WASHINGTON – Parkland parent Manuel Oliver was in Washington D.C. on Thursday to file a human rights lawsuit against the United States government.
Oliver calls the action the first-of-its-kind and argues that the country’s gun policy violates basic human rights law, after his son Joaquin was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“This is Joaquin’s basic universal human right to life that is so important,” said Oliver.
The suit explains that US gun policies and the supreme court’s second amendment decisions are inconsistent with the human right to live.
“They claim is that Joaquin Oliver had a fundamental human right to live and the US is obligated under international human rights law to protect that right,” said Jonathan Lowy, Global Action on Gun Violence.
The lawsuit argues that inter-American human rights law requires the government to prevent gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers from recklessly making and selling guns in ways that cause deaths and injuries. As Oliver calls on lawmakers to stop prioritizing gun industry profits over human rights.
“These politicians are not prioritizing this issue, they should, and they must and if they don’t, we’ll force them to do it,” said Oliver.
Earlier this year, Joaquin’s mother, Patricia Oliver, also released a children’s book called “Joaquin’s First School Shooting.” It tells the story of how her son was murdered in the mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
She hand delivered the books to lawmakers in Washington in May.