The radical gun control group Moms Demand Action, founded by far-left activist Shannon Watts, is facing mounting backlash on social media after the organization politicized a vigil on Wednesday night for the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting.
The Daily Wire reported Thursday morning that students stormed out of the vigil after Democrat politicians and Moms Demand Actions’ Laura Reeves “heavily politicized” the event, in the words of a student who was in attendance.
Reeves suggested to students that they should be like her and work to elect anti-gun Democrat lawmakers and that they needed to register people to vote in the upcoming election, lead walkouts and demonstrations, write op-eds, raise money, and use social media to push for gun control.
Twitter user Jeff Doser, who says his son attends the STEM school, wrote on Twitter: “My son attends Stem and was there yesterday. I took him to a ‘vigil’ tonight at one of the Highlands Ranch High School. It turned out to be a political anti-gun violence event with Colorado Senator Michael Bennett and Rep James Crow. All the Stem kids walked out.”
Twitter user Lucy Sarkissian, who says she is a student at STEM, wrote on Twitter: “as a student there we did not. we were there to mourn our classmates and school. They came up and started ranting about gun control and forced STEM kids out.”
KDVR reporter Ashley Michels, who was at the event, tweeted: “According to students and parents at HRHS vigil, students stormed out in protest because they say gun control advocates were trying to get STEM students to talk about gun control policies during the vigil instead of talking about their classmates.”
Hunter Pollack, whose sister Meadow was killed last year in the Parkland shooting, tweeted: “Democrats couldn’t even wait until the body was buried to politicize the shooting; pushing their useless gun control agenda. Unlike Parkland, the STEM students refused to listen. They walked out chanting ‘mental health,’ which we must start focusing on.”
Kyle Kashuv, who was in the Parkland shooting, tweeted: “BREAKING: Students from the STEM school walked out of vigil turned gun-control rally. Refusing to have their trauma be politicized. This is disgusting from the Left. Within ONE day they are already pushing their agenda. Let the kids mourn and grieve.”
Kashuv added: “I’m seething, this is a new low. Wow. Pushing a political agenda *ONE* day after a school shooting is disgusting. Let the kids mourn and grieve. Have some dignity. One day. What the hell.”
Another Twitter user, who goes by the name Habakkuk Girl and says she was at the event, wrote on Twitter: “I was there. It was a TOTAL ANTI-GUN political rally run by adults. And a free political speech for Jason Crow and Michael Bennett. STEM students walked out in protest & then they came back in and took the microphone from the activists. They were righteous and they were awesome!”
Twitter user Nick Cavuoto, who says his brother was at the event, confirmed what other students had said about Reeves heavily politicizing the event. Cavuoto tweeted: “100% true. My brother was there. 1.) The students wanted to talk and 2.) mourn together about the friend they lost. Not listen to politicians or their agendas.”
5280 Magazine writer Robert Sanchez tweeted: “It’s going to be interesting to see what happens now after the STEM walkout at the HRHS vigil tonight. Remember, this is a charter school, not a traditional public school. I know people whose kids attend there. From my conversations with them, they are not gun-control advocates.”
Reporter Kevin Beaty, who was at the event, tweeted: “They demanded that they be allowed to speak. An adult said to the crowd, “You will not speak to the media…this is not who we are.” Then they stormed out, yelling that they’d been made into political pawns for gun control.”
Neither Shannon Watts nor Moms Demand Action have apologized for their politicization of the vigil.