to keep schools safe. [applause] rep. deutch: i also want to max schachter for doing the same. he is here. thank you very much for being with us today. [applause] max: thank you. for those who don't know me, my name is max schachter. my little boy wrote the poem life is like a roller coaster. all of the 17 families -- we are doing all of this or our loved ones and we are not going to

stop writing. about'm of he or to stalk school safety. to give you an up day. in alex's name, i started a foundation called safe schools for alex. 25 school, we had officials light in. we had experts from los angeles, orange county, dallas, denver, houston. .verybody came in the goal of the foundation is to create safe school standards. we have fire codes to prevent children from dying in a fire. it has worked. that is what our foundation is going to create for school. after that, i went to washington, d.c.. school safety is a bipartisan issue. it should not be polarized. i met with every elected official that would meet with me. and met with the attorney general, jeff sessions.

i met with marco rubio, bill nelson and all of these officials. the matter what side of the aisle we are on they support us. no matter what you think about their views, they are going to support us. i'm going to meet with everyone and we make schools safe. [applause] max: as far as the families go, i get the question is everybody working together? i want you to know that we are. every family member is in contact with one another. we are all on the same team. we are doing a great job. on the 24th, andrew pollack and ryan petty and i will he on the marjory stoneman douglas high school safety commission. the goal of that commission is a 9/11 it style commission.

we are going to hold our officials accountable. it will hold the agencies accountable. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] rep. deutch: i would like now to hear from you. do we have microphones? there is a microphone over here and there is one on this side. you canave a question, come get in line. if you are a student or a family

one onwho lost a loved february 14, you have a path to the front of the line. are -- i would like to start with a student. we have elected officials on stage from every level of government. i'm not going to answer all the questions. to the extent that any of my colleagues in runs would like to come i would like you to please do so. if you could just tell us your name and ask your question. >> i'm a freshman at douglas. we are very thankful for security at our schools, but it could have easily been another school. what about every other school in broward county that doesn't have that needs to raise money. will they get increased law enforcement as well? [applause]

rep. deutch: i know there was additional funding for that. please. >> uncured muskrats. jarrod. the answer to your question. there is money for increased sros. that will be a multiyear process. we will not double the sro in the first year. we have to go out and hire those folks. have to give them additional training. just because you are an sro, didn't mean you had the training necessary to deal with what happened in the city of parkland. [applause] piece couragerst the second piece, not every school -- no other school right now is being guarded i buy high

weight control. if i'm being so blunt, it should have never had to come to that. it is ridiculous that the governor had to step in and provide that security. i hope that answers your russian. i'm happy to turn it to representative jacobs. >> the number of school resource officer's per student is equally important. state,look across the marjory stoneman douglas has on the 3500 students. another high school in part of the state that will have one school resource officer for your hundred students. what there is a lot of attention in the legislature right now to increase funding, what we wanted to make sure is that as time goes on and new legislators come about, that there would be a formula that would require a match for students versus the number of school resource officers and the formula would take into consideration the size of the campus. that language was in the bill

that was passed so that as we move forward beyond today and in years to come, it won't just be about the dollars but it will be a formula that drives dollars to the areas that need it the most. [applause] rep. deutch: samantha, do you have a question? fuentes has a question. [applause] rep. deutch: samantha, before you ask your question i would just like to point out that this compared tohing what you displayed to the entire world. moment of courage

and bravery and strength the likes of which many of us have never seen. [applause] how dare you call me out like that. rep. deutch: i didn't mean it to come out that way. samantha: i hear a lot of talk about putting more funding in the right places in regards to school, but my tears are being treated like prisoners for a crime that they commit. [applause] samantha: how do we make sure that our funds are being appropriated to the correct areas instead of things as useless as clear backpacks? [applause] samantha: thank you. the backpacks apparently were

donated your it but the point you make is an important one. can't and i won't speak for the weight law enforcement has andoached this issue stoneman douglas security since. theow from talking to sheriff and others, i understand the demands that the community rightly has to feel safe. i also understand what you describe. i don't know. i will be honest, i don't know what the right balancing act is. my guess is there are some people here who probably inc. what is being done may not be enough. i think it is important and, you asking the question here is one thing. this,t need to tell you

and i know i don't need to tell most of the other students, but the one thing that has been confirmed over and over again in the days since is the importance of your voices in all of this. there are important here, but they are especially important in your schools as the decisions made going forward. there is no one from the school here to address it, but i would encourage you to express it and have those discussions and work through this. the leaders of school and local law enforcement certainly owe that conversation and addressing your concerns to you and all of you. thanks, samantha. [applause] i just wanted to add that, as max shatner told us, we have three members on the mission for school safety.

