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Photo courtesy of Change the Ref

The NRA Children's Museum is meant to get lawmakers' attention.

When Joaquin Oliver was 12, he wrote a letter to gun owners imploring them to support background check legislation to help prevent gun violence in America. When he was 17, he was shot and killed in a hallway outside his creative writing class at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Oliver's parents, Manuel and Patricia, have been on a mission to raise awareness and reduce the influence of the gun lobby ever since. They founded the gun control advocacy organization Change the Ref and their latest initiative may be their most powerful yet.

gun violence, NRA, gun controlManuel and Patricia Oliver's son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland, Florida, school massacre in 2018.Courtesy of Change the Ref

On July 14, the Olivers took a mile-long convoy of 52 school buses—dubbed The NRA Children's Museum—to Ted Cruz's offices in Houston, Texas, to deliver Joaquin's letter to him.

The empty seats on 51 of the buses represent the more than 4,368 children in the United States that the organization claims would have sat in them since 2020 had they not been killed by guns. The leading bus is filled with memorabilia of children killed in shootings—things like photos of the children, the clothing they wore or things they carried, such as the Nickelodeon backpack of a student from Santa Clarita, California, a girl scout sash from a student in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a piece of construction paper artwork from a student in Newtown, Connecticut.


The reason for the buses representing child gun deaths since 2020 is that, according to the CDC, since that year, firearms have overtaken car accidents to become the leading cause of death in children and teens ages 1 to 19 in the U.S.


That fact is worth repeating. Since 2020, gun violence has been the leading cause of death for children and teens in America. More than car accidents. More than disease. That's mind-blowing.

And the reason for heading to Ted Cruz first? Lawmakers in Texas lead the country in donations taken from the gun lobby, and among those lawmakers, Ted Cruz leads the pack.

gun violence, gun legislation, NRA

The NRA Children's Museum is meant to get the attention of lawmakers.

Courtesy of Change the Ref

“To commemorate this horrific historic moment, we are showing American voters the toll these politicians have taken on our children's lives with this all-too-real archive,” Manuel Oliver said in a statement. “And this is only the beginning. We will not stop with Sen. Ted Cruz. To every politician who has stood by, taken NRA money, and refused to listen to the people they represent: the museum is on the way to honor you next.”

“We want to display, for the voters who keep these politicians in office, the consequences of those choices. We want voters to remember which politicians are in the pocket of the NRA when they visit the polls in November,” added Patricia Oliver. “We urge everyone to join us in our mission to fight for every innocent soul lost to gun violence and to demand universal background checks on gun sales.”

Change the Ref requests that Sen. Cruz immediately renounce all future funding from the NRA and listen to the people's will to enact legislation for universal background checks—commonsense gun legislation that most of his constituents, including those in his own party, support. The Olivers hope that their son's letter will spark a realization that receiving political donations from gun lobbyists like the NRA is not worth an innocent child's life.

Reasonable citizens everywhere share the same request and the same hope.

On April 20, students from more than 2,500 schools nationwide will walk out of their classrooms to protest gun violence.

At 10 a.m. on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, students across the country will drop what they're doing and leave their classrooms behind as part of the National School Walkout.

The walkout is continuing an important national conversation that has begun in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Teens are refusing to let the debate fade from public consciousness until gun laws change.


Students will participate in a variety of activities organized by the leaders of that school's walkouts. While some may return to class —  several school districts have already issued statements saying that not doing so will result in disciplinary action — others will march on their local lawmakers' offices, call on the government for widespread gun reform, and register people to vote.

Some will, in accordance with the wishes of the officials at Columbine, participate in a day of service.

The protests have received widespread support. But one actor went even further to stand in solidarity with America's students.

Photo by Karim Sahid/AFP/Getty Images.

Robert De Niro, a vocal critic of the NRA and now ally to the #NeverAgain movement, has penned an absence note for anyone who's planning to take part in the walkout.

Didn't expect De Niro to be the one to get all those students out of class? He's got compelling reasons.

The letter, shared by the National School Walkout's official Twitter opens with an appeal to educators to understand that they and De Niro want "a safe nurturing environment for [student] education and growth." Then, De Niro outlined all the reasons he's asked educators to excuse his children in the past, making it clear how those reasons are relevant to the walkout.

"Gun violence is a devastating disease," he wrote under the heading of "health." De Niro goes on to make the case that the walkout is an example of good citizenship — "This is what good citizenship is all about" — and education.

"What an opportunity to teach these kids history by encouraging them to make history," De Niro stated. "Let them learn about the American tradition of protest for change as they experience it."

Would most principals accept this letter? No. But it's an urgent reminder to stand with the students.

The walkout is important. There's no argument about that.

But it's not about just a call for change; it's a demand that, as a country, we don't become desensitized to gun violence. The walkout's creator, high school sophomore Lane Murdock, lives just miles from Newtown, Connecticut, the site of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. She said the idea for the walkout came to her after she realized that her own reaction to the February 2018 shooting at Parkland wasn't one of sadness or fear.

"I really felt quite numb to it. Our whole country is pretty desensitized to gun violence and once I realized I was, too, it really scared me," she told USA Today. "I was no longer surprised that people were dying. That shouldn't be the case."

Survivors of gun violence call for change at the March for our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. in March 2018. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

De Niro's note is a good start, but here's hoping that parents and adults see it and decide to write notes of their own — or, even better, also sit down with their teens to discuss what the walkout means and the impact that young people can have in the world.

"Keeping up the momentum is important," said Murdock. "We saw that low after March for Our Lives, but students aren't quitting on this. Our generation is demanding change and won't be ignored or swept under the rug."

