'Enough is enough' say thousands demanding new U.S. gun measures
"If our government can't do anything to stop 19 kids from being killed and slaughtered in their own school, and decapitated, it's time to change who is in government," said David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 shooting that killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
A co-founder of the March For Our Lives organization that was created after that shooting and held its first rally in Washington not long afterward, Hogg led the crowd in chants of "Vote them out."
Another Parkland survivor and group co-founder, X Gonzalez, delivered an impassioned, profanity-laced plea to Congress for change. "We are being murdered," she screamed and implored Congress to "act your age, not your shoe size."
Added Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.: "This time is different because this isn't about politics. It's about morality. Not right and left, but right and wrong, and that doesn't just mean thoughts and prayers. That means courage and action."
Manuel Oliver, whose son, Joaquin, was killed in the Parkland shooting, called on students "to avoid going back to school until our elected leaders stop avoiding the crisis of gun violence in America and start acting to save our lives."
Hundreds gathered at an amphitheater in Parkland, where Debra Hixon, whose husband, high school athletic director Chris Hixon, died in the shooting, said it is "all too easy" for young men to walk into stores and buy weapons.
"Going home to an empty bed and an empty seat at the table is a constant reminder that he is gone," said Hixon, who now serves as a school board member. "We weren't done making memories, sharing dreams and living life together. Gun violence ripped that away from my family."
President Joe Biden, who was in California when the Washington rally began, said his message to demonstrators was "keep marching" and added that he is "mildly optimistic" about legislative negotiations to address gun violence. Biden recently delivered an impassioned address to the nation in which he called for several steps, including raising the age limit for buying assault-style weapons.
In the Brooklyn borough of New York, Mayor Eric Adams, who campaigned on reining in violence in the nation's largest city, joined state Attorney General Letitia James, who is suing the National Rifle Association, in leading activists on a march toward the Brooklyn Bridge.
"Nothing happens in this country until young people stand up -- not politicians," James said.
Joining the call for change were hundreds of people who rallied in a park outside the courthouse in Portland, Maine, before they marched through the Old Port and gathered outside of City Hall. At one point, they chanted, "Hey, hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have to die today."
John Wuesthoff, a retired lawyer in Portland, said he was waving an American flag during the rally as a reminder that gun control is "not un-American."
"It's very American to have reasonable regulations to save the lives of our children," he said.
The passion that the issue stirs was clear in Washington when a young man jumped the barricade and tried to rush the stage before being intercepted by security. The incident caused a brief panic as people began to scatter.
Organizers hoped the second March for Our Lives rally would draw as many as 50,000 people to the Washington Monument, though the crowd seemed closer to 30,000. The 2018 event attracted more than 200,000 people, but the focus this time was on smaller marches at an estimated 300 locations.
The youth-led movement created after the Parkland shooting successfully pressured the Republican-dominated Florida state government to enact sweeping gun control changes. The group did not match that at the national level, but has persisted in advocating for gun restrictions since then, as well as participating in voter registration drives.
Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence have lobbied legislators and testified on Capitol Hill this week. Among them was Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary. She described for lawmakers how she covered herself with a dead classmate's blood to avoid being shot.
The House has passed bills to raise the age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons and establish federal "red flag" laws. A bipartisan group of senators had hoped to reach agreement this week on a framework for addressing the issue and held talks Friday, but no deal was announced.
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York, David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Chris Megerian in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
People arrive to attend the second March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control in front of the Washington Monument, Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Workers set up for the March for Our Lives rally on the National Mall, near the White House, in Washington, Friday, June 10, 2022. The march is returning to Washington after four years. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
2:10 CTV National News: Unabated gun violence in U.S.
Ashraf Khalil and Darlene Superville
Reuters
Updated June 11, 2022
WASHINGTON -
Thousands of people rallied on the National Mall and across the United States on Saturday in a renewed push for gun control measures after recent deadly mass shootings from Uvalde, Texas, to Buffalo, New York, that activists say should compel Congress to act.
"Enough is enough," District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser told the second March for Our Lives rally in her city. "I speak as a mayor, a mom, and I speak for millions of Americans and America's mayors who are demanding that Congress do its job. And its job is to protect us, to protect our children from gun violence."