the things we are talking about tonight won't just stay in this room. we have amazing representatives that are there from across the state to talk about school safety. thatssues you are raising may not be answered on stage are the same things that need to be raised over and over. every time this commission comes together for a meeting, bedroom should be just as packed as it is tonight. all of those ideas need to go to that commission so they come out with a areas of recommendations that nails it down. [applause] rep. deutch: please. >> i am a current student at marjory stoneman douglas. [applause] none of us have forgotten what happened that day. for a lot of us, it has been to deal with the trauma, with the ptsd and the

depression. like every day that i go to school, there is less and less help. more teachers expect us to move on. there are less counselors and the there be dogs are gone. there are only a few. it is right around this time when the shock has worn off and the depression is setting in that a lot of us are not doing well. [applause] know what is being done to ensure that trauma trained psychologist are available for every student at marjory stoneman douglas. [applause] rep. deutch: let me start by the availability of

trained psychologists is something that you deserve. fromr the same things teachers and families at neighborhood schools as well. there is not a good -- there is no good reason for why you shouldn't have all of the access that you need to trained psychologist. i don't have an answer except to tell you that you deserve it. if there is anyone who thinks that after seven weeks, that you after just simply move on what you experienced, after the trauma. after the images that you witnessed. it is not just unrealistic but cool.

i think we need to do everything we can to make sure you have access to psychologist and mental health professionals. i can tell you now have provided, but i can tell you that between all of these , we willnd myself follow up with school district first thing tomorrow morning. [applause] you don't have to wait until tomorrow. i am the ceo of the children's services council of broward county. [applause] >> i want you to know that the community is very aware of the need that you have. wayare not abandoned in any and there was no expectation that you would be over your trauma in seven weeks. or perhaps not even for seven months.

there are trauma trained therapist available to you and your families throughout the community. please, if you remember nothing else from tonight, remember the number 211. you can call their and they will match you with a trauma trained therapist. we are also in the midst of doing more trauma to get more service trained. luckily, for some reason we had already trained quite a cadre of providers for you. they are there. these take advantage of them. [applause] >> i just want to say to the young lady who was just getting there. where are you right now? i want to thank you for your bravery and for sharing that information.

t say thank you for all of those kids that are keeping things inside what need help. , ase are a lot of resources you had mentioned that are there for you. everybody sitting up here once to hear what you have to say. they want to hear what you need because we will do whatever we can so that you have it. >> i just want to follow up on what cindy just said because there are a lot of resources in our community -- community. cindy mentioned about 211. mental health center is coordinating the crisis counseling. we are receiving money from the department of children and families that will go to the broward behavioral health coalition.

and that money will go specifically to serve the families of marjory stoneman douglas high school. [applause] cindy,utch: thanks. isfirming that 211 available 24 hours a day? 24/7 by phonele, and online. 1broward.org. >> [indiscernible] so, just to echo what stacy said, i very much appreciate you -- you're making the point that there are resources available.

absolutely taken been a jump them. we are still going to follow up because they should all the available to you at school as well. yes? >> my name is you didn't have hebron.y name is eden extra security, they gave us clear backpacks. the majority of the students think those are useless. what is going to change with regard to what students think will be effective? [applause] well, first, -- -- i, i want to tell you would. [laughter] [applause]

just can't imagine what you experienced and i am really, really sorry. i also don't -- i don't have an easy response. call ourd people office about the clear backpacks. for a lott i speak of my colleagues as well. and i welcome other input. what i can tell you i think is reemphasized what has been said which is the power of your voice at your school and also -- we the --ke available -- information about the commission to keep our schools safe so that

your voices can also be heard to ensure that you feel safe and to ensure that the steps being taken are effective, not just something that is being done so it tells you you should feel safe but that these things actually do make you feel safe and increase security. we will make sure that information is available. you should play a role in that. add a pointnted to of reality. what really goes on in tallahassee. i just finished my fourth year there. what happens with our budget and where the dollars get allocated are tied to a lot of bills. one bill passed took capital dollars from our schools. max factor talk to us about a foundation to build our schools safer. if there was impact glass on the , then thethe doors

shooter could not have gotten into those doors. we need how to -- we know how to build schools safer. we need dollars. with the leadership in tallahassee just past in the last session and the session before was to take dollars away from public schools and give them to private schools and charters. and so, if we want safer schools, we need the dollars to make them safer and we need to make sure they stay in public. i just wanted to add, now that this has come up a couple of times, i feel like i am trying to pass the buck. i am not. commissioner bowden just made this point to me and he is correct. for the student -- or for the few stones -- students that have

raised the issue of school safety and the issue of having access to mental health townssionals, after this hall, in addition to giving you websites, i will work with the stagesioner and others on to arrange for an opportunity for students to come together with leadership from the broward school district so you can speak directly to them about what has to happen. rogan -- mys marked name is mark broken. we work for you. elected officials work for you. if there is a need that is not being filled, you want to get to a school board member or the school superintendent, you can call us. i am happy -- you can call my office. we need to put you in touch with somebody. that is what we are here for. we are here to help you. you can call us. if you are not getting the

services that you deserve or should have, please, give us a call and we will be on it immediately. thank you. >> hello, i am kimberly. i am a freshman at marjory andeman douglas high school a lot of people have not been talking about this but i know it is fourth-quarter now and it is getting around that time -- but, the testing -- i have not heard anything about math when it comes to the end of the -- when it comes to the end of the year testing. you are telling us that we do not have to be over this yet but you are expecting us to take a test? [applause]