David Hogg knows a thing or two about boycotts.

The 18-year-old Stoneman Douglas High School senior and Parkland shooting survivor has put Fox News host Laura Ingraham in the hot seat after orchestrating a hugely successful boycott of her show.

Before that, he helped bring attention to companies that have business deals with the NRA, leading to some companies like Hertz to end those partnerships.


Now he's calling out some of the country's biggest investment firms for enriching the gun industry.

On April 17, Hogg tweeted to his 700k followers that Vanguard and BlackRock "are two of the biggest investors in gun manufacturers; if you use them, feel free to let them know. Thanks," adding “#BoycottVanguard #BoycottBlackrock,” in a series of follow-up tweets.

This is far bigger than his boycott of Laura Ingraham because it affects millions of people with retirement funds — probably including you.

According to some estimates, around 90 million Americans invest in gun manufacturers through their retirement plans, resulting in $1.51 billion in yearly earnings for the industry. That means the average American with a 401(k) plan has around $17 invested in gun manufacturer stocks, whether they know it or not.

Both Vanguard and BlackRock are major contributors to this phenomenon. Blackrock is the leading shareholder of at least two gunmakers — Ruger and American Outdoor Brands (formerly known as Smith & Wesson) — as well as the second-leading shareholder in Vista Outdoor, which carries a number of firearm-related companies under its corporate umbrella. Vanguard is right behind, as the second-leading shareholder in Ruger and the third-largest holder in both American Outdoor Brands and Vista Outdoor.

Simply put, if Hogg and his supporters can convince Vanguard and BlackRock to reduce or divest their gun stocks, it would have a major impact on the industry.

BlackRock is now offering customers a fund free of gun investment and said it's talking to gun manufacturers.

Both companies pushed back against Hogg's boycott call without specifically criticizing Hogg or any other student activists.

BlackRock has already created an investment plan for customers that is specifically free of stocks tied to gun manufacturers and said it has engaged with some of those gun manufacturers about public policy issues surrounding gun safety in a larger reassessment of its relationship with those companies following the Parkland shootings.

Vanguard also released a statement claiming that "359 of its 388 funds do not directly invest in ... Ruger, American Outdoor Brands, or Vista Outdoor." They noted that customers can request an investment fund that does not contribute to gun manufacturers and echoed BlackRock's decision to engage directly with gun manufacturers over policy discussions.

"Importantly, Vanguard is taking action, meeting with the leaders of gun manufacturers and distributors," the statement read. "We want to know how they will mitigate the risks that their products pose and how they plan to help prevent such tragedies from happening again."

If you're unsure where your retirement funds are being invested, here are two guides that can help you ensure your funds aren't going to gun companies.

As awareness of corporate responsibility grows, Hogg is proving that our retirement funds don't have to come at the cost of others' lives.

Hogg is showing activists and concerned consumers alike how they can use their voices and their wallets to affect the gun violence epidemic in the U.S.

While progress continues to stall on actual gun safety legislation, businesses and larger corporations are not immune to economic pressure. Investing in gun manufacturers has been good business for fund managers, but it certainly isn't the defining source of their income.

So if the boycott continues, it could prove to be a headache that far outweighs any financial gain they previously enjoyed.

The NRA is running out of places to hide. Even a Fox News poll found people are losing faith in the group.

There could hardly be a more favorable place for the National Rifle Association to have its popularity tested. Instead, a new poll commissioned by Fox News found that the NRA's approval has dipped to 49%, down from 56% in 2013. Negative views of the group have also risen to a "record high" of 45%. The NRA's popularity is even dipping among gun owners, dropping to 67% from a high of 71% in 2013.

At the same time, 90% of gun-owning households support expanding background checks to include sales at gun shows and private sales.


The message is clear: Now that the March for Our Lives has gone down as one of the most widely attended protests in American history, the NRA is becoming less popular as it continues to stand in the way of near universally supported gun policy reforms.

Meanwhile, it's been a great week for Planned Parenthood.

Fox News, other conservative media outlets, and virtually all Republican politicians love attacking Planned Parenthood. Yet, the Fox poll found that the health care services provider is very popular — perhaps even more popular than the NRA. Of those surveyed, 58% said they support Planned Parenthood. This sentiment has been mirrored in other polls, like this one from NBC News, which found that 52% of people support Planned Parenthood (while only 25% oppose it).

Beyond that, federal funding for Planned Parenthood remained in the 2018 budget just signed by President Donald Trump (whose harsh statements about the group have been fundraising gold).

On March 27, Trump tried to stir up a toothless commentary, pitting Planned Parenthood funding (which, again, he approved) against the public outcry about school shootings.

But guess who was even less popular than the NRA in that Fox News poll? That's right, Trump. Only 44% approved of his job performance in the poll.

These polls challenge the idea that the NRA is too popular defy.

The NRA remains arguably the most influential lobbying group in Washington, D.C. Gun ownership is increasingly divisive, but the NRA still claims to have 5 million members, which in turn fuels money to elected officials and candidates for state and federal office.

However, recent events show that the NRA is far from the invincible force it once appeared to be. If Planned Parenthood can be constantly challenged by lawmakers and other interest groups while remaining popular with a majority of voters, then the NRA must also stand up and face a public that increasingly wants reform and transparency.

Our democracy is strongest when power is checked — and gun policy is no different.

Planned Parenthood and other progressive organizations must constantly defend themselves against critics and those actively trying to defund them. Much of that criticism is unwarranted, but it's also clear they have learned to not only survive but thrive under the microscope of public opinion. Whether it succeeds or fails, the NRA should be no different.