In "The Tonight Show's" first full episode since the Parkland high school shooting, Jimmy Fallon praised the student survivors and explained how he plans to help:
After expressing sympathies for the students and teachers who lost their lives when a 19-year-old gunman tore through the school on Feb. 14, Fallon explained why he's been so in awe of the student survivors.
"I think what the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are doing is unbelievable," he began his monologue.
Fallon continued (emphasis added):
"They're speaking out with more guts, passion, conviction, and common sense than most adults. They're high school students. It's beyond impressive. That strength that they have, it's inspiring. They're angry, and they're doing something about it and creating change. This is a real revolution."
Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, addresses other teens after a nationwide walkout to protest gun violence. Photo by Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images.
In his monologue, Fallon said he'll be joining Parkland students at the March for Our Lives alongside other activists and celebrity supporters.
In the wake of the shooting — which left 17 people dead and injured several others — Parkland students have rallied a sustained push for common sense gun control solutions. They've been praised for their bold truth-telling during media interviews, passionate speeches demanding change, and social media activism calling on politicians to act.
"If all our government and president can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it's time for victims to be the change that we need to see," student Emma Gonzalez told a crowd of listeners in a rousing speech that's since gone viral.
Parkland student Emma Gonzalez. Photo by Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students are also largely behind the planning and executing of the March for Our Lives demonstration scheduled for March 24 in Washington, D.C. — a protest pushing for legislative answers to gun violence. The demonstration has gained support from several stars, including Oprah Winfrey, George and Amal Clooney, and Fallon.
"I stand behind you guys, and I will be marching alongside you with my wife and two children in D.C. to show our support," Fallon concluded in his monologue. "To every one of you who is speaking out, thank you. I'll see you March 24."
Learn more about and support the March for Our Lives.