Speaker after speaker in Washington called on senators, who are seen as a major impediment to legislation, to act or face being voted out of office, especially given the shock to the nation's conscience after 19 children and two teachers were killed May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Reuters
Updated June 11, 2022
WASHINGTON -
Thousands of people rallied on the National Mall and across the United States on Saturday in a renewed push for gun control measures after recent deadly mass shootings from Uvalde, Texas, to Buffalo, New York, that activists say should compel Congress to act.
"Enough is enough," District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser told the second March for Our Lives rally in her city. "I speak as a mayor, a mom, and I speak for millions of Americans and America's mayors who are demanding that Congress do its job. And its job is to protect us, to protect our children from gun violence."
Speaker after speaker in Washington called on senators, who are seen as a major impediment to legislation, to act or face being voted out of office, especially given the shock to the nation's conscience after 19 children and two teachers were killed May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
"If our government can't do anything to stop 19 kids from being killed and slaughtered in their own school, and decapitated, it's time to change who is in government," said David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 shooting that killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
A co-founder of the March For Our Lives organization that was created after that shooting and held its first rally in Washington not long afterward, Hogg led the crowd in chants of "Vote them out."
Another Parkland survivor and group co-founder, X Gonzalez, delivered an impassioned, profanity-laced plea to Congress for change. "We are being murdered," she screamed and implored Congress to "act your age, not your shoe size."
Added Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.: "This time is different because this isn't about politics. It's about morality. Not right and left, but right and wrong, and that doesn't just mean thoughts and prayers. That means courage and action."
Manuel Oliver, whose son, Joaquin, was killed in the Parkland shooting, called on students "to avoid going back to school until our elected leaders stop avoiding the crisis of gun violence in America and start acting to save our lives."
Hundreds gathered at an amphitheater in Parkland, where Debra Hixon, whose husband, high school athletic director Chris Hixon, died in the shooting, said it is "all too easy" for young men to walk into stores and buy weapons.
"Going home to an empty bed and an empty seat at the table is a constant reminder that he is gone," said Hixon, who now serves as a school board member. "We weren't done making memories, sharing dreams and living life together. Gun violence ripped that away from my family."
President Joe Biden, who was in California when the Washington rally began, said his message to demonstrators was "keep marching" and added that he is "mildly optimistic" about legislative negotiations to address gun violence. Biden recently delivered an impassioned address to the nation in which he called for several steps, including raising the age limit for buying assault-style weapons.
In the Brooklyn borough of New York, Mayor Eric Adams, who campaigned on reining in violence in the nation's largest city, joined state Attorney General Letitia James, who is suing the National Rifle Association, in leading activists on a march toward the Brooklyn Bridge.
"Nothing happens in this country until young people stand up -- not politicians," James said.
Joining the call for change were hundreds of people who rallied in a park outside the courthouse in Portland, Maine, before they marched through the Old Port and gathered outside of City Hall. At one point, they chanted, "Hey, hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have to die today."
John Wuesthoff, a retired lawyer in Portland, said he was waving an American flag during the rally as a reminder that gun control is "not un-American."
"It's very American to have reasonable regulations to save the lives of our children," he said.
The passion that the issue stirs was clear in Washington when a young man jumped the barricade and tried to rush the stage before being intercepted by security. The incident caused a brief panic as people began to scatter.
Organizers hoped the second March for Our Lives rally would draw as many as 50,000 people to the Washington Monument, though the crowd seemed closer to 30,000. The 2018 event attracted more than 200,000 people, but the focus this time was on smaller marches at an estimated 300 locations.
The youth-led movement created after the Parkland shooting successfully pressured the Republican-dominated Florida state government to enact sweeping gun control changes. The group did not match that at the national level, but has persisted in advocating for gun restrictions since then, as well as participating in voter registration drives.
Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence have lobbied legislators and testified on Capitol Hill this week. Among them was Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary. She described for lawmakers how she covered herself with a dead classmate's blood to avoid being shot.
The House has passed bills to raise the age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons and establish federal "red flag" laws. A bipartisan group of senators had hoped to reach agreement this week on a framework for addressing the issue and held talks Friday, but no deal was announced.
------
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York, David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Chris Megerian in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
People arrive to attend the second March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control in front of the Washington Monument, Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Workers set up for the March for Our Lives rally on the National Mall, near the White House, in Washington, Friday, June 10, 2022. The march is returning to Washington after four years. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
2:10 CTV National News: Unabated gun violence in U.S.
Organisers hoped the second March For Our Lives rally would draw as many as 50,000 people to the Washington Monument in the US capital
People participate in the second March For Our Lives rally in support of gun control in Washington (AP)
SAT, 11 JUN, 2022 - 18:38
ASHRAF KHALIL, AP
Thousands of people have streamed to the US National Mall in Washington DC as part of country-wide demonstrations to demand greater gun control in America.
The high-profile effort to change the laws follow recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, that activists say should compel US congress to act.
Organisers hoped the second March For Our Lives rally would draw as many as 50,000 people to the Washington Monument in the US capital.
While that would be far less than the original 2018 march that filled Washington with more than 200,000 people, activists have decided to focus on smaller marches at an estimated 300 locations across the US.
Despite wet weather in the US capital, scores of people turned out on the monument grounds well before the rally began, holding up signs, including one that said: “Children aren’t replaceable, senators are. Vote.”
A middle school-age girl carried a sign that read: “I want to feel safe at school”.
Daud Mumin, a co-chairman of the march’s board of directors and a recent graduate of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, said: “We want to make sure that this work is happening across the country.
SAT, 11 JUN, 2022 - 18:38
ASHRAF KHALIL, AP
Thousands of people have streamed to the US National Mall in Washington DC as part of country-wide demonstrations to demand greater gun control in America.
The high-profile effort to change the laws follow recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, that activists say should compel US congress to act.
Organisers hoped the second March For Our Lives rally would draw as many as 50,000 people to the Washington Monument in the US capital.
While that would be far less than the original 2018 march that filled Washington with more than 200,000 people, activists have decided to focus on smaller marches at an estimated 300 locations across the US.
Despite wet weather in the US capital, scores of people turned out on the monument grounds well before the rally began, holding up signs, including one that said: “Children aren’t replaceable, senators are. Vote.”
A middle school-age girl carried a sign that read: “I want to feel safe at school”.
Daud Mumin, a co-chairman of the march’s board of directors and a recent graduate of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, said: “We want to make sure that this work is happening across the country.
Children participate in the second March For Our Lives rally (AP)
“This work is not just about (Washington) DC, it’s not just about senators.”
The first March For Our Lives was spurred by the killings of 14 students and three staff members by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14 2018.
That massacre sparked the creation of the youth-led March For Our Lives movement, which successfully pressured the Republican-dominated Florida state government to enact sweeping gun control reforms.
The Parkland students then sought to change gun laws in other states and nationally, launching March For Our Lives and holding the big rally in Washington on March 24 2018.
The group did not match the Florida results at the national level, but it has persisted in advocating for gun restrictions since then, as well as participating in voter registration drives.
Now, with another string of mass shootings bringing gun control back into the national conversation in the US, organisers of this weekend’s events say the time is right to renew their push for a national overhaul.
“Right now we are angry,” said Mariah Cooley, a March For Our Lives board member and a senior at Washington’s Howard University.
“This will be a demonstration to show that us as Americans, we’re not stopping any time soon until congress does their jobs. And if not, we’ll be voting them out.”
“This work is not just about (Washington) DC, it’s not just about senators.”
The first March For Our Lives was spurred by the killings of 14 students and three staff members by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14 2018.
That massacre sparked the creation of the youth-led March For Our Lives movement, which successfully pressured the Republican-dominated Florida state government to enact sweeping gun control reforms.
The Parkland students then sought to change gun laws in other states and nationally, launching March For Our Lives and holding the big rally in Washington on March 24 2018.
The group did not match the Florida results at the national level, but it has persisted in advocating for gun restrictions since then, as well as participating in voter registration drives.
Now, with another string of mass shootings bringing gun control back into the national conversation in the US, organisers of this weekend’s events say the time is right to renew their push for a national overhaul.
“Right now we are angry,” said Mariah Cooley, a March For Our Lives board member and a senior at Washington’s Howard University.
“This will be a demonstration to show that us as Americans, we’re not stopping any time soon until congress does their jobs. And if not, we’ll be voting them out.”
Parkland survivor and activist David Hogg speaks to the crowd (AP)
The protest comes at a time of renewed political activity on guns and a crucial moment for possible action in US congress.
Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence have lobbied legislators and testified on Capitol Hill this week.
Among them was Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
She described for members of congress how she covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot.
On Tuesday, Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey appeared in the White House briefing room to press for gun legislation, and made highly personal remarks about the violence in his hometown of Uvalde.
The US house of representatives has passed bills that would raise the age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons and establish federal “red flag” laws.
But such initiatives have traditionally stalled or been heavily watered down in the US senate.
