you have no idea what it feels to get back home and not having your son here. >> milestones and memories from parkland, florida. the first graduation after the school shooting. a parent's protest. a parent's pain. >> we realized the day of the funeral how loved he was. >> the missing graduates. >> i wish i could bring her to college with me. >> students finding their way forward. >> these white ones are from the first bouquet of flowers joaquin bought me. >> reclaiming their youth. a community with a new clarity of purpose. >> every day is a struggle, it hasn't gotten any easier. the only thing i could do is fight and make sure this doesn't happen again. >> "parkland: the fight forward" will be right back.

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tonight we return to a grieving community beginning their fight forward. >> this is a moment that as a parent you should be happy. having your kid receiving a diplo diploma. but our story's totally different. >> reporter: that story one of grief and resilience. the olivers' only son was gunned down along with 16 students and faculty in his school nearly four months ago. joaquin was a confident 17-year-old who loved basketball. he was loved by many. friends describe him as the light in the room. >> so comfortable in his own skin. he was just glow all the time. everyone wanted to be just like him. you know? >> here we are. >> reporter: his family says joaquin had been looking forward

to this moment. graduation day atan douglas. >> one thing that joaquin wanted was after receiving his diploma, look in his mother's eyes and show her that he did it. >> reporter: amidst a sea of graduates, patricia oliver. >> accepting for joaquin oliver, his mom, patrice. >> reporter: doing what she never thought she'd have to do. chosen by the family to tabke hr son's place on stage to accept his diploma. >> mothers are very powerful. i don't know if they're stronger or the connection with their son because of carrygt inside their bodies. it has an extra meaning. >> reporter: a moment lost on no one.

>> hopefully that image will make an impact. you have no idea what it feels to get back home and not having your son here. it's an empty space. and it's sad. and you cry. a lot. and you don't sleep well. and you try to fight for an answer that is not there yet. joaquin is -- and i like to use the present, okay? i don't like to say joaquin was. joaquin is. a very friendly, funny guy. great humor. badass. he was a very deep dude. when it comes to conversation and thoughts. and i'm so proud. even after this.

that i can still remember my son the way that i remember him. >> reporter: stoneman douglas senior ariana ortega is grieving the loss of her childhood friend carmen. >> carmen was one of my very first friend whitds moved her. she had this quirkiness that was the key aspect of her personality. carmen, i was positive she was going to enact change in the world. she wanted to find a cure for als. unfortunately, she doesn't have that opportunity anymore. >> reporter: propelled by the loss, ariana headed to the state capitol. 100 parkland students hoping to pressure lawmakers into action. >> yes, ma'am? >> me reprimand driving under the influence. medication for mental illness, drugs. if the mentally ill can't

driving under the influence, why should they have a gun in their possession? >> that's a very good analogy and that's something informing our judgment as we move forward. >> reporter: that same day at the white house, a father who lost his youngest child, andrew pollock. >> i'm not a public speaker. but you get a rage that just comes over you. >> my daughter has no voice. she was murdered last week. she was taken from us. shot nine times on the third floor. all the school shootings, it doesn't make sense. fix it. should have been one school shooting and we should have fixed it! and i'm pissed! because my daughter, i'm not going to see again. my daughter was meadow jade pollock. and she meant the world to me. and she's not here anymore. and she was my baby. she was my princess. she was everything.

so i'm not going to let this happen to another family. like right now, i have the heart of a lion right here. no one could stop me. nobody. >> reporter: those resounding calls for change from parents and students let florida governor rick scott to sign into law historic new gun regulations. >> the governor has just signed a major new bill to beef up school safety -- >> raises the minimum age to buy a rifle and bans bump stocks -- >> should the students at marjory stoneman dugly high school -- you made your voices heard. >> reporter: they're beside him. andrew pollock, who spent weeks advocating for school safety. >> i got 49 more governors to meet up with and say, listen, it's time to be proactive. let's start hardening the schools and be prepared. >> here we are.

and i'm feeling down, i come here, i have his energy surrounding me. and i try to feel better. to fulfill me. these are presents we've been receiving from people. and these posters you see here, that was signed the day of the funeral. it says, joaquin, we love you most. we realized the day of the funeral how loved he was. we never knew the impact he has in others. >> reporter: the olivers are trying to paft way forward, traveling the country installing public art, "we demand." >> i put on the headphones, listen to the music we used to listen to together, start doing my thing.

joaquin is right there with us, joaquin is right there paintini to still have a voice. it's not me being an artist, it's joaquin being an activist. that's exactly what the walls are. some people think, oh my god, he goes out there and makes his walls, where did he get that strength from? no. i'm not. i am not strong. i'm weak. and sad. and angry. >> reporter: they call their nonprofit advocacy organization change the ref, a nod to their son's favorite pastime, a goal to change what they say is corrupt decision-making. >> one of my goals is to be able to erase the relationship between the nra and the politicians that represent us. because that will bring qualified people, unattached to any personal interest, to go ahead and have the debate that will reach the gun control.

