'Where's The Response To The Violent Public Health Crisis?' Parkland Student David Hogg Speaks In Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When a gunman assaulted his school in Parkland, Florida, David Hogg hid with other students in a closet.
Now he's determined to speak out against gun violence.
"My question is, where's the response to the violence public health crisis that we've had since the foundation of our country?" Hogg asks. "When are we going to start talking about it?"
Calling gun violence a public health crisis, Hogg spoke to the American College of Preventive Medicine in Pittsburgh.
"The second leading cause of death to young people in the United States is the accessibility to firearms," says the 19-year old.
"Yet many state web sites that talk about child access prevention and, more specifically, the health risks to youth, don't even mention guns at all."
Hogg spoke with KDKA political editor Jon Delano later Thursday afternoon before meeting students at Taylor Alderdice High School in Squirrel Hill.
He said gun violence was not just about school shootings but neighborhood violence involving too many young people of color.
"I think in a similar way that our culture shifted from seeing that smoking is cool, that's something like sexy, to seeing it as something that's gross."
"I think we have to do a similar thing with violence in every community and realize and teach kids and have that cultural shift that peace is cool, that peace is a way of life."
Delano: "How do you get young kids to realize that a solution to a dispute is not to pick up a firearm and shoot somebody?"
Hogg: "I think honestly a lot of times it comes down to communications skills and speaking to one person eye-to-eye and having a conversation with them."
Hogg cited Pittsburgh-based 1Hood as working to end this violence.
"Teach kids that peace is cool, that peace is a way of life, that we have to implement that on every level to make sure that kids understand that violence isn't a resort to solve your problems. In fact, it only creates more."
But Hogg also blames politicians and the NRA for inaction.
"Regardless of where we come from politically, we all care."
"We realize that it is something that has to be addressed because we see it on the news every day."
"The NRA is the big tobacco of violence in America," says Hogg, comparing it to the tobacco industry that fought against cigarette restrictions for years.
"It's time we X'd them out of this conversation and move on towards treating this as what it is -- a public health issue that can be addressed in multiple ways."
For more information on Hogg's efforts, he encouraged citizens to check out www.MarchForOurLives.com.
