MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough on Tuesday took issue with his "conservative friends" who are skeptical of the grassroots authenticity of student protests calling for gun control.
A large number of students joined the "March for Our Lives" Saturday, and the effort has been assisted by various liberal organizing groups. Nevertheless, Scarborough said the march was an example of "a bottom-up movement" because of what he saw from his own children and their schools.
Princeton professor Eddie Glaude brought up the marchers by comparing them to the recently deceased Linda Brown, whose case, when she was just an elementary school student, led to school desegregation in the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision.
"We want to celebrate Linda Brown's life, we want to celebrate her example of courage and we hope she's an example for some of these politicians just like the young folk who march for our lives should be examples for them as well," Glaude said.
Scarborough replied by saying no one should mock the "March for Our Lives" students, and he specifically targeted conservatives who have questioned whether the students are really leading the effort to organize the march and other activist efforts.
"By the way, I just got to say to my conservative friends that are mocking these young students, if you really think this is George Soros or some left-wing billionaire that is organizing all of this, I can tell you from my personal experience in my family, I know what happened at all of my kids' schools and it happened automatically and this is a bottom-up movement," Scarborough said.
"It’s pretty darn inspiring," he added.
The "March for Our Lives," which involved survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., registered a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization on March 8, according to a Washington Free Beacon report. The March for Our Lives Action Fund is not required to disclose its donors. It is registered in Encino, Calif., and its registration agent is D.C.-based firm CT Corporation System.
A coalition of liberal activist groups took part in planning and organizing the march, including the Women’s March, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and MoveOn.org. The March for Our Lives Action Fund is even directing donations to Everytown, one of the nation's leading gun control groups.
One of the few facts known about the group is that Jeri Rhodes, an executive with the lobbying group Friends Committee on National Legislation, is listed as its executing officer and governor on its registration. Rhodes was previously Greenpeace’s chief financial officer.
The organization maintains it is "for kids and by kids" on its website. The organization also told potential donors that the money being donated for the march could also be used later to lobby for "comprehensive gun safety legislation."
"Donations to the March For Our Lives Action Fund will cover all expenses associated with the march taking place in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 24th," the site said. "The funds will also be used to fight for comprehensive gun safety legislation at the local, state, and federal level, and will also include voter education, ballot initiatives, and lobbying state legislatures and Congress to protect America's kids."
While the site does not offer specifics on what "gun safety legislation" it will fight for, many of the most vocal student activists and associated organizations have called for legislation to prohibit ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increase the minimum age to buy a gun, and establish more comprehensive background checks. Many, including David Hogg, have also vilified the National Rifle Association.