Parkland parents create super PAC to oppose NRA-backed politicians
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A note is seen on the fence of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the mass shooting, in Parkland, Florida. (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Families of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School -- where a former student allegedly killed 17 people in February -- have banded together to create a political action committee (PAC) to counter the National Rifle Association (NRA) and candidates it backs.
The Families Versus Assault Rifles PAC -- or FAMSVARPAC -- aims to “remove the NRA from our political system, and then to amend the National Firearms Act of 1934 to include a ban on assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines,” according to its website.
Jeff Kasky's two children were inside the Parkland, Florida, high school the day of the shooting, WPEC-TV reported. One of his kids, Cameron, has become a March for Our Lives activist since the tragedy. But now, Kasky said, it’s the parents’ turn.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The parents who have been supporting the activist students have been supporting them in any way we can: emotional support, driving them around, giving money for gas and traveling with them,” Kasky told Fox News. “We feel we owe our children an apology for letting the situation get to where the NRA has been allowed to take over portions of our government. This is our way of expressing our need to make amends to the students.”
“We feel we owe our children an apology for letting the situation get to where the NRA has been allowed to take over portions of our government. This is our way of expressing our need to make amends to the students.”
Kasky said he wanted to make it clear that group’s goal is not to “take away anyone’s Second Amendment rights.” He said the organization is made up of a variety of parents -- including some gun owners, such as himself.
“We do not wish to affect the Second Amendment in any way, shape or form,” Kasky said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ultimate goal of the PAC, he said, is to change the National Firearms Act of 1934 to include a ban on the most dangerous firearms. In order to do that, he said, there needs to be more likeminded lawmakers in office. “We need to get the NRA-funded politicians out of office,” he said.
While the PAC will actively oppose certain NRA-backed politicians, it will not support any political candidate, Kasky said.
“We echo the words from the March for Our Lives: ‘Either change the law or change the lawmakers.’ We plan to do both,” FAMSVARPAC said on its website.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The PAC encourages donations of $17, in honor of the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting.
According to the Miami Herald, the super PAC registered with the federal government on May 18 -- the same day 10 people died in a school shooting in Texas.
None of the parents involved with the PAC are receiving financial compensation, Kasky said.