>> that is going to be a long, hard fight. but we are committed to have it. >> reporter: the olivers took that fight to washington, d.c., joining their son's girlfriend, victoria, and joaquin's best friend, dillon, at the march for our lives. >> that's the most supportive moment that i've ever had in my life. >> 96 people die every day from guns in our country, yet most representatives have no public stance on guns. and to that we say, no more! >> we were so proud to be part of it. >> reporter: after months of activism and coping with their losses, moments of normalcy and ritual are a welcome reprieve. it's prom night. >> this is a night that i've been looking forward to since the beginning of high school, really.

the whole fairy tale kind of scene and dressing up all pretty, doing your makeup and hair. it's ver sequiny and sparkly. >> he's our son from another home. we love him so much. dillon has been part of this house since he's like probably 5 years old or so. he's joaquin's brother. >> joaquin was planning on taking her to prom. in honor of him, i'm going to take her. >> these white ones were from the first bouquet of flowers joaquin ever got me. he showed up at my door, and he was just sitting there on my step with them in his hands. >> look at you! >> reporter: this necklace also

a reminder of joaquin. >> the necklace was from his baptism. i meant, giving that to tory that day that she can have joaquin very close to her. i want her to feel special. >> reporter: the weight of the tragedy lifted, if for a fleeting moment. >> once we were inside, you just felt the excitement and the positive energy from everyone. the music was playing, they had lights flashing. we had that opportunity to get back to that moment, we wanted to live as high school students as we danced and smiled, enjoyed our senior prom night with our friends. >> reporter: but two weeks later, stability once again quickly interrupted. >> always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here too. >> reporter: another school shooting takes 10 more lives. >> when does it stop? >> reporter: when we come back.

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"nightline." "parkland: the fight forward" continues. byron pitts reporting. >> i was if tn the hallway with friends. about to ask my teacher to sign my year back. i saw he looked a little upset. he told me there had been another shooting in santa fe. >> there has been another school shooting in america -- >> after you hear that, i kind of felt like time froze for a second. it was kind of another burst of a bubble for us. >> reporter: the familiar images. >> there are multiple fatalities --

>> reporter: students shaken outside. >> i kind of felt like it was eventually going to happen here too. >> when does it stop? >> reporter: ten more people gunned down in at least the 22nd school shooting this year. >> at this point, i've learned the importance of just cherishing every second of your life. and every moment of your life is invaluable. as i walk across the stage, i think i'll an little nervous knowing that so many people will be looking at me as my name is called. >> reporter: graduation day has come for the seniors of marjory stoneman douglas. >> you have to put it on me? >> of course, that's good luck. it looks really nice. >> it does look nice. >> it's really a day of mixed emotions. that i really hope that high schoolers in the future don't have to go through. >> strange to see myself dressed like this.

>> i will 100% be thinking of my friend carmen as i walk across that stage. as i wish that she could be walking across it with me. as i wish she could be going off to college with me. carmen will forever be with me. >> ariana ortega. >> matt should be on that stage. joaquin, he should be on that stage. >> reporter: as this chapter comes to a close, students and their families face the age-old question. where do we go from here? >> i was looking at attending stanford. but there was this kind of awakening within me and i think within lots my classmates as well, of the importance of being near those that you love and not

taking them for granted. so i decided that maybe the university of florida may be a better fit for me. the idea of not being able to see them the next day, the next morning -- that's an unbearable thought. >> being sad is not the best option. >> reporter: the olivers say they'll continue pouring their energy into advocacy. with their nonprofit change the ref. >> you don't have to pay the price that we paid to understand what's going on. nobody told me that. nobody gave me that advice. i wish somebody gave to it me. and maybe, maybe i would have started my fight before. the only planet we have. wake up tomorrow and keep on fighting. and survive for 24 hours so we can wake up again and keep on fighting.

when that is going to end, i don't know. >> every day is a struggle. it hasn't gotten any easier. in three months. and i don't expect it for the rest of my life. so the only thing i could do is fight. i opened a not for profit called americans for class. and class, children's lives and school safety. we have a pilot program that we're starting where parents could go to the school and volunteer and just set up a perimeter. in the mornings when they're going to school. then in the afternoon when they're leaving. and i've been in one county where they're going to hire 80 armed security guards and they're mostly going to take veterans and retired law enforcement to get through this cclass, 140 hours, like being an air marshal but for a school.

we need to protect our kids and we owe that to our children to feel safe. >> david hogg and about two dozen protesters stormed this publix to stage a die-in. >> we have to work together to solve these issues. it's a long battle ahead. it's not a democrat or republican battle, it's an american battle. >> reporter: senior david hogg says he'll be taking his political activism on the road. >> over the summer we're going to key congressional districts and making sure the kids affected by this most are able to vote on these issues. we have to make sure the people in power that refuse to take action are no longer in power. >> every 14th will be a date that will scar us forever. but it will by no means push us back. we're not going to stop until we see that changes are made in this country, because that's what we're raised as. we are eagles, we will soar, and we will forever keep our victims in mind, and they will be our motivation to keep going in the future.t when we come

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it was 50 years ago tonight, robert kennedy was assassinated. as we think about the students and families of marjory stoneman douglas high school, we're reminded of senator kennedy's words. "some men see things as they are and ask why. i dream of things that never were and ask, why not?" thanks for the company, america. good night.

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