>> i am so glad that we are here to listen to how you feel because it when it comes to what you are saying, it is all about you guys. it is about the kids. i do not think enough people have been listening to the way that you feel. and the stress that you guys are going through right now. i wish we had a member of the school board here tonight but we do not. so, we are going to make it very clear to the school board how you all are feeling and i also recommend that you email us, like the commissioner said, and you call us and let you know how -- and let us know how you are feeling. that we havee kids heard from earlier and listening to for weeks, speak about how you feel because that is what we need to know so we can help get things done for you. because it is all about you. you are our future. our leaders.

and the stress i feel you are under right now is a lot to handle. know that you're not alone. the people appear are listening. [applause] -- the people who are up here are listening. rep. deutch: -- have a question but i would like to start out with a possible answer. it is hard to find the good ideas of what the students want. it is not you guys. we have schools where they are and we have students with great ideas and teachers with great ideas. i am sure that if you go to the schools, we have places where you can just ask the students -- what do they want?

as for my actual question, i am a student. i also go to gas stations. and i am all over the place and the county. my question for you is what are you doing so i am safe everywhere? [applause] this is when i'm going to answer -- before we go further, i want to make sure that everyone understands, especially the students, there is a school board meeting tonight. there are school board members that i know would have come and told us they wanted to come. that is not why they are not here. there was no decision to avoid this meeting. they will make themselves available for the meeting we will try to schedule tomorrow morning for everyone.

so, what are we trying to do? speak about washington. everythinglk about going on in tallahassee at the local level although i look forward to hearing particularly from some of our local government officials to hear the dramatic steps they have taken just this week. in washington, congress is here. they are in their districts. all this week. there are 200 of these meetings taking place and there are many more that are not taking place where the community is pretty townhouse that these are not taking place. so, when congress goes back next week, i expect there will be a a lot of my colleagues who are either now committed to working gun me to pass commonsense safety legislation or who are very, very nervous about what

their refusal to engage in those conversations will mean for them -- and ilitical future mentioned these but let me go through these quickly again. the universal background checks is supported by almost everyone themerica including overwhelming majority of the national rifle association. there is no reason why we should not pass that now. the banning-- high-capacity magazines is a step that should be taken now. [applause] out --is worth pointing it is worth pointing out to those of io who would wish to argue otherwise, let me make something clear. -- there limitations

are limitations on second as there rights just are limitations on every other right we enjoy and those limitations i believe should tilt in the favor of the kids and the community members who are trying to stay safe. [applause] and finally, finally i would point out, as i did before, the efforts to take the steps are bipartisan just as a legislation to raise the age to 21 is bipartisan, just as gun violence restraining orders is bipartisan, just as taking congressional action to ban bump stocks is bipartisan. all of these require the support

of leadership in order to move them forward and that is what my colleagues are going to hear this week and my hope is when we get back they will be more committed than they have been in the past to working together in a bipartisan way to get them done. [applause] >> good evening. for the school board questions you are being left empty with and not answered, most know this thursday night is the teen political form. hopefully at that time, you will be able to get your answers. if you don't, we will still be here to follow up. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. i name is stan daily. i am the president of the broward league of cities, city

commissioner in the grey city of coral springs and a 2008 graduate of marjory stoneman douglas high school. i want to address several of the questions that have come up but i wanted to first say that i do not think in a million years -- when weine stepped up to try to make our community a better place, we would have to deal with what we are dealing with. i don't think anyone in our community. we would have to deal with what we are dealing with. this should not happen here. in the state. in the country. to your question, and i want to address specifically the local level. familiar,of you not florida has some of the most significant restrictions on local government when it comes to any comic even the most reasonable of restrictions on

guns, ammunition, or components. conversation,e a the governor can remove us from office. thing with folks like that is -- i don't get it. their argument is that guns do not kill people, bad people kill people. why would you want to make it easy for a bad person to get a gun? i do not understand. [applause]

i can tell you, a couple of days after the tragedy, i came upon david hope who is waiting to be -- david hogg who was waiting to be interviewed. >> i want to egg knowledge the acknowledge --to making these voices heard. >> i want to be clear on the restrictions in florida. when i saw you that day, you said -- do something. and what i said is that we are restricted in anything that we do. i have to tell you -- it is because of the florida

legislature. because of the courageous students that have stepped up and said a know of is enough, 10 cities in broward county filed a lawsuit against the state. [applause] you have broward county doing the same thing and four other municipalities including the city of coral springs. cities across the state are standing up and saying -- enough is enough. >> i want to remind you all at the state of florida just passed a law that raised the age limit to 21. and the day that the bill was

