People say that the youth are our future. We are here to show that we are the present. We will not wait until society decides we are old enough to take on the issues that affect our lives. Now is our time, and we are prepared to take on the nation’s top leaders to make our voices heard. Our generation has grown up watching school shootings destroy lives and then get swept out of the spotlight. We refuse to let this happen again.

We looked to history and an earlier generation of young leaders who fueled real change. In 1965, civil rights leaders organized the multi-day, 54 mile Selma to Montgomery marches. Those 54 long miles took us a long way toward progress, and are the inspiration for our march.

We started 50 Miles More to keep the national demand for gun reform going after the March 24th March for Our Lives events were over. Our first march was a four day, 50 mile march from Madison to Janesville, the home of House Speaker Paul Ryan. It was directed at Paul Ryan for his lead role in blocking and burying any chance of gun reform again and again. Now we are ready to keep the pressure on our nation’s top leaders until gun reform is a priority for Republicans and Democrats. We are not afraid. We fear being shot in our own schools and neighborhoods much more than we would ever fear the NRA or the politicians they support.

It has been 19 years since Columbine, and we are still waiting for real change to be made. We are tired of waiting. Adults have said that nothing can be done, but students are finding a way. Our brave peers from Parkland are already having a huge impact in Florida and across the country, and we aim to do the same in our communities and across the nation.

It is our time as the next generation to recognize and seize our power, to join our voices together and demand real and visible change. We have taken our demands to Paul Ryan and encourage other youth to take the fight to their members of Congress who would rather have money from the NRA than back legislation to save lives. We are inviting our peers across the country to join us in this fight — #50More in #50States

Standing in solidarity with the Parkland students and young people across the United States, we will keep the national spotlight on gun reform through our continued engagement with youth in all communities as they take on their elected officials — so that no child will live in fear of gun violence.  And this is just the beginning.

We commit to taking the fight to Congress, the White House, state legislatures, and the ballot box. We will demand reform. And if our leaders fail to deliver, there will be a reckoning on Election Day all across the country.

We commit ourselves to making this an intersectional and inclusive organization and honor the diversity of experiences and perspectives that students across this country will bring to strengthen our cause.

We believe that young people in every neighborhood and community should enjoy some very basic freedoms:

• Freedom to go to school without being shot.
• Freedom to walk our neighborhood streets without being shot.
• Freedom to go to the movies without being shot.
• Freedom to go to parks or playgrounds without being shot.
• Freedom to go shopping without being shot.
• Freedom from living in fear of being killed. Period.

• Military-style weapons, and all weapons of war, should be banned from civilian society.
• All accessories that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons, such as bump stocks, should be banned.
• Four day waiting period on all gun purchases.
• Require background checks on all gun sales.
• Raise the legal purchasing age of all guns to 21.