Behind the scenes: Florida students work to take Never Again movement nationwide
CBS News has been behind the scenes with the Florida school shooting survivors and their parents as they bring the "Never Again" movement nationwide. Student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took a long-term step by moving into their first official office space.
"This is definitely not going to be our last. We're probably going to need a bigger one than this within a couple months, if not, weeks," senior and activist David Hogg said. "It shows what we are doing is getting some support and we're really organizing this into a full-fledged effort."
Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter, Jaime, in the massacre, called the students "heroic" Monday.
"They have fought for their right to go to school and live. Having now gotten to know all of these parents, they are my heroes also. We are all going to stand strong and we are all going to continue to fight," Guttenberg said.
Senior Emma Gonzalez, who has also been vocal in the movement, was sitting at a basketball memorial game for 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver, another student killed in the shooting. Oliver's parents revealed Sunday that he was buried in wearing a Dwayne Wade basketball jersey.
"We're all out here celebrating his memory and low-key advocating for a change," Gonzalez said. "It's a in-your-local-park activism. You don't have to be at a rally in front of TV. You can be in your own neighborhood park telling people to get out there and vote."
After losing his daughter, Alaina, in the shooting, Ryan Petty headed to the state Capitol in Tallahassee to "talk with anybody who has any doubts about this legislation."
"I think we are making an impact. I do. But we need help," Petty said. "We've had to relive the deaths of our daughters multiple times today. It's been heartbreaking to go through that again to try to set politics aside to get this bill passed."
Florida State Senate narrowly passed a bill on Monday that would create new restrictions on rifle sales and allow some teachers to carry guns in schools. On Wednesday, Florida House lawmakers voted to finalize the passage. It's now headed to the desk of Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
"On behalf of all the families who have lost a loved one on February 14th, I want to thank the governor for his tremendous support and we stand united in asking him to sign this historic bill into law," Andrew Pollack said in a press conference after the bill passed. Pollack lost his daughter, Meadow, in the shooting.
Scott has not said yet if he will sign it.