filed, the nra filed a lawsuit. -- ite need now on top of is a step. not all of it. what happened with the first step is the nra was ceiling. the attorney general, pam bondi needs to hear from you. she will either defend the state vigorously or she will not. she needs to hear from you. i don't think anyone would disagree with me that we have one of the best armed forces in the world. am proud toan and i have served. thinking about the gun problem, i thought the army was pretty smart. during world war ii, some men would train for eight weeks and then be sent into combat. when i went through training, we

had weapons. but they were locked up in the barracks. when we marched with those weapons, there was no ammo. we went through very strict training. that weapon of part blindfolded and put it back together again. you could hold it in various positions. you practiced shooting with no bullets. why do you think they did that? safety. when you went to the firing range, you were in position to fire. you opened the breech. and then they handed you a clip of ammo. alreadyr weapon was facing the target. i often ask myself, why did they do that? are they smarter than the rest of us? yes. trained, you fully

should not have a weapon of war. [applause] the army did something else. test, could not pass the if you could not take your weapon apart and take it back together again -- if you could not go through all of the moves of port arms, left shoulder arms , when an officer came to inspect, you opened the breech and looked into it to make sure it was unloaded before handing it to him. why did the army do that? avoid accidents and deaths. we can do the same here. [applause]

i am asking you to do what i do. any candidate from any party a sensible gun regulation will never get my support or my vote. [applause] rep. deutch: for the student that asked about tests, a message from our school board member is that the school district will hear from the office of the governor tomorrow algebraf the testing in yearbe waived for this as well as for graduation requirements. david hogg: i am just going to ask two people this question.

-- this is ar local issue that we face. i understand the importance of law enforcement in our schools and i support that but i have debated these topics the last four years. of the main things that came up is when you are including more safety measures, you have in our justice system and the law enforcement system there is majored discrimination that we face as students of color and people of color. what are you going to do? i would like a local person to answer this working with local law enforcement. and perhaps a state rep to answer the question about how do we ensure that we are keeping as

many students as possible safe but that we are ensuring that students of color are not being discriminated against? one more thing i would like to say at the end of this after you are done answering. >> i can only speak for the coral springs police department but we do have sensitivity training to avoid discrimination. we have every race and gender on our police force. people are still people. people still get to make their own choices despite their training but you hope they use their professional judgment first. --id hogg: to the state rep raise your hand if you are the state rep. ok.

governor is supported by -- what you going to do to not increase the school to prison pipeline? >> i would say that was a layup or that you hit a homerun out of the park, but the truth is i do not support private prisons. i do not support the privatization of prisons. period. but, i want to get to the heart of your question. and kristin and i, representative jacobs and i had great debates when we talked about these of legislation that we passed. when you talk to black caucus members -- what happened in all at one7 people

time got all of the attention. at every single solitary day, there is some 11-year-old girl doing her hair and a bullet whizzes through drywall and takes her life. or there is a five-year-old playing basketball outside and a bullet takes his life. kids-dade has had 300 killed by gunfire in the last 11 years. that is 17 parkland's and they did not get a bell. they did not get the attention of the governor. they got nothing. areso, what use dunes doing, and i want to give the credit to the students and i will tell you why. equality, thatf look, the world is moving for parkland but what about these other communities? what did we do after pulse, david? david hogg: good question.

>> i will tell you what we did. in the weird twisted world that we live in, i led the effort in the house to try to get us into special session. being a marjory stoneman douglas high school graduate, thinking something like this could never happen in my community but let me take the lead on this for orlando. and they would not go into special session. they refused. for two years, they have been trying to build a memorial and we have refused to fund it in the memorial. david hogg: that is sick. >> we are going to fix that. you guys couldnk have made this about yourselves and your community but instead you opened it up to the world. so i want to thank you. [applause] david hogg: there is one last

thing. a statement. sayingys get people thank you, but give yourself a round of applause. i have a quote from martin luther king that has helped to inspire me. and it is if you cannot fly, then run. if you cannot run, then walk. if you cannot walk, then crawl. but whatever you do, you must keep moving forward. thank you, guys. rep. deutch: thank you, david. [applause] before we take the next student, in addition to the good work that max and andrew and ryan , to champion the cause of school safety and laura if you want to say a few words

-- thank you for being with us and our sympathies are with you. hello, my daughter was alyssa . she was brutally shot down on valentine's day. then, i started a nonprofit organization tasked make schools safe. schools safe. i would like you to look at the a list the law in new jersey when you leave here today. my question to you is time. first was in the classroom and she had no time. the shooter came to her classroom first. how are you going to have communication with law enforcement to get them into the school to stop the shooter from

killing more kids? what are you going to implement to communicate between the school and the teachers to law enforcement? all,deutch: first of again, our condolences and i appreciate the efforts you have been putting forth. of the things we have been speaking about in connection with stoneman douglas is the lack of communication, the tape delay on the video. there are a lot of things that can be done and i know that some of the groups looking at this including max and some of the others -- there are schools around the country and districts that are utilizing technology to help that communication take place immediately.

