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Florida shooting: Gun control debated under #WhatIf hashtag

Tom GerkenBBC UGC & Social News

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"What if all students spoke up about gun reform?"

This is the type of question being posed on social media by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead.

A video posted by student Jaclyn Corin has been viewed over a million times as she asks politicians to "value children's lives, not dollars", and encourages others to pose "what if" questions of their own.

This follows the #NeverAgain movement, which made international headlines when Parkland student Emma Gonzalez gave an impassioned speech arguing for tougher gun controls.

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Fellow survivors of the school shooting have also uploaded videos on social media using the hashtag #WhatIf.

"What if politicians actually listened to the concerns of my generation?" asks Madie Leall in her video, adding: "What if civilians could not access assault weapons?"

Dylan Kraemer asks: "What if politicians stopped taking money from the NRA (National Rifle Association)?"

Other students across the United States have joined the debate by posting similar #WhatIf questions of their own. In Rob Anderson's tweet, he asks state legislators to "tax the heck out of gun manufacturers and gun sales".

Another user on Twitter asked for politicians to put children first:

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But this has proved to be a point of contention, with pro-gun advocates posting #WhatIf questions of their own in response.

One person used the hashtag to defend the NRA.

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A second Twitter user agreed, asking: "What if you mess with our rights to the point we have NO rights?"

One user countered the NRA argument by asking: "What if you clowns started using your brains and directing your grievance in the right place! The NRA has no authority in our government".

But other users were quick to argue that the NRA "has power because they have money".

The online debate led actor Mark Ruffalo to give his thoughts on #WhatIf.

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