Gas Masks, Body Armor: Boston Fashion Show Highlights School Shootings
BOSTON (CBS) - A father whose son was killed in the Parkland school shooting hosted a provocative back-to-school fashion show in Boston on Monday.
Manuel Oliver travels the country to make sure his 17-year-old son, Joajuin, didn't die in vain. He and his organization, Change The Ref, hosted the fashion show at Boston's City Hall Plaza.
Young models wore bullet-proof vests, armor and gas masks. Several people including young children wore T-shirts that read "Just (expletive) vote."
"My son is a victim that has a statement," said Oliver, with a message for lawmakers. "It was my kid in February, but it could be their kid today or tomorrow."
Parent Armando Martinez said "it could happen to anyone, anywhere, any school, any age, you know."
Oliver's group aims "to raise awareness about mass shootings through strategic interventions that will reduce the influence of the NRA on the federal level," according to its website.
"Today I'm going to be very graphic, showing how this system is asking us to dress our kids before going to school or even a restaurant or whatever," Oliver said.
Over the weekend, students from across the state marched 50 miles to the Smith & Wesson headquarters in Springfield with the same message. Oliver and his wife were part of the crowd.
"I'm 50 years old, I'm not going to college, I'm not stopping doing this, until the day that I die," he said.