there is no reason that we should not benefit from the work that has been done elsewhere and the success we have seen elsewhere. take that and implement that in our own schools. between the governor's task force and the work that you and your husband are doing, we are going to have all of those options. then, it will be up to the community and our state and all working in concert with the federal government to make sure there are resources to do that. if we have ways that we can ensure that the communication take place, the least we can do is come up with to make that possible. we will have to do that together. >> thank you. rep. deutch: yes. >> i am cassidy and i am a senior at marjory stoneman

douglas high school. our privacy has been invaded with the clear backpacks. we see our worth with the price tags. we have to wear badges every day. we have to walk through fences and checkpoints every day. school is supposed to be a place or you love to bake and now it see unhappywhere we faces everywhere. i am a senior so my biggest concern is the underclassmen and the incoming freshmen. and their feelings about this. we all want to feel safe at school. what is going to happen next year and so forth when the majority of students at marjory stoneman douglas high school feel unhappy and uncomfortable at school? cassidy, all i can do is to make sure that you are in a position to participate when we had the meeting with our

school board members, and leadership from the school district and law enforcement. no one understands better the way -- no one understands better the way that you feel then you do. and so, just as you powerfully laid that out for us tonight, i hope you will do the same thing and that meeting and contribute to finding a way to help people feel safe. thank you, cassidy. yes. daniel. >> hello, my name is daniel. [applause] i am a freshman at marjory stoneman douglas high school. the march forize our lives. before i ask

anything, i want some respect for these people that have come here because some others did not. i don't want to call names. this awareness and engagement is incredible. now, we need action. [applause] have a captive audience here in this room. we are aware that we have a small window of time before the cameras go away. other than voting, can you something everyone can take away to support our movement? rep. deutch: i can. i can. thank you for asking. >> it was not a joke. rep. deutch: i know and i'm not

about to give you a funny answer. raise your hand if you are on twitter. and the rest of you could probably stand to learn. look, i will be perfectly honest with you. members of congress, just like city commissioners, county commissioners and members of the state legislature, pay attention to what happens when they hear from their community. they pay attention to calls. letters.d and yes, they pay attention to twitter. it would probably send a very powerful message if everyone in this room, and you guys down wouldre the experts, it send a powerful message if everyone in this room would take one discrete measure. hash tag- do we have a for this event?

#town hall for our lives. if we all tweeted with that hash tag at the speaker of the house, paul ryan. to telle thing for me the speaker how important it is for our community that he allows us to vote on universal background checks. is something entirely different if he cares from you. if you tweet to at the speaker, i feel pretty confident that when i go back to washington next week, i will be able to speak very powerfully about what i experienced because in some way, he too, will be experiencing what i am experiencing tonight. @speakerryan. himou respectfully tweet at

that when universal background checks are supported by over 90% of the people in this country, we should have a vote on it on the floor of the house. let us do it now. sure. great idea. we will do it while we take more questions. >> i am not finished. ip. deutch: that is what encourage people to do. tweet add him respectfully and tell him that more than 90% of the people in america want the ground checks. bring it to the floor for the vote. that is a simple message. marchers for life -- stand up. do not be shy. we are the organizers. stand up. you too.

50409 text "march." you can learn what you can do to support our cause. we post updates. 50409. rep. deutch: daniel, thank you to you and thank you to the organizers of the march. i do not want to be discriminatory. for those of you not onto that are coming you can make phone calls also, they are very effective. yes. and leave a message. >> [indiscernible] rep. deutch: is that right? i will let him know that also. >> i am greg pittman and i teach american history at douglas. cassidy was one of my former students. , themore serious note

teachers need continued support just like the students. we are so proud of what our students have done but likewise teachers and other support -- [applause] -- personnel at douglas need help. here tonight. and also to help us deal with what we have dealt with including getting our kids out safely. a couple of concerns. one i mentioned to you earlier. i know the department of law enforcement is supposed to be at douglas. as it has been announced from 6:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night. yesterday morning, they were not there. no one was there when i went in at 6:30 a.m.

were thereg guards but no one was at the gate. that is a concern. some students are worried it is going to far but when i went there.there was no one i have spoken to the administration and called the governor and i am speaking to deaf people. , there isng to school a lack of security. that is a big concern of many of the teachers. i know not all of them may want to speak up. the security is not there that we need. as someone said earlier, questions about the gates, if --re was security there

people could not come in and out of the gates. this is a big deal. you need to do something about this. i am a teacher. the emperor does not have any clothing on. it is a problem that needs to be addressed. the kids are bent out of shape about the backpacks. , i'm worried about people coming on campus that should not be there. we do want teachers to have ids because i have junior classes and i know my 180 or so students this year and kids from last year but there are probably 2800 kids on campus that i do know. don't know if we you are one of our students. we do need more security.

