A group of Black and Hispanic teens journeyed to the New York State legislature in May to demand stronger gun laws in their state that would end senseless gun-related deaths.
According to the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, the 20 students from New York City’s Jamaica High School wanted to speak to members of the state legislature to rally support for the bill A2217, which imposes additional license conditions and restricts commercial practices in regards to gun buyers and sellers.
In an original video documenting their voyage to Albany, New York, students like Maximus Sampson shared their personal stories with gun violence. The 15-year-old shares his story about witnessing a shooting outside a Brooklyn deli.
The young man tells the videographer that he and his family were riding up the block when they passed a man coming out of a deli. The family heard the bang of a gunshot as they witnessed a man being shot. The blood was everywhere, Max says. The young anti-gun violence advocate says his mother told him to close his eyes so he wouldn’t see the man’s gunshot wound to the head.
“What really traumatized me is that it could happen to anyone in my family. It could happen to me or even worse my little sister,” Max ponders.
