For the past year, Parkland, Florida has become a community dear to America’s heart. It is a community that represents the very best of America. Diverse, inclusive, and kindhearted. A place where bridges are built as opposed to walls and where everybody looks out for one another regardless of one’s race or creed. It’s these characteristics that made its youth respond to the unspeakable, despicable tragedy that befell Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with admirable strength and courage. It is because of them that the House of Representatives passed sweeping gun safety legislation last week. And now, the GOP-run Senate Judiciary committee will be holding a hearing. We are getting closer and closer to finally curbing the epidemic of gun violence in America, but we still have a ways to go. And one young activist that will be helping lead the fight to get this done is Logan Rubenstein. Logan is currently a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and is the co-director of the March For Our Lives Parkland chapter.

1. Logan, describe what happened through your eyes on February 14, 2018. What did you do when the news first broke and how did you deal with the pain, horror and heartbreak for the rest of that day?

2. This was easily one of the most preventable tragedies imaginable. Why it took so long for security to declare a Code Red despite knowing EVERYTHING about the perpetrator in advance, I’ll never know. Do you the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas feel any safer now than you did 12.5 months ago?

3. If you don’t feel safer now than you did then, why did the Broward County school board vote to retain Superintendent Robert Runcie this week?

4. As the co-director of the March For Our Lives Parkland chapter and as a student at Stoneman Douglas, you’ve had the chance to learn from some of the inspiring leaders that have become household names. But many of them will be headed off to college next year. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned from them and how do you plan to carry on their legacy in your community going forward?

5. One of the major points of emphasis March For Our Lives makes so well is the racial disparity in the attention certain types of gun violence receive. The press treats tragedies like Parkland and Columbine like front-page news, but totally ignore places like the south and west side of Chicago where gun violence claims lives every single day. How can we as ordinary citizens give such communities the attention that the media establishment won’t give them?

6. Recently, your community and all of us in America marked the one-year anniversary of that dark day. What were the highlights during that week of remembrance, what made things hard at first, and how were you all able to pull through despite the pain?

7. This week, the House of Representatives will pass HR1, a landmark piece of legislation to make American democracy function better. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley proposed an amendment to HR1 that will lower the voting age in federal elections from 18 to 16. Do you think 16-year olds have earned the right to vote?

8. What are your thoughts on the current field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates? Who are your favorites and your least favorites and why?

9. Word association game

NRA:

Nancy Pelosi:

Mike Pence:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

Mitch McConnell:

Barack Obama:

Vladimir Putin:

Islam:

10. What should ANYBODY be doing to help March For Our Lives right now, whether they be 7 years old or 70 years old?