and the perimeter is another area where we need help. with earlier when it was talked about not enough mental health support. need help. teachers and the therapy dogs are still needed. from everybody. i don't know if any other teachers are going to speak up. help and we appreciate anything you can do for us. [applause] rep. deutch: thank you very much. there are still long lines. i will try to go back and forth. if you can just ask your question when you get to the microphone, we will try to field as many as we can.

we will try to take four at a time and then see if we can get through as many people as possible. >> hello, i am christine and a freshman at marjory stoneman douglas high school. first, i would like to start off by doing something someone -- i would like to start off by doing something that no one has done. thanking our teachers at marjorie stone -- at marjory stoneman douglas. [applause] these brave, strong teachers saved many lives that day and even before them. they continue to shape us into the mature fighters we are today. none of this would've been possible without these amazing teachers educating us on how to fight back against injustice and

how to use our voice for good. [applause] these teachers have the power to change lives, shape our futures and yet they do not have the resources to do so. how will you support these teachers through these times when they don't have much pay, the resources to teach your children? they have crosses to big. with they cannot connect each student or even learn their names because we have a lack of teachers. how will you support these teachers through these trying times? rep. deutch: i know is the for everyone of prweb i say that there is unanimity on this stage that what you described about teachers is accurate and teachers deserve to be paid a salary commensurate to the contribution they make to our students. [applause] and if i may, i appreciate you roleg -- talking about the

teachers played in making you fighters. i would like to thank all of the parents in this room and the community who have done exactly the same for their kids. [applause] yes. my name is garry mccarthy. i am an elementary school teacher in broward county and i am so filled with faith with everything i'm hearing from the students. and from you. that public school systems can work. i want to address something quickly. education to me is the answer to every problem that we face including what we are talking about tonight. and the other thing is voting. -- the crossing of education and voters and educating voters. a huge strength. i am volunteering for an organization called the voter

participation project. browardking with the participation project. what can you do to help get people like these in office? we need the right people in office. what are we doing with regard to gerrymandering in broward county? tot are we doing with regard getting the right to vote? we cannot purchase a civil society. maybe we can legislate it. time will tell. thank you to you young people that are making this possible. rep. deutch: thank you very much. andgoing to come over here i will say that there are many good ideas. we will follow-up with you on that. though this was not on the topic

for tonight, i firmly believe that if the united states congress passes the democracy for all amendment that i introduced and get money out of politics, we would be doing more. [applause] yes. my name is steve wind. resident for over 20 years. it is time to adjust the elephant in the room. between30 year period 1984 and 2014, we had an assault weapons ban. the death toll between the 10 years prior to the 10 years with the band was cut in half. and the 10 years the train 2004 and 2014 it more than tripled. deutsch, it is

not going to be easy, the question. bando we get this reinstituted? how do we define what an assault weapon is correctly so we can 2000 -- how do we get those weapons redefined so we can get these killing machines off the streets? rep. deutch: i would say three things. first of all, for the people who say we cannot do anything -- we cannot ever come up with a definition to ban assault weapons because it is impossible , i submit to you that they have

no intention of ever finding anyway. the ban, we know -- was successful. we know weapons of war are opposed by the majority of people in this country and congress just needs the courage to stand up to the gun lobby to do what is right to help keep our communities safe. say -- as would just i offered to senator rubio at the town hall a month and a half ago, if there is a serious willingness to sit down and come up with the correct definitions to satisfy everyone that weapons -- re: legal,t let us sit down and have that conversation. i'm ready to do it tomorrow. but, let me just finish with

this -- the constitutional commission in florida had an opportunity to ban assault weapons up with that on the ballot for 2018 in november. they did not. the florida legislature had an opportunity to been a cell weapons. they did not. i am proud to tell you though that even as we push congress to mythe right thing, and collies will work in tallahassee to do the same thing, we are ballot in put on the 2000 20, a constitutional weaponst to ban assault . if our elected officials outside of those on this stage do not see that there is a clear majority of people who understand that this commonsense step to keep our communities safe is necessary, we will put it on the ballot and let the citizens show them directly.

>> my name is jeremy nürnberg. are now over 11,000 alumni strong. --question is for the people my question is not for the people on the stage. my question is to the students here. what do you need from us? someone please come and tell me after the event. >> my name is angelina and i am a senior. after the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, the rose ina -- fatalities one decade. what are we going to do to put something into place that will keep the hands of civilians off , how do weof war make people understand we are

not trying to take away the second amendment? and that the nra is simply just an interest group and not part of government? [applause] rep. deutch: first of all, we need to bring you to washington. do all of the things we just talked about. look, you are completely right. you stated it clearly and powerfully and in a way that is easy for everyone to understand. i hope you will continue to do that and find as many opportunities as possible to share that with the world.

