Students across the nation are taking to the streets Saturday for what they’re calling the March for Our Lives. The main event is in Washington, D.C., but satellite rallies are taking place in cities such as Des Moines.
In this edition of River to River, Ben Kieffer talks with one of the Iowa organizers, Isabella O’Connor, a junior at Roosevelt High School. She says young people want changes made to the country’s gun laws.
“Creating a three-day background check with a three-day waiting period; we want universal background checks; we would like to see AR-15s banned, as well as high-capacity magazines and bump stocks; we would also like to see an increase in mental health services across the nation.”
O’Connor says she believes tomorrow’s rallies and marches will make a difference in attitudes toward guns.
“We know when children have to get involved, something is about to change. Because when the youngest generation changes, we’re going to inspire the older generations to change, as well.”
Other conversations during the hour include interviews with: IPR correspondent Dean Borg on the proposed Iowa Regents funding cut at the statehouse; ISU Greenlee School Journalism and Communications professor Michael Bugeja talks about the Cambridge Analytica scandal involving Facebook; Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, the youngest of the Sullivan brothers remarks on the discovery of the USS Juneau; Iowa Feed First board member Lynette Richards remembers the life and legacy of Sonia Kendrick; and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer and New York Times best-selling author, talks with Kieffer ahead of his visit to Iowa.
