Parkland Teens to Launch national Bus Tour Urging Opposition to NRA

Politico reports the survivors of the Florida school shooting announced a national March for Our Lives bus tour on Monday designed to promote voter registration among young voters and encourage them to "stand up to the NRA."

The tour, which willstartJune 15at a peace march in Chicago, is a continuation of the massive national rallies the teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School helped organize onMarch 24. The teenagers catapulted to become the face of the anti-gun movement after 17 people were killedFeb. 14at their Parkland, Fla., high school.

"We do not have to surrender to dirty, awful politics. We can make it better," said Cameron Kasky, a student activist, during a livestreamed press conference. Kasky was surrounded by about two dozen teens wearing black "Road to Change" T-shirts.

The tour will include a voter registration drive. Organizers said they want to educate young voters about "critical reforms needed that will save lives," and "whether their local candidates and elected officials support those reforms or, instead, support the NRA."

Organizers said March for Our Lives students have more than 50 planned stops in more than 20 states organized through August. They say the tour is backed by national partners that include Rock The Vote, Headcount, NAACP, Mi Familia Vota and the Town Hall Project.

Other students from the group will also hold a separate, simultaneous tour in Florida, with 27 stops scheduled to hit every congressional district.

Separately, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is chairing a federal school safety commission. Members of the publiccan sign up to speakat ahearingon Wednesdayat the Education Department.

The commission is considering a number of issues, including violence prevention strategies in schools, enhanced school security and a rescission of an Obama-era directive aimed at tackling racial disparities in school discipline practices.

DeVos and President Donald Trump have stirred controversy with their support for the arming of highly trained school employees, including teachers.

By Kimberly Hefling