Florida Senate - 2021                (Corrected Copy)    SR 1266
       
       
        
       By Senators Book and Polsky
       
       
       
       
       
       32-01455B-21                                          20211266__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing February 14, 2022, and each
    3         February 14 thereafter, as “Marjory Stoneman Douglas
    4         High School Memorial Day” in Florida, a day of
    5         remembrance for all of those who lost their lives, or
    6         whose lives were forever changed, as a result of the
    7         mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
    8         in Parkland.
    9  
   10         WHEREAS, on February 14, 2018, students, faculty, and staff
   11  at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland arrived on
   12  campus for a school day that began like any other, and
   13         WHEREAS, at 2:19 p.m., Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former
   14  student of the school, was dropped off by an Uber driver on the
   15  east side of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus, and
   16         WHEREAS, the young man was carrying a rifle bag, and
   17         WHEREAS, minutes later, the young man entered the east
   18  hallway doors of Building 12 on the campus, where he removed his
   19  semiautomatic rifle from the bag, loaded the weapon, and donned
   20  a magazine-carrying vest, and
   21         WHEREAS, at 2:21 p.m., the young man fired the first rounds
   22  to the west of the first-floor hallway, striking four students,
   23  only one of whom survived her injuries, and
   24         WHEREAS, in the minutes that followed, the young man
   25  repeatedly fired into classrooms and at those within his line of
   26  sight in the hallway, and
   27         WHEREAS, at 2:22 p.m., the first 911 call was received by a
   28  law enforcement communications center in Coral Springs, and
   29         WHEREAS, that call came from inside Building 12, and
   30         WHEREAS, as fire alarms became active within Building 12
   31  and at various locations on campus, students began screaming in
   32  panic and sprinting from classrooms, and
   33         WHEREAS, at 2:27 p.m., the young man fired his last
   34  gunshot, entered the west stairwell on the third floor of
   35  Building 12, placed his rifle vest and 180 rounds of live
   36  ammunition on the ground, and ran down the stairs, joining in
   37  with a large group of students who were fleeing the campus, and
   38         WHEREAS, in those terrifying 6 minutes from the beginning
   39  of the assault to his exit from the building, the young man took
   40  the lives of 17 members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
   41  School family and wounded 17 others, many of them gravely, and
   42         WHEREAS, those who died were 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff,
   43  an honor student and athlete; Scott Beigel, age 35, a teacher
   44  and coach with a passion for volunteerism; 14-year-old Martin
   45  Duque Anguiano, Jr., an honor student and JROTC cadet corporal;
   46  17-year-old Nicholas Dworet, who was captain of the swim team
   47  and selected by faculty as one of twenty first class graduating
   48  seniors who excelled in academic achievement, character,
   49  community service, and athletic achievement; Aaron Feis, age 37,
   50  a loving husband and a devoted father, coach, and mentor who
   51  always put his family first; 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, who
   52  was a competitive dancer and a volunteer to children with
   53  special needs; Christopher Hixon, age 49, who served in the
   54  United States Navy for 27 years, both active duty and reserves,
   55  and followed his passion for sports to become athletic director
   56  for Broward County Public Schools; 15-year-old Luke Hoyer, known
   57  as “Lukey Bear” to his family, who played for many years in the
   58  Parkland Basketball League and aspired to join the Marjory
   59  Stoneman Douglas football team in the fall; 14-year-old Cara
   60  Loughran, who is remembered as a fiercely loyal, determined,
   61  beautiful soul; 14-year-old Gina Montalto, a Girl Scout who was
   62  an avid reader and a talented artist and who was a member of the
   63  Marjory Stoneman Douglas color guard; 17-year-old Joaquin
   64  Oliver, who is remembered as the most vibrant personality in any
   65  room he entered and as a best friend; 14-year-old Alaina Petty,
   66  a vibrant and determined first-year cadet in the JROTC program,
   67  where she achieved the highest rank possible for a freshman; 18
   68  year-old Meadow Pollack, who aspired to be an attorney and a mom
   69  and who, while small in stature, projected strength and
   70  determination; 17-year-old Helena Ramsay, who had friends from
   71  all cultures, was passionate about environmental issues, and
   72  hoped to join an expedition to find the exquisite pink dolphins
   73  of the Amazon; 14-year-old Alex Schachter, who loved sports,
   74  especially playing basketball and football, and who played the
   75  trombone in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Eagle Regiment Marching
   76  Band; 16-year-old Carmen Schentrup, a National Merit Scholar who
   77  loved to explore the world, especially enjoying national parks;
   78  and 15-year-old Peter Wang, who embodied the values espoused in
   79  the JROTC program — honor, duty, respect, loyalty, selfless
   80  service, and courage — and who was posthumously admitted to the
   81  West Point class of 2025 and awarded the institution’s Medal of
   82  Heroism for his actions to save fellow students on that day, and
   83         WHEREAS, on February 14, 2018, amid the terror and carnage
   84  of that day, there were extraordinary acts of courage by members
   85  of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas family, several of whom gave
   86  their lives in the protection of others, and
   87         WHEREAS, the events of February 14, 2018, at Marjory
   88  Stoneman Douglas High School forever changed the lives of the
   89  students, faculty, and staff who survived the massacre and their
   90  family members, the first responders who rushed to the scene,
   91  the health care workers who tended to the wounded, and all who
   92  witnessed the carnage, and
   93         WHEREAS, out of the tragedy came hope in the scores of
   94  students who survived the attack who joined together in an
   95  attempt to ensure that the events of February 14, 2018, will not
   96  be forgotten and to advocate for the enactment of laws,
   97  policies, and practices that will make our schools safer, NOW,
   98  THEREFORE,
   99  
  100  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
  101  
  102         That we remember the tragic events of February 14, 2018,
  103  and all of the lives lost or forever changed in the mass
  104  shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
  105         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that February 14, 2022, and each
  106  February 14 thereafter, is recognized as “Marjory Stoneman
  107  Douglas High School Memorial Day” in Florida.
  108         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that flags at all state and local
  109  government buildings in this state shall be flown at half-staff
  110  on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Memorial Day.
  111         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
  112  School Memorial Day shall be commemorated, at the Capitol
  113  building in Tallahassee and at gatherings throughout the state,
  114  with the reading of the names of those who lost their lives in
  115  the mass shooting beginning with a moment of silence at 2:21
  116  p.m., the time at which the first shot was fired.
  117         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
  118  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be available for presentation to
  119  the surviving family members of those who lost their lives in
  120  the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a
  121  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.