“March for our Lives” Takes Washington, DC

On Saturday 24 March 2018, people gathered in Washington D.C. to protest in favor of gun control.

“The ‘March for Our Lives’ protest in the nation’s capital was organized by students after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last month,” MPRnews said.  

There are people who think the second amendment should be repealed. Others feel background checks should be more thorough. However, for the protest, thousands of people came to stand up for the people who died, and for gun control, which may save lives in the future.  People from other countries even protested in favor of gun control in the United States.

“Hundreds of protesters showed up outside the U.S. Embassy in London; protests also took place in Paris; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sydney,” according to The Hill.  People from all over are trying to end gun violence.

One of the survivors that goes to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School named Emma Gonzalez gave a moment of silence for those who lost their lives that day.

According to MPRnews, Gonzalez said this afterwards: “Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds,” Gonzalez said. “The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest. Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”’

“Support for stricter gun laws always spikes after mass shootings. In this case, though, the response has been stronger than usual. In a widely cited Quinnipiac University poll, ninety-seven per cent of Republicans said that they supported background checks for all gun buyers, seventy-seven per cent said that they supported mandatory waiting periods for all gun purchases, and forty-three per cent said that they supported a ban on assault weapons,” The New Yorker said.

This protest had a lot of participants, but it is unclear what kind of changes will occur.