YouTuber Jake Paul wants to use his social media fame to get rid of gun violence — and he has a game plan to make it happen.
Returning from a two-week hiatus, the vlogger, who made his reputation by posting daily content — complete with his “everyday, bro” catchphrase — went to Parkland, Florida in the wake of the deadly school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School last month. In his latest video, “It’s Time To End School Shootings,” Paul talks to Jonathan “JB” Blank, a survivor of the shooting, and records a Skype interview with Sen. Marco Rubio.
“We don’t want to wait for hundreds of people in Washington, D.C., to pass some laws,” said Paul after interviewing Rubio. “We’re at a point now where there’s people in legislation, people in power, people like me, people like you guys at home watching this … we all want the same thing, and that’s to make schools safe. ”
Instead of waiting for government action, Paul proposed his own five-point plan to curb gun violence:
- Bulletproof windows are a must. “Every family that I talked to talked about having bulletproof windows inside on the doors,” said Paul. “It could have saved five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten lives.”
- Schools need more “resource officers.” “I actually found out from the Parkland commissioner that they have like, 200 something schools and roughly 150 school resource officers,” said Paul.
- Paul called on “big social media companies” to weed out pictures featuring guns. It’s a “moral responsibility,” as the vlogger put it. “I know on Instagram, if a girl posts a picture with her nipples out, it automatically gets flagged and removed from Instagram and reported under a system,” said Paul. “Why can’t we have that same technology with a kid posting a selfie with a handgun?”
- Students need “bulletproof shields that can fit into laptop pouches of backpacks.”
- School checkpoints, which could have stopped the shooter from setting foot on campus.
Gun control measures weren’t mentioned in Paul’s 21-minute video. But he shared some reform measures he’d like to see on Twitter after his clip was posted, including recommending a 6-month training program and banning all gun shows.
Gun Reform changes we need in my opinion.
1. be at least 21 to buy a gun
2. Go through a 6 month minimum course (similar to a drivers license course)
3. Professional Mental Heath evaluation
4. Ban Gun shows now!
5. 30 day wait period after purchase to receive firearm pic.twitter.com/pe7YXgLcR5— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 12, 2018
Paul’s latest video follows in the footsteps of his older brother, Logan, who used his channel to promote suicide prevention causes after coming under heavy criticism for recording a dead corpse hanging from a tree earlier this year.
At the end of his ad-free video — which has already racked up more than 2 million views since being posted on Monday — Paul pledged $25,000 to support the “March for our Lives” in Washington later this month.
You can watch the full video below: