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| March for Our Lives: hundreds of thousands demand end to gun violence – live | March for Our Lives: hundreds of thousands demand end to gun violence – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It’s a sunny, crisp day at the main March For Our Lives in Washington DC, but the same can’t be said for demonstrations in other parts of the US. | |
| Protestors have braved freezing temperatures in Bethel, Alaska, where a high school student killed two classmates and wounded two others in 1997. | |
| @march4ourlifeak student organizers are on the Park strip setting up. 10:30 am. 24 degrees. Curls of steam drift out of their mouths as they talk over where to stake their signs — remembrances to mass and school shootings across the nation, starting with Bethel, Alaska in 1997. pic.twitter.com/n9N4Q6s9zz | |
| (24 degrees Fahrenheit is about -4 degrees Celsius). | |
| Emma Gonzalez, one of the best-known Parkland student activists, speaks next. | |
| Speaking rapidly, she says everyone in the “Douglas community” was for ever altered by the shooting last month. | |
| “No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach.” | |
| She lists the 17 people killed, humanizing them by specifying details about their personalities before suddenly falling into a long period of silence, tears rolling down her face. | |
| For 6 minutes & 20 seconds —the time the #Parkland shooting lasted — @Emma4Change lists names & stands in silence to honor those killed. #MarchForOurLives #EndGunViolence #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/FHZ4uRhZVs | |
| It’s another amazingly powerful, self-confident and composed appearance from a young person flung into the public eye just a short time ago. | |
| The crowd begins to chant “Never again!” | |
| Emma remains silent. | |
| An alarm beeps. Emma announces that 6min 20secs have passed. At that point during the Parkland shooting, she says, “the shooter has ceased shooting and will soon walk free” and blend in with the crowd, not being apprehended for another hour. | |
| The crowd chants “Emma, Emma” as she leaves the stage. | |
| Matthew Soto, 19, just spoke about the impact of gun violence. | |
| His sister, Vicki Soto, was gunned down in the shooting at Newtown’s Sandy Hook elementary, where she taught first grade. | |
| “Get involved in your community, because change no matter how small, is change.” | |
| Soto said he was on stage because there were no significant changes to US gun laws after 20 students between six and seven years old, as well as six adult staff members, were killed at Newtown’s Sandy Hook elementary school. | |
| “Five years ago and no change has come,” Soto said. | |
| A Sandy Hook elementary graduate, Tommy Murray, followed Soto. | |
| Murray said he was in sixth grade at the school when the shooting occurred. The gunman was his neighbor. | |
| “I have attended vigils, I have protested in front of the gun lobby in our town,” Murray said. | |
| “They didn’t ban assault weapons, they didn’t pass background check bills.” | |
| Another Newtown student, Jackson Mittleman, talked about how he became an anti-gun violence organizer when he was 11-years-old. | |
| “Long after the media trucks leave, we will stand by you in your healing and recovery,” he said. | |
| “Mr Trump, senate and all elected members of Congress, you have failed us. We have had enough of your NRA agenda.” | |
| “We are going to vote you out.” | |
| At the Oakland march, lots of support for Black Lives Matter and #StephonClark, 22-year-old killed by police in Sacramento this week in his grandmother’s backyard. pic.twitter.com/EctQMgBZf8 | |
| There’s a lot of support for Black Lives Matter in Oakland, a city that helped give rise to the national movement against police brutality, writes Sam Levin. | |
| Some protesters here have argued that the discussion about gun policy must include conversations about police violence. | |
| Earlier this week, police in nearby Sacramento shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed black father of two who was standing in his grandmother’s backyard. The killing had sparked protests across the California capital, and many mentioned Clark’s name at the Oakland rally. | |
| Jamie Thrower, 30, who wore a Black Lives Matter shirt to the rally, said, “How do we make sure we’re protecting children of color from police violence? ... If you’re not talking about that, you’re missing a huge narrative.” | |
| She said she was frustrated some were criticizing Black Lives Matter protesters for shutting down freeways earlier in the week to raise awareness about Clark’s killing. | |
| Jonathan, a 39-year-old protester, wore a shirt that said, “Stephon Clark got shot too. End police violence.” | |
| He declined to give his last name, but said: “Police shoot people at a far greater rate than mass shootings. ... Police disproportionately target people of color.” | |
| He added of Clark, “He’s a victim of gun violence just as much as all these other people ... Disarmament has to include police.” | |
| Police in Oakland also killed unarmed Oscar Grant in 2009, one of the high-profile killings of black men by law enforcement that helped spark national protests and Black a Lives Matter. | |
| #StephonClark signs in Oakland pic.twitter.com/lzlVpx4dbC | |
| The March for our Lives organizers are weaponizing the NRA’s fear-mongering political videos, playing them before speeches as a sign of what they’re fighting against. | The March for our Lives organizers are weaponizing the NRA’s fear-mongering political videos, playing them before speeches as a sign of what they’re fighting against. |
