In the last issue of The Jetstream Journal, many articles relating to the Florida high school tragedy were published, and here’s what has happened as a result.

In the days immediately following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman-Douglas High School, President Trump wrote a tweet blaming the shooting on the FBI being too involved in the Russia investigation to focus on the threats and warning signs shown by the shooter. “Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign – there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!” he tweeted. Florida legislators also voted “No” on a petition to discuss gun-control in the days following the harrowing incident.

Since then, there have been national ripples related to guns and gun control. The NRA has lost support from many companies across the nation. Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Allied Van Lines, North American Van Lines, Avis Budget Group, Hertz, Enterprise Holdings, MetLife, Chubb, Teladoc, TrueCar, SimpliSafe, Symantec, Best Western, and Wild Apricot have all joined the “NRA boycott” in support of change. The NRA reacted by lashing out at these companies but still has not changed their views on automatic rifles.

Just this week a law was passed in Florida, by their Republican Governor Rick Scott, which raises the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, makes bump stocks illegal, allows for the training and arming of teachers, implements a mandatory 3-day waiting period on any gun purchases, and makes it easier for police to confiscate weapons and ammunition from people whom the police have deemed as a threat or possible threat. President Trump has shown his support for laws such as this, although he hasn’t raised the national age for gun purchases to 21. Many states have enacted similar laws since February 14th. Just an hour after the bill was passed, the NRA sued the state of Florida for violating the 2nd and 14th amendments and states that the new age restriction (which is already in place for many other types of guns) stops young people from being able to protect themselves from criminals, who are often 21 and over. The issue is, that these “violations” aren’t against the Constitution and have already been considered in other laws, so these complaints, while being valid, are not going to win them a lawsuit.

During the past month, teenagers across America are coming together and participating in school walkouts. Students at Air Academy participated during the National Walk-out on March 14, exactly one month after the shooting, and it lasted for 17 minutes to honor each of the 17 lives lost. Nearly 150 people participated, some holding signs that read “Arms Are For Hugging”, “Am I Next?”, “Protect Kids, Not Guns” and “Books not Bullets.” On the other side, signs included messages such as “Gun Control Laws Aid Criminals”, “Support the 2nd Amendment, Protect the Kids” and “Saying Guns Kill People Is Like Saying Cars Drive Drunk.”

Another interesting revelation is that one of the police officers on duty at the high school did not react or enter the school in the midst of the shooting. Deputy Scot Peterson, who was under investigation for failing to protect the students, resigned on February 22nd to remove himself from the public scrutiny he was receiving. The school superintendent, Robert Runcie, was fuming about the whole incident. “I’m in shock and I’m outraged to no end that he could have made a difference in all this,” Runcie said recently. “It’s really disturbing that we had a law enforcement individual there specifically for this reason, and he did not engage. He did not do his job. It’s one of the most unbelievable things I’ve ever heard.” Two other deputies were being investigated for the way that they handled probable threats and bad behaviors from the shooter.

This issue is unlikely to go away, and many hope that progress will be made to help prevent these types of tragedies.