A group of young gun control activists has called on other young people to take action and vote in November’s midterm elections, following a now-viral encounter with far-right Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Speaking in an interview with The Independent on Monday, Voters of Tomorrow (VFT) said the incident involving the right-wing congresswoman last week was yet another example of Republican attacks on American youth.
“They will they will kick teenagers before they take action on gun violence, and I think that is just deeply depressing,” said VFT founder Santiago Mayer, who Ms Greene was videoed telling to “go home”.
During the walking exchange, another activist – 18-year-old Marianna Pecora – had been questioning Ms Greene about her stance on gun control when she was apparently “kicked” out of the way. The incident and footage of it sparked widespread condemnation of the congresswoman online.
“We held our composure. We did not turn to violence as a group of young people, and she was acting quite childishly,” said the young VFT member to The Independent. “And I think that says something about young people deserve to get taken seriously”.
She continued: “And so, for a grown woman who is a member of Congress to act in such a like childish and disrespectful way to people that she is supposed to be representing, I think is unacceptable.”
Ms Pecora and Mr Mayer, 21, were among a number of activists who had been in Washington DC all of last week when they bumped into Ms Greene, a staunch supporter of the right to bear arms who has frequently clashed with those calling for tighter gun laws despite a series of deadly shootings this year in schools.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene, as we said in our initial statement, has spent much of her time in Congress launching attacks against our democracy and the young people who will inherit it like us,” said VFT spokesperson Jack Lobel to The Independent. “And you know I think it’s ironic that we confronted her about gun violence in schools and she literally retaliated with violence”.
Ms Greene said in a series of tweets on Thursday night that the advocacy group members were “foolish cowards (who) want the government to take away guns & the rights of parents to defend their children in schools”.
“You have to be an idiot to think gun control will create a utopian society where criminals disarm themselves and obey the law. ‘Gun-free’ zones kill people,” she added. A spokesperson for the congresswomen meanwhile denied the claims to The Independent on Friday and accused the activists of surrounding her.
In light of increasing Republican attacks on other sections of society such as LGBT+ youth and women’s reproductive rights, VFT’s founder said the coming elections in November and in 2024 were critical for young people.
“Our rights are under attack at every level from the school board to state legislatures to Congress. And if there’s one thing that we know about young people is that we do not like being told what to do or what we can’t do,” he said.
“So we are working very hard to emphasise that young voters need to turn out to protect their rights and to fight for their freedom for bodily autonomy for Educational Rights, where they’re banning books...these are all just assaults on democratic freedoms that young people have known and valued throughout their entire lives, and we’re not going to stand by as default right comes for them.”
