Image by YouTube

By Aiden Pink February 21, 2018

The father of Meadow Pollack, one of the victims of the school shooting last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, attended a listening session at the White House with other Americans affected by gun violence and urged President Trump to act to stop future tragedies.

“We’re here because my daughter has no voice — she was murdered last week, shot nine times,” Andrew Pollack said. “How many schools, how many children have to get shot? It stops here, with this administration and me.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Pollack said that he did not support new gun regulations, but that the president should support new school safety measures.

“It should have been one school shooting, and we should have fixed it, and I’m pissed,” Pollack said, “because my daughter, I’m not going to see again.”

Sam Zeif, a student who survived the shooting but who lost a close friend, told Trump that he supported restrictions on assault weapons like the AR-15 used at Douglas. “The Second Amendment I believe was for defense… but these are not weapons of defense, these are weapons of war,” he said. “I still can’t fathom that I myself am able to purchase one.”

“We’re going to do something about this horrible situation,” Trump pledged at the beginning of the session, adding that he would be “very strong on background checks” and put “a very strong emphasis on the mental health of somebody.”

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount