Marches Against Gun Violence Happening Across Bay Area Today

But it’s not just the local organizations encouraging these students to get involved.

The massive rallies aim to break a legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings like the one on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have become frighteningly common.

Some may attribute the momentum for gun control to this young generation’s social media savviness or charisma, but the Parkland students have managed to amass millions of followers in their fight against guns.

A march in downtown Omaha drew more than 2,000 people.

Despite the daily threat of guns and shootings in schools across America, Gonzalez was happy to see that so many people in the community want to come together to help support students.

Tears, cheers, and strength in numbers gave power to participants, who gave lawmakers a strong message – “get your resumes ready” and “we will all be voting soon”. “We’re a force to be reckoned with”, he said.

Kelly Stone was a middle school student in Canada in 1975 when a gunman killed two people and himself at Brampton Centennial Secondary School, which she went on to attend. “That’s just totally wrong”. “It was very anxiety-raising”, she said, recalling how students and staff had to shelter in place.

“I always tell my mom I love her”, Grothaus said.

Organisers hope the passions of the crowds and the under-18 roster of speakers will translate into a tipping point starting in the midterm elections this year.

Almost 200 people have died in school shootings since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, which left 13 dead.

“This is more than just one day … this is a movement”, the 17-year-old told the crowd.

The march, which begins at Jack Poole Plaza at 10 a.m., is one of hundreds of similar marches happening across the United States and around the world.

The national March for Our Lives web page circulated a petition that calls for a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as closing background check loopholes that allow people who shouldn’t be able to buy guns purchase them online or at gun shows.

This article appearing in the midst of a national conversation about an epidemic of gun violence (that is duplicated in no other country on the planet), three days before the March For Our Lives protest and following the tragic gun violence events which have occurred an average of once each week in 2018 alone.

Sophie Johnson, 11, poses with a sticker during the March for Our Lives rally Saturday at the Capitol. He said he was appalled at school leaders elsewhere who threatened to suspend students if they made a decision to walkout to demonstrate.