X González | |
|---|---|
 González in 2018 | |
| Born | Emma González (1999-11-11)November 11, 1999 (age 26)[1] Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School New College of Florida (BA)[2][3] |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Years active | 2018–present |
X González (bornEmma González; November 11, 1999) is an American activist and advocate forgun control.[4][5][6] In 2018, they survived theStoneman Douglas High School shooting,[7] thedeadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, and, in response, co-founded the gun-control advocacy groupNever Again MSD.[8]
González gave a viral speech againstgun violence, proclaiming "We call B.S." on the lack of action bypoliticians funded by the NRA.[9] Subsequently, González continued to be an outspoken activist ongun control, making high-profile media appearances and helping organize theMarch for Our Lives. Speaking at the demonstration, González led amoment of silence for the victims of the massacre; they stood on stage for six minutes, which they observed was the length of the shooting spree itself.
González was included inTime magazine's100 Most Influential People of 2018.[10]
González was raised inParkland, Florida, a suburb of theMiami metropolitan area.[11] Their mother is amathematicstutor and their father is acybersecurity attorney[12] who immigrated fromCuba to New York City in 1968.[11][13] Gonzalez reportedly has two older siblings.[11]
González graduated fromMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. They served as the president of itsgay–straight alliance.[11] In high school, González was also the tracking team leader on Project Aquila, a mission to send a school-made weather balloon "to the edge of space"; the project was documented by fellow studentDavid Hogg.[14][15] They enjoy creative writing and astronomy but not mathematics.[11]
On the day of the shooting, González was in the auditorium with dozens of other students when thefire alarm went off. They attempted to exit through the hallway but were told to take cover and took refuge back in the auditorium, where they were held for two hours until police let students out.[11]
In the spring of 2022, González graduated with aBachelor of Arts degree fromNew College of Florida.[16][3]
"The people in the government who are voted into power are lying to us, and us kids seem to be the only ones who notice and are prepared to call B.S."[7]
On February 17, 2018, González gave an 11-minute speech in front of theBroward County Courthouse at agun control rally inFort Lauderdale, Florida.[5] The speech was in reaction to theStoneman Douglas High School shooting, three days previously, during which a gunman had killed 17 and severely injured many more.[4]
In the speech they pledged to work with their peers to pressure lawmakers to change the law.[7] "We are going to be the last mass shooting," González proclaimed. "That's going to be Marjory Stoneman Douglas in that textbook, and it's all going to be due to the tireless efforts of the school board, the faculty members, the family members and most importantly the students." The speech notably featured a call and response: "We call B.S.", in response to gun laws, calling for advocacy and empowering young people to speak out against school shootings.[17][18] The speech then wentviral.[4][12][19][20] According toThe Washington Post, González's speech became emblematic of the "new strain of furious advocacy" that sprang up immediately after the shooting.[4]
In an interview withEllen DeGeneres, González said they felt their message would resonate through repetition. "I knew I would get my job done properly at that rally if I got people chanting something. And I thought 'We call B.S.' has four syllables, that's good, I'll use that. I didn't want to say the actual curse words... this message doesn't need to be thought of in a negative way at all."[19]
A recording of González delivering a line in the speech was sampled as the intro forMadonna's "I Rise", released in May 2019.[21]
They and other survivors spoke with Florida state legislators in Tallahassee on February 20, 2018. The students watched the legislature vote down debate on an existing gun control bill.
The students also spoke at an internationally televised town hall hosted byCNN on February 21, 2018.[12] González and others criticized theNational Rifle Association of America (NRA), as well as politicians who accept money from the NRA, as being complicit in the shootings and stated that "you're either funding the killers, or you're standing with the children."[22]
At the town hall, González pressed an NRA representative to clarify their position on guns.[23] "Dana Loesch, I want you to know that we will support your two children in the way that you will not," González said at the town hall. "The shooter at our school obtained weapons that he used on us legally. Do you believe that it should be harder to obtain the semi-automatic and... the modifications for these weapons to make them fully automatic like bump stocks?" Loesch answered González by arguing that mentally ill people should not have access to weapons. González interjected and noted that they had not answered their question. "I think I'm gonna interrupt you real quick and remind you that the question is actually, do you believe it should be harder to obtain these semi-automatic weapons and modifications to make them fully automatic, such as bump stocks?"[23]Shortly after their viral speech and high-profile media appearances, González joined Twitter and acquired more than 1 million followers within a span of less than ten days.[20][24]
González continued to speak out against gun violence.Glamour Magazine called González "the face of the #NeverAgain movement" and "a recognizable icon"[25] whileThe Washington Post called them "La nueva cara of Florida Latinx" ("The new face of FloridaLatinx") and drew comparisons to the revolutionaryJosé Martí.[26]NBC News called them "one of the most visible student activists to emerge from the shooting..."[27] In a nationally televised interview on60 Minutes, González described the idea ofarming teachers in classrooms with guns as "stupid".[28] In March 2018, González was on the cover ofTime magazine along with fellow activistsJaclyn Corin,David Hogg,Cameron Kasky, andAlex Wind.[29] That same month they were profiled byFrance 24.[30]
González and other students, including fellow Parkland survivors Hogg, Kasky, andSarah Chadwick, organized and participated in the nationwideMarch for Our Lives protest on March 24, 2018, with a focus on speakers and a march in Washington, DC.[31] González spoke for six minutes, the length of time of the Parkland shooting, and paid tribute to the victims by mentioning each one by name and giving examples of activities they would never again be able to do. They followed this by several minutes of silence.[32][33][34] González was interviewed onMSNBC at the march, stating people needed to "empathize rather than feel apathy" and calling for young people to register to vote.[35]