| Before rally organizer and Parkland student Sarah Chadwick spoke earlier in the rally, she was introduced with a video that juxtaposed clips of NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch’s “Your Time is Up” video, an attack on entertainers, media outlets, and the athletes taking a knee to protest police violence, with Chadwick’s parody of that same video. | Before rally organizer and Parkland student Sarah Chadwick spoke earlier in the rally, she was introduced with a video that juxtaposed clips of NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch’s “Your Time is Up” video, an attack on entertainers, media outlets, and the athletes taking a knee to protest police violence, with Chadwick’s parody of that same video. |
| "To every spokeswoman with an hourglass who uses free speech to alter and undermine what our flag represents...Your Time is running out. The clock starts now."-@sarahchad_ #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/k29FB2vHPI | "To every spokeswoman with an hourglass who uses free speech to alter and undermine what our flag represents...Your Time is running out. The clock starts now."-@sarahchad_ #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/k29FB2vHPI |
| The cuts back and forth, between the high school activists who just survived a school shooting, and Loesch, a longtime conservative radio host and Fox News commenter, could not be sharper, and the high school students seem to relish juxtaposing their passionate, goofy activism agains the apocalyptic rhetoric the National Rifle Association has used for decades. | The cuts back and forth, between the high school activists who just survived a school shooting, and Loesch, a longtime conservative radio host and Fox News commenter, could not be sharper, and the high school students seem to relish juxtaposing their passionate, goofy activism agains the apocalyptic rhetoric the National Rifle Association has used for decades. |
| D’Angelo McDade, a student from Chicago, takes the stage. He describes himself as a “victim and victor” of gun violence. | D’Angelo McDade, a student from Chicago, takes the stage. He describes himself as a “victim and victor” of gun violence. |
| “When will we as a nation learn that we are not here to fight against one another, but we are here to fight for life and peace,” McDade says. | “When will we as a nation learn that we are not here to fight against one another, but we are here to fight for life and peace,” McDade says. |
| “Violence cannot drive out violence, only peace can do that. Poverty cannot drive out poverty, only resources can do that. Death cannot drive out death, only pro-active life can do that.” | “Violence cannot drive out violence, only peace can do that. Poverty cannot drive out poverty, only resources can do that. Death cannot drive out death, only pro-active life can do that.” |
| He is talking about how he and his community are survivors of gun violence, and also survivors of having a lack of community resources and government support. | He is talking about how he and his community are survivors of gun violence, and also survivors of having a lack of community resources and government support. |
| The mile and a half stretch down the side of Central Park may have become familiar ground for protesting New Yorkers since their least favorite resident became president in 2016, writes Max Benwell in New York. | The mile and a half stretch down the side of Central Park may have become familiar ground for protesting New Yorkers since their least favorite resident became president in 2016, writes Max Benwell in New York. |
| But they joined the March for Our Lives with just as much energy and anger as they had for last year’s Women’s March and last April’s March for Science. | But they joined the March for Our Lives with just as much energy and anger as they had for last year’s Women’s March and last April’s March for Science. |
| After a snowstorm two days earlier, the sun had decided to join them. It brought a sunny disposition to a demonstration that was as somber as it was uplifting, depending where you looked. | After a snowstorm two days earlier, the sun had decided to join them. It brought a sunny disposition to a demonstration that was as somber as it was uplifting, depending where you looked. |
| In some pockets people danced and beat drums, while in others the names of murdered students were held up, next to small children with signs demanding protection. | In some pockets people danced and beat drums, while in others the names of murdered students were held up, next to small children with signs demanding protection. |
| Teenage girls with signs plastered with Spongebob memes mixed with older protesters, babies in prams and cute dogs. On the sidelines, one group of elderly women distributed song sheets that featured We Shall Not Be Moved and Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Our Land. | Teenage girls with signs plastered with Spongebob memes mixed with older protesters, babies in prams and cute dogs. On the sidelines, one group of elderly women distributed song sheets that featured We Shall Not Be Moved and Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Our Land. |
