Amanda Goldsmith was 17 years old when she flatlined in an emergency room from a gunshot wound. She was shot for rejecting a relationship with a man.
“I survived to be a voice for those who do not make it,” she said.
Now, Goldsmith, a 40-year-old Gainesville resident, is calling for stricter gun legislation to end gun violence.
Goldsmith and other Gainesville residents spoke to about 25 attendees outside Gainesville City Hall Tuesday to protest gun violence. Moms Demand Action Alachua County organized the rally that was one of many throughout Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a permitless carry bill, which will get rid of the required application and training to carry a concealed firearm. This was a week after a mass shooting occurred at a Nashville private school. These two events, and many more, prompted the demand for gun violence protests across the state.
The rally began with a group marching from the Alachua County School District building to City Hall.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho, NRA has got to go,” protestors chanted.
Everytown for Gun Safety encouraged Moms Demand Action and other Florida organizations to hold rallies in the wake of rising gun violence and less restrictions on owning guns in the state.
Resli Ward, an 18-year-old Gainesville High School senior, told the crowd she shouldn’t have to create an escape route for her and her sister from school in case of a school shooting. But this is reality for students in the U.S. right now.
“My sister shouldn’t have had to text my family group chat ‘I love you’ after someone mistook an umbrella for a gun at her school,” Ward said.
She called for the government to create stricter gun laws for the generation of students who are terrified to go to school.
Ward noted that most people are against permitless carry bills and they will only create more harm for not only students but also law enforcement officers, she said.
“We are hurt, and we will be the change you refuse to be,” Ward said.
Tina Certain, Alachua County School Board chair, said she believes schools should be a safe environment for students.
“We must continue to educate those around us here in our local community, as well as nationwide, that firearms cause unnecessary pain,” Certain said.
The Rev. Milford Griner, a 64-year-old Gainesville resident, recalled his own experience with gun violence to encourage residents to speak out against it.
A gang tried to recruit Griner 54 years ago, he said. When he said no, the gang shot him a week later.
“Gun violence directly or indirectly affects all of us,” Griner said. “It will take all of us to make a difference.”
Rebecca Darnell, Moms Demand Alachua County legislative leader, said she plans to continue to advocate for stricter gun legislation and against bills such as permitless carry legislation.
“In particular in Florida, in the wake of rising gun violence, Gov. DeSantis and the Republican supermajority and our legislature is continuing to loosen our gun laws,” Darnell said.
Darnell encourages Alachua County residents to get involved with Moms Demand Action, to be informed about gun-related legislation and to take action, she said.
“We are angry, we are outraged,” Darnell said. “We want action.”
Contact Claire at cgrunewald@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @grunewaldclaire.
Claire Grunewald is a fourth-year journalism major and the Spring 2024 Editor In Chief of The Alligator. In her free time, she likes to go to concerts and attempt to meet her Goodreads reading goal.