In March 2018, theFlorida Legislature passed a bill titled theMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. It raises the minimum age for buying firearms to 21, establisheswaiting periods andbackground checks, provides a program for the arming of some teachers and the hiring of school police, bansbump stocks, and bars potentially violent or mentally unhealthy people arrested under certain laws from possessing guns. In all, the law allocates around $400 million for implementation.[36]Rick Scott signed the bill into law on March 9. Thegovernor commented, "To the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, you made your voices heard. You didn't let up and you fought until there was change."[37]
In May 2018 González met with James Shaw Jr., a man who prevented further bloodshed at amass shooting in a Waffle House restaurant by rushing the attacker and taking away hisAR-15 rifle and saving more lives; both Shaw and González described each other as heroes.[38]
González was attacked for their Fort Lauderdale speech by many from the Republican Party and the political right wing of American politics and press.[39][40] They have also faced derogatory comments made byinternet trolls about their sexual orientation, short hair, and skin color.[41][42] They were verbally attacked by Leslie Gibson, then theRepublican candidate running unopposed for theMaine legislature and lifetime NRA member, who referred to them as a "skinhead lesbian", whereupon 28-year-old Eryn Gilchrist filed papers to run against him, thus providing an opponent;[43][44] Republican former state SenatorThomas Martin Jr., who said that Gibson's remarks did not represent theMaine Republican Party, and that he planned to contact the survivors to commend their courage, also filed to run for the seat. A few days later Gibson himself dropped out of the race.[45][46]
González was the target of a number of far-right conspiracy theories and hoaxes since the shooting.[47] Conspiracy theorists have falsely accused the students, including González, of beingcrisis actors. Benjamin Kelly, an aide toFlorida state RepresentativeShawn Harrison (R-63), was fired after making such accusations.[39][48]Donald Trump Jr. faced criticism for appearing to support the crisis actor accusations.[49] The conspiracy theories spread about González and other Parkland survivors were namedPolitiFact's 2018 Lie of the Year.[50]
Following their highly publicized speech at the March for Our Lives, pro-gun activists doctored fake photos and video showing González ripping up a copy of theUnited States Constitution, spreading them widely oninternet forums and social media.Snopes.com observed that the video was in fact a digitally manipulatedTeen Vogue video of them tearing up shooting range targets.[51]Adam Baldwin defended spreading thefake video, saying it was "political satire".[52]
Republican congressmanSteve King attacked González for wearing a Cuban flag patch on their jacket during their speech, saying in a post on Facebook, "This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet don't speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence their right to self defense."[53] The Cuban flag worn by González was adopted in 1902, fifty years before the communist take over, and has been used by anti-Castro Cuban exiles as a symbol of patriotism.[54] One of the survivors of theOrlando nightclub shooting, Brandon Wolf, responded to King saying "When it was my community, where were you? When it wasSandy Hook?Columbine? Were you on the sideline mocking those communities too? Did you question someone identifying as a mother? Did you question whether people like me were crisis actors?" and "Emma stood for 6 mins and 20 seconds to honor the lives of 17 gone too soon. The least you could do is shut your privileged, ineffective trap for 6 seconds to hear someone else's perspective."[54] In an interview with theNew Civil Rights Movement, Wolf also pointed out that King keeps a Confederate flag on his desk.[55]
King's comments generated fierce condemnation from Wolf, González, and other members of Never Again MSD. In June 2018, as part of theMarch for Our Lives' "Road to Change" tour, gun control advocates and members of Never Again MSD arrived at King's office inSioux City to protest against King. Protesters and gun control advocates berated King for his history of racially charged statements and attacks; González personally denounced King and accused him of racism. King largely ignored the protests.[56][57][why?]
González isnon-binary,[58]bisexual,[11] and usesthey/them pronouns.[59] According toVogue, theirbuzz cut is not a reaction to the school shooting, but rather to Florida's climate.[60] "People asked me, 'Are you taking a feminist stand?' No, I wasn't. It's Florida. Hair is just an extra sweater I'm forced to wear," González recalled. "I even made aPowerPoint presentation to convince my parents to let me shave my head, and it worked."[14] In May 2021, González announced the usage of a new personal name, X (inspired byMalcolm X[3]) citing dissociation with their previous personal name and feminine pronouns.[61][62]
shooting survivors Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg returned to the air ... to advocate for gun control legislation and blame the NRA as well as politicians who accept money from the organization....Gonzalez: 'You're either funding the killers, or you're standing with the children'
[González:] If the teacher dies [and] a student who's a good student is able to get the gun, are they now held responsible to shoot the student who's come into the door? I'm not happy with that.
... Shaw posted a photo of himself with Gonzalez on Saturday, saying he "met one of my heros today". ...
Fogg, a Democratic organizer ... said, "That sort of stupidity really turns people off." Fogg ... hopes someone will jump into the race to challenge Gibson.
SABATTUS — Controversial Republican candidate Leslie Gibson ... insulting several teen survivors of the Florida school shooting, is abandoning his effort to win a state House seat this year.
Gonzalez 18, has been the target of many conspiracy theories since the Feb. 14 shooting
I really don't want people who don't know me assuming that they do know me because of the national narrative, or international narrative, that exists about me.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |