One after another the school students are falling victims to shootouts. The catalytic one was the Florida, Parkland shooting. And now the students march to the White House against the present gun laws.
Chanting “never again,” hundreds of thousands of young Americans and their supporters answered a call to action from survivors of last month’s Florida high school massacre and rallied across the country on Saturday to demand tighter gun laws.
In some of the biggest US youth demonstrations for decades, protesters in cities nationwide called on lawmakers and President Donald Trump to confront the issue.
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At the largest March For Our Lives protest, demonstrators jammed Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue where they listened to speeches from survivors of the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
There were sobs as one teenage survivor, Emma Gonzalez, read the names of the 17 victims and then stood in silence.
Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared out over the crowd for the rest of a speech that lasted six minutes and 20 seconds, the time it took for the gunman to slaughter them.
The massive March For Our Lives rallies aimed to break the legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings like the one in Parkland have become frighteningly common.
“Politicians: either represent the people or get out. Stand with us or beware, the voters are coming,” Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, told the crowd.
Another survivor, David Hogg, said it was a new day.
“We’re going to make sure the best people get in our elections to run not as politicians, but as Americans. Because this-this – is not cutting it,” he said, pointing at the white-domed Capitol behind the stage.
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Youthful marchers filled streets in cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego, and St. Louis.
“This issue is going to turn into the No. 1 issue in this country. I know that’s not only what I want, but I know it’s what you guys want,” Alfonso Calderon, a junior at the Florida school, told Washington students at a pre-march event on Thursday.
The Washington rally is among more than 800 events scheduled worldwide, with US demonstrations set from San Clemente, California, to New York and Parkland, according to gun-control group Everytown For Gun Safety.
The teenage organizers have won kudos and cash from dozens of celebrities, with singer Ariana Grande and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda among those performing in Washington.
“Trainwreck” star Amy Schumer is set to appear at the Los Angeles rally. Actor George Clooney and his human rights attorney wife have donated $500,000 and said they would be at the Washington rally.
READ ALSO: ‘March for our Lives’; mass shooting survivor holds procession
Organizers want Congress, many of whose members are up for re-election this year, to ban the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida rampage and to tighten background checks for gun buyers. On the other side of the debate, gun rights advocates cite constitutional guarantees of the right to bear arms.
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence.
David Hogg, a senior at Stoneman Douglas, said the protests were a way for young Americans to show their opposition to the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby.
“We’re asking people (to) put the USA over the NRA,” he said at the Thursday event in Washington.
An NRA spokeswoman said it had not taken a position on the protests.
Democrats and nonpartisan groups hope to register at least 25,000 first-time voters at the rallies, potentially a boost for Democrats, who generally favor stricter gun controls.
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