thank you. yes. >> hello, everyone. my name is jerome. that you all know what spirit week is. it is when all of the groups come together as a community within the school. and you learn about the different things you can do. i am part of an organization called justice democrats. wet i would like to do is have the mom that came out with her new organization, this guy was up. talking about his organization -- there are thousands of organizations across the city. i want to get everyone together. let us have a spirit week for grassroots organization. firsthould not be the

time that i see most of the people in this room. rep. deutch: first of all, i am in. what you describe is exactly what needs to happen. it does not need to start with us. you just start rolling with this thing and you let us know and i end -- and i guarantee that we will help you bring people together. >> whose phone number can i get right now? rep. deutch: i will give you mine. you already have ours. >> hello. i am a senior at american heritage. i was going to ask a question similar to david. for us, i wanted to tell a brief story.

my father grew up in apartheid south africa and he is -- he is a mixed race black man. in that era, he was considered public -- color. era, people like that were not allowed to carry weapons. my father has told me a story many times since this movement has started. how he was protesting apartheid with other people of color, other black people, colored people and asians in south africa and the police came by and they told everybody to stay exactly where they were. and a five-year-old stepped forward and they shot him down. and so this is something i have been keeping in mind in terms of the militarization of the police. a lot of the bozos being this past being disk -- a lot of the

--posals being discussed considering that police -- are we fully considering all of the impact that these proposals before supporting and implementing them not just on a local scale but on a national level? rep. deutch: first of all, thank you very much. that was very powerful. are we? i do not know if we are. we certainly need to. we all have do. if there is any question about that, you don't need to go too far back to his -- but to sacramento in the last week. as the facts come out in that

case, it certainly makes the case that we have to be awfully careful as we are going about any change to ensure that we do it in a way that is fully respectful of everyone in the community and that it works to ensure that everyone in the community is kept safe. , you said wen should but i want to ask specifically what are we going to do about it? not just -- we should. and i know you do not have a lot of time to come up with a whole plant but just what specific point of action can you come up with. what can i: i don't invite you to come into my office to talk about everything that should be in the plan? we are running out of time. may, i would like to

reserve some time for the last few questions for veterans. sir, come on up. and i am sorry if there are others that will not get a chance. >> i am a vietnam veteran. i would like to say to the students, i empathize with you. i also have ptsd. i went to many private psychologist and never got help. i ended up being suicidal. and i got the help i needed. do not allow them to prior cap -- do not allow them to privatize the v.a. deserve the understanding that is provided there. secondly, i want to say to all of you in this room, when i came back from vietnam i was totally disillusioned and joint an organization called vietnam veterans against the war led by senator john kerry. it made a difference. medals on the

capitol steps. you could not see the steps. quadriplegic. what drupal amputees throwing their purple heart's on the steps. it did make a difference. keep it up. we had candlelight vigils. candlelight vigils in front of the white house. it was very disturbing to president johnson at the time. those are my words of encouragement to you. keep it up. it does make a difference. i firmly believe that those of us that protested that were were successful in bringing an end to that word. keep it up. do not dismay. it will happen for you. rep. deutch: thank you, sir. [applause] thank you, sir, for your service

and your passionate advocacy and words of wisdom that i know the students take to heart. two more. >> three. rep. deutch: three. here is what we will do. we will go one, two, and then three and just because you were so demanding, number four. and then, i do not anticipate it will be the same turnout. havenot know the people >> thank you very much, congressman. i want to say a couple of things. one, for any veterans here that have ptsd, southeastern guide dogs, and vets helping heroes, i am on the board of directors. we will get you a guide dog at no cost. at no cost. it will take time but you will get a guide dog. [applause] the other thing is, i am a democrat, and i own guns, and i believe in the second amendment.

i don't want to take anybody's guns away from them. i don't want to take anybody's guns! it's crazy! i see the lies out there that say democrats want to take away guns. that's crazy! i have guns! i don't want your damn guns. rep. deutch: and we are not coming for yours either. >> i want sane gun laws. i don't want to see an ar-15 out there. i mean, that's insane! they asked the man who invented the ar-16 if he ever wanted that to end up in the hands of civilians. he said, are you people crazy? never was that intended to be in the hands of civilians. it is not a civilian gun. it is a gun of mass destruction, simple as that. when the second amendment was written, there was one gun, one musket ball, and one soldier. and they've carried it now to a 30-round clip. it fires as fast

as you can pull the trigger. it's insane! and all you have to do to figure out how we get around this is, follow the money. follow the money! follow where the nra money is going, and then you vote against the person who got it. simple! just follow the damn money! [applause] rep. deutch: thanks. >> rubio got over $3 million. and you wonder why he votes against it? rep. deutch: thank you very much. ma'am? >> hi, my name is debbie hickson. i am chris hickson's wife. [applause] >> i just wanted to take a minute before i left to say to the state legislation, thank you

for what you did in a short amount of time. it is not enough, but it is a start. and it really was because the kids pushed that. we wanted to make sure that we said thank you, we do appreciate it. it was passed by not just democrats but also republicans, and we want to say thank you at the federal level. we also want to thank you for what has been done there. again, it is not enough, but it is a start. we want to be sure that the conversations are not friendly, but in a way that we can compromise. we don't want people yelling against each other, we want it to be so that we can make something work and stick. we do have to ban assault weapons, however, it has to work. it is not about the second amendment it is about what is right and what is wrong. so thank you again. [applause]

