I believe the March 24 demonstration against gun violence, organized by students from the Florida high school that recently experienced a mass shooting, were a watershed moment in the raging debate on reasonable firearm regulation.

I recall such a turning point relative to the Vietnam War. Protests over the draft-training-to body bag scenario resulted in the eventual end to that shameful waste of young lives.

Unfortunately, not everyone has seen the value in student’s reaction to gun violence. Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, criticized the students, urging them to “learn CPR rather than looking for someone else to solve their problem.” What a hare-brained suggestion! Santorum later walked back his statement a little, acknowledging that CPR would not be helpful way to deal with gunshot wounds. He continued, however, to spout the NRA standard argument, asserting that any government action to curb gun violence was not the right solution because it involves looking to “someone else” to solve the problem.

The “someone else” that the students are looking to, are the president and those in Congress. In our democracy, these are the people we hire to fix such problems. However, those in control place more value on donations they get from the NRA and gun manufactures than they do on children’s lives.

These young demonstrators, and the many millions of people across the country who support their actions, have made it clear to those of the Santorum ilk now serving in Washington: “Shape up and help stop the carnage, or we will elect those who will!”

Eric A. Wild

Lawrence