Who is Parkland shooting survivor X Gonzalez?
In February 2018, Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people.
Emma González, now called X González, was among the students who survived the attack and they have spoken about the experience ever since.
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Who is Parkland shooting survivor X González?
X González, who uses she/them pronouns, is an activist and advocate for gun control.
They were born Emma on November 11, 1999 to Jose and Beth Gonzalez but later changed their name.
“My name is Emma González, but I’ve decided to call it ‘X’ now because I really don’t want people who don’t know me to assume they know me because of the national or international narrative that exists about me ‘ González explained via Sun Sentinel during a 2021 appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
“I don’t want people to think they’re my friends just because they know my name.”
González later explained their gender identity and revealed that they were “not a girl.”
“[It]is also somehow related to my gender,” González continued.
“I realized that I’m not a girl and that I don’t like it when people call me by their pronouns or when they mistake me for a girl.
“And Emma as a name just became such an identity that I really distanced myself with it. So I have ‘X’ as a sort of ‘I’m reclaiming my own identity’ and when you see me don’t assume you know me, just assume you see, like , a person. “
Since the shooting, González has graduated from college and co-founded the gun control advocacy group Never Again MSD alongside David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind and Sarah Chadwick.
González often posts about her work on Twitter to over 1.3 million followers.
What did X González say about the shooting?
Shortly after the shooting, González attended a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, where they called for a change.
“Every single person up here today, all of these people, should grieve at home. But instead we stand together up here because if our administration and our president can only send thoughts and prayers, then it is time that the victims are the change that we need to see,” González said on CNN.
“Since the time of the Founding Fathers and since they added the Second Amendment, our weapons have evolved at a speed that makes me dizzy. Weapons have changed, but our laws have not.
“We certainly don’t understand why making plans with friends over the weekend should be more difficult than buying an automatic or semi-automatic weapon.
“You don’t need a permit to buy a gun in Florida, you don’t need a gun license, and once you’ve bought it, you don’t have to register it. You don’t need a permit to carry a concealed rifle or shotgun. You can buy as many weapons as you like at once.
“I read something very powerful to myself today. It was from a teacher’s point of view. And I quote: ‘When adults tell me I have the right to own a gun, all I can hear is my right to own a gun outweighs your student’s right to life. All I hear is mine, mine, mine, mine,” they added.
In a 2023 essay for The Cut, González took similar views, calling again on Congress over the lack of gun control laws.
“It’s been nearly five years since my classmates and I first marched, and it’s hard not to feel like things are pretty much the same,” González wrote.
“…The failings of our administration are all too easy to see…President Biden himself supports a ban on assault weapons, but he doesn’t have the votes he needs — and that was before the Republicans took the House back.”
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Who are the victims of the Parkland shooting?
The 17 people who lost their lives in the Parkland massacre include:
- Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
- Martin Duque Anguiano, 14
- Scott Beigel, 35
- Nicolas Dworet, 17
- Aaron Feis, 37
- Jaime Guttenberg, 14
- Chris Hixon, 49
- Luke Hoyer, 15
- Cara Loughran, 14
- Gina Montalto, 14
- Joaquin Oliver, 17
- Alain Petty, 14
- Pollock, 18
- Elena Ramsay, 17
- Alexander Schachter, 14
- Carmen Schentrup, 16
- Peter Wang, 15
After the shooting, Cruz spoke to a psychologist and explained why he chose Valentine’s Day, revealing that he wanted to “ruin it for everyone.”
“I thought nobody would love me,” Cruz explained via the Associated Press.
“I didn’t like Valentine’s Day and I wanted to ruin it for everyone.”
Cruz has since pleaded guilty to murder and was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.