rep. deutch: thank you very much. last two, quickly, and then i am told they are kicking us out of the room. yes? >> hi, my name is dave. i am a marine vietnam veteran for peace. [applause] >> tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of dr. king's assassination, and the 51st anniversary of his most courageous speech. beyond vietnam, a time to break the silence. with these poignant anniversaries we are confronted here, in our communities, with how far moral, patriotic, and engaged americans must go to protect and defend our communities. vietnam veterans were expendable. you are not. to the parkland families, and then

i will ask my question, as you grieve your loved ones and friends, i guarantee you, you will heal from this horrific crucible, and laughter will return to your lives. i have experienced and bared witness to this healing as a volunteer for gold star mothers and gold star families, the tragedy assistance program for survivors, and other healing organizations with their tremendous resources. i caution you to protect all of your classmates, the friends, and strangers in your schools and neighborhoods from bullies, cliques, drug dealers, and various predators. please embrace your excruciatingly painful emotions. they will not hurt you. do not suppress them with alcohol, cigarettes, and other unhealthy behaviors.

grieve naturally, cry, and hug each other. then organize strategic alliances, occupy, and create solutions making honorable dents in our communities and nations. our nation for seven generations. most notably, be kind and gentle to yourselves. you are survivors. and you must carry on to protect, defend, and honor the fallen. treasure your lives. semper fidelis. now, for ted, and the others of the national congress who got f's from the bloodthirsty nra. [applause] >> i have never seen a congressman get an f before so i

thought i'd bring it up. what actions will you and your colleagues in washington do to counter the malicious media attacks on these survivors and their families? [applause] rep. deutch: i appreciate the question. i appreciate your service and powerful words. i am sorry that my parents are no longer with us, because this is the first f that they would ever be proud of their son receiving. and i appreciate the serious question. here is how we know that this time is different. we know that this time is different because there are gun lobbyists who are attacking the students

sitting in this hall. we know it is different because there are colleagues of mine in the united states house, who are attacking students for standing up for themselves to ensure that nothing like this happens anyplace else. and, let me just say, that when they do it and when they engage in the kind of outrageous and bullying efforts to silence them, they will fail. it is cowardice and we will stand with the students. [applause] rep. deutch: thank you very much. last question. >> vote them out! hi, my name is

michael. i was born and raised in ft. lauderdale. congressman, we met in d.c. so, i'd like to say how impressed i am by these parkland kids. you inspire me. it is amazing what you have done. but i want to speak about several things that some of the students mentioned and some of the parents. there is a current bill, hr5087, that the judiciary committee is pushing aside and hiding in washington, d.c. a congressman has pushed this into sub-committee. we went in there, i brought my husband in a wheelchair, and it wouldn't even let those double doors open, so we could barely get in there. and they sidelined us and sidelined us. he stormed out. if that bill is still active, it

has a huge list. why can't we try to push that now? why can't we get something done now? it's there! it's in d.c.! rep. deutch: tell us what that bill does. >> it's the assault weapons ban. rep. deutch: right! it's the assault weapons ban that i proudly introduced when i went back to washington after the horrific shooting at stoneman douglas. you are exactly right. we don't have to wait. i am not blaming any one person. i am blaming an institution. >> i think it is paul ryan. [applause] >> these kids going with these backpacks, that's not right. there are things now that our military have that are defensive. one of them is called the boomerang. they use it to triangulate stuff. these things could be miniaturized, you could put them in smoke detectors in schools. it can help be tied into ai cameras. this is

available now off the shelf. we can get smart guns with fingerprint censors. we all have it on our iphone. this stuff is available. i want anyone who knows anyone in technology, i called apple myself, i got nowhere. i am going to join twitter, so i can hit up all the kids there. who said the lego comment, was that sarah? that was an awesome comment! i am so proud of you all. rep. deutch: thank you very much. as i said before, we are

going to do this again next month. i will stick around to answer questions. we cannot do it in here but i will stick around outside and i appreciate everyone for coming. i look before and if i did not i apologize. this community and the students and families need to see the conclusion of these investigations quickly so that

we can find out exactly what happened in the meetings we had with the fbi. it is impossible to believe the calls that came in did not rise to the level of taking action. the fact is that when we tell people if they see something to say something, the fact is, they expect something to happen when it is finished. i am going to stick around. again, the promise program had nothing to do with this. i appreciate the opportunity for everyone coming. i am going to talk to you after, sir, i promise. i

appreciate everyone coming, i appreciate the time that you put in, and most especially, i appreciate what you are doing to help change this community and this country. thank you so much, everyone. >> i want to thank everybody for coming tonight. ted, thank you so much. we will be doing this again next month and don't forget thursday night the team political forum right here. >> this month on c-span, we feature our studentcam contest winners. we asked of le