The protest comes at a time of renewed political activity on guns and a crucial moment for possible action in US congress.
Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence have lobbied legislators and testified on Capitol Hill this week.
Among them was Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
She described for members of congress how she covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot.
On Tuesday, Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey appeared in the White House briefing room to press for gun legislation, and made highly personal remarks about the violence in his hometown of Uvalde.
The US house of representatives has passed bills that would raise the age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons and establish federal “red flag” laws.
But such initiatives have traditionally stalled or been heavily watered down in the US senate.
Actor Matthew McConaughey holds a picture or Alithia Ramirez, 10, who was killed in the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas (AP)
Democratic and Republican senators had hoped to reach agreement this week on a framework for addressing the issue and discussed it on Friday, but they did not announce an accord.
Mr Mumin said the goal is to send a message to members of congress that public opinion on gun control is shifting under their feet.
“If they’re not on our side, there are going to be consequences — voting them out of office and making their lives a living hell when they’re in office,” he said.
Democratic and Republican senators had hoped to reach agreement this week on a framework for addressing the issue and discussed it on Friday, but they did not announce an accord.
Mr Mumin said the goal is to send a message to members of congress that public opinion on gun control is shifting under their feet.
“If they’re not on our side, there are going to be consequences — voting them out of office and making their lives a living hell when they’re in office,” he said.
Protesters rally against gun violence in Washington, across U.S
© Reuters/MARCO BELLO
By Joseph Ax and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington and across the United States on Saturday, calling on lawmakers to pass legislation aimed at curbing gun violence following last month's massacre at a Texas elementary school.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washinton
March for Our Lives (MFOL), the gun safety group founded by student survivors of the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school, said it has planned more than 450 rallies for Saturday, including in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washington
In Washington, 40,000 people assembled at the National Mall near the Washington Monument under light rain, organizers said.
The organization's 2018 march on Washington, weeks after 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, brought hundreds of thousands of people to the nation's capital to pressure Congress to take legislative action, though Republican opposition has prevented any new limits on guns from passing the U.S. Senate.
U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who earlier this month urged Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures, said he supported Saturday's protests.
Courtney Haggerty, a 41-year-old research librarian from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, traveled to Washington for the rally with her 10-year-old daughter, Cate, and 7-year-old son, Graeme, to demand congressional action.
Haggerty said the December 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which a gunman killed 26 people, mostly six- and seven-year-olds, came one day after her daughter's first birthday.
"It left me raw," she said. "I can't believe she's going to be 11 and we're still doing this."
Cate, who is in the fourth grade, said she wanted to attend. "This is not what I would want my kids to have to be living with," she said.
PRESSURE ON POLITICIANS
This year's event in Washington has a simple message to political leaders, according to organizers: Your inaction is killing Americans.
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTSPeople participate in the
© Reuters/MARCO BELLO
By Joseph Ax and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington and across the United States on Saturday, calling on lawmakers to pass legislation aimed at curbing gun violence following last month's massacre at a Texas elementary school.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washinton
March for Our Lives (MFOL), the gun safety group founded by student survivors of the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school, said it has planned more than 450 rallies for Saturday, including in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washington
In Washington, 40,000 people assembled at the National Mall near the Washington Monument under light rain, organizers said.
The organization's 2018 march on Washington, weeks after 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, brought hundreds of thousands of people to the nation's capital to pressure Congress to take legislative action, though Republican opposition has prevented any new limits on guns from passing the U.S. Senate.
U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who earlier this month urged Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures, said he supported Saturday's protests.
Courtney Haggerty, a 41-year-old research librarian from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, traveled to Washington for the rally with her 10-year-old daughter, Cate, and 7-year-old son, Graeme, to demand congressional action.
Haggerty said the December 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which a gunman killed 26 people, mostly six- and seven-year-olds, came one day after her daughter's first birthday.
"It left me raw," she said. "I can't believe she's going to be 11 and we're still doing this."
Cate, who is in the fourth grade, said she wanted to attend. "This is not what I would want my kids to have to be living with," she said.
PRESSURE ON POLITICIANS
This year's event in Washington has a simple message to political leaders, according to organizers: Your inaction is killing Americans.
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTSPeople participate in the
'March for Our Lives' rally against gun violence
"We are being murdered," said X Gonzalez, a Parkland survivor and co-founder of MFOL, in an emotional speech in which they appeared with survivors of other mass shootings. "You, Congress, have done nothing to prevent it."
A gunman in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two teachers on May 24, 10 days after another gunman murdered 10 Black people in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in a racist attack.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washinton
The latest mass shootings have added new urgency to the country's ongoing debate over gun violence, though the prospects for federal legislation remain uncertain.
Among other policies, MFOL has called for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for those trying to purchase guns and a national licensing system, which would register gun owners.
In recent weeks, a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators have vowed to hammer out a deal, though they have yet to reach an agreement. Their effort is focused on relatively modest changes, such as incentivizing states to pass "red flag" laws that allow authorities to keep guns from individuals deemed a danger to others.
© Reuters/TED HESSONProtesters gather in Washington for gun control rally
Speaking to journalists in Los Angeles, Biden said he had spoken several times with Senator Chris Murphy, who is leading the Senate talks, and that negotiators remained "mildly optimistic."
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTSPeople participate in the 'March for Our Lives' rally against gun violence
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a sweeping set of gun safety measures, but the legislation has no chance of advancing in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed gun limits as infringing upon the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms.
© Reuters/JEENAH MOON"March for Our Lives", rally against gun violence in New York City
Other speakers at the Washington rally included David Hogg, another Parkland survivor and co-founder of MFOL; Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten, the presidents of the two largest U.S. teachers unions; and Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C. Members of MFOL have spent the week meeting with lawmakers in Washington to discuss gun violence.
© Reuters/ERIC COX
"We are being murdered," said X Gonzalez, a Parkland survivor and co-founder of MFOL, in an emotional speech in which they appeared with survivors of other mass shootings. "You, Congress, have done nothing to prevent it."
A gunman in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two teachers on May 24, 10 days after another gunman murdered 10 Black people in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in a racist attack.
© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNSTPeople participate in the March for Our Lives, rally against gun violence, in Washinton
The latest mass shootings have added new urgency to the country's ongoing debate over gun violence, though the prospects for federal legislation remain uncertain.
Among other policies, MFOL has called for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for those trying to purchase guns and a national licensing system, which would register gun owners.
In recent weeks, a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators have vowed to hammer out a deal, though they have yet to reach an agreement. Their effort is focused on relatively modest changes, such as incentivizing states to pass "red flag" laws that allow authorities to keep guns from individuals deemed a danger to others.
© Reuters/TED HESSONProtesters gather in Washington for gun control rally
Speaking to journalists in Los Angeles, Biden said he had spoken several times with Senator Chris Murphy, who is leading the Senate talks, and that negotiators remained "mildly optimistic."
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTSPeople participate in the 'March for Our Lives' rally against gun violence
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a sweeping set of gun safety measures, but the legislation has no chance of advancing in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed gun limits as infringing upon the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms.
© Reuters/JEENAH MOON"March for Our Lives", rally against gun violence in New York City
Other speakers at the Washington rally included David Hogg, another Parkland survivor and co-founder of MFOL; Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten, the presidents of the two largest U.S. teachers unions; and Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C. Members of MFOL have spent the week meeting with lawmakers in Washington to discuss gun violence.
© Reuters/ERIC COX
"March for Our Lives", rally against gun violence in New York City
Two high school students from the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland - Zena Phillip, 16, and Blain Sirak, 15 - said they had never joined a protest before but felt motivated by the shooting in Texas.
"Just knowing that there's a possibility that can happen in my own school terrifies me," Phillip said. "A lot of kids are getting numb to this to the point they feel hopeless."
Sirak said she backed more gun restrictions and that the issue extended beyond mass shootings to the daily toll of gun violence.
"People are able to get military-grade guns in America," she said. "It's absolutely absurd."
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTS
Two high school students from the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland - Zena Phillip, 16, and Blain Sirak, 15 - said they had never joined a protest before but felt motivated by the shooting in Texas.
"Just knowing that there's a possibility that can happen in my own school terrifies me," Phillip said. "A lot of kids are getting numb to this to the point they feel hopeless."
Sirak said she backed more gun restrictions and that the issue extended beyond mass shootings to the daily toll of gun violence.
"People are able to get military-grade guns in America," she said. "It's absolutely absurd."
© Reuters/JOSHUA ROBERTS
People participate in the 'March for Our Lives' rally against gun violence
(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Ted Hesson; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Los Angeles and Makini Brice; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Daniel Wallis)
(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Ted Hesson; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Los Angeles and Makini Brice; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Daniel Wallis)
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