| However the impromptu “Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go” proved to be the most popular chant of the day. | However the impromptu “Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go” proved to be the most popular chant of the day. |
| The column of demonstrators started at 86th Street and proceeded down to 61st. Toward the finish line, the Trump International Tower loomed, and was met with a long stream of “Vote him out!” | The column of demonstrators started at 86th Street and proceeded down to 61st. Toward the finish line, the Trump International Tower loomed, and was met with a long stream of “Vote him out!” |
| One man held up a copy of the latest Time magazine, with the trailblazing Florida activists Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg on its cover, while explaining to his female companions why he didn’t vote. | One man held up a copy of the latest Time magazine, with the trailblazing Florida activists Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg on its cover, while explaining to his female companions why he didn’t vote. |
| “Silence is violence,” one of them shot back, putting a quick end to his speech. | “Silence is violence,” one of them shot back, putting a quick end to his speech. |
| I’m at the #marchforourlives in New York and here’s a good sign pic.twitter.com/ENqQVlBbLa | I’m at the #marchforourlives in New York and here’s a good sign pic.twitter.com/ENqQVlBbLa |
| Tens of thousands of marchers passed Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in a respectful silence at the conclusion of Parkland’s March for Our Lives, writes Richard Luscombe, some laying flowers and weeping at the memorials still in place outside for the victims. | Tens of thousands of marchers passed Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in a respectful silence at the conclusion of Parkland’s March for Our Lives, writes Richard Luscombe, some laying flowers and weeping at the memorials still in place outside for the victims. |
| The tiny city of Parkland, population 31,500, was swamped by the sheer magnitude of today’s event, with busloads of marchers coming from all over South Florida. Road closures meant lengthy walks in 80F temperatures for many. | The tiny city of Parkland, population 31,500, was swamped by the sheer magnitude of today’s event, with busloads of marchers coming from all over South Florida. Road closures meant lengthy walks in 80F temperatures for many. |
| Rebecca Price-Taylor, of neighbouring Margate, was emotional as she walked by the school with her daughters Vilani, 11, Veronica, 10, Vivian, 8, and Vanessa, 7. | Rebecca Price-Taylor, of neighbouring Margate, was emotional as she walked by the school with her daughters Vilani, 11, Veronica, 10, Vivian, 8, and Vanessa, 7. |
| “My daughters are only a few years from high school, and I don’t want them cowering in the corner of a classroom waiting to be murdered,” she said. | “My daughters are only a few years from high school, and I don’t want them cowering in the corner of a classroom waiting to be murdered,” she said. |
| “Enough really is enough. No more of these weapons of war.” | “Enough really is enough. No more of these weapons of war.” |
| Parkland marchers arrive at Stoneman Douglas #marchforourlives pic.twitter.com/EmLLUbUryz | Parkland marchers arrive at Stoneman Douglas #marchforourlives pic.twitter.com/EmLLUbUryz |
| Marjory Douglas Stoneman indeed! But the sentiments are real #marchforourlives pic.twitter.com/58IXykvlMz | Marjory Douglas Stoneman indeed! But the sentiments are real #marchforourlives pic.twitter.com/58IXykvlMz |
| “Our pain makes us family,” said Alex King, a student at North Lawndale College Prep in Chicago. | “Our pain makes us family,” said Alex King, a student at North Lawndale College Prep in Chicago. |
| The 17-year-old is also part of the new anti-gun violence group, Good Kids Mad City. | The 17-year-old is also part of the new anti-gun violence group, Good Kids Mad City. |
| He spoke about the death of his nephew and how it drove him to do bad things. | He spoke about the death of his nephew and how it drove him to do bad things. |
| “From my colleagues and friends, I found help to come out of a dark place,” he said. | “From my colleagues and friends, I found help to come out of a dark place,” he said. |
| He acknowledged that not everyone has that available and that more resources need to be made available to address the systemic issues that help perpetuate gun violence. | He acknowledged that not everyone has that available and that more resources need to be made available to address the systemic issues that help perpetuate gun violence. |
| King ended his speech by leading the crowd in his family’s clapping tradition – an impressive feat given the crowd’s enormous size. | King ended his speech by leading the crowd in his family’s clapping tradition – an impressive feat given the crowd’s enormous size. |
| “This is a moment of history that I want to be part of,” pop star Miley Cyrus, who sang onstage earlier, told Parkland special correspondent Nikhita Nookala. “This is what Happy Hippie, my foundation is: young people changing the way history is written before us.” | “This is a moment of history that I want to be part of,” pop star Miley Cyrus, who sang onstage earlier, told Parkland special correspondent Nikhita Nookala. “This is what Happy Hippie, my foundation is: young people changing the way history is written before us.” |
| Sam Fuentes, who was injured in the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and still has shrapnel in her face, was just on stage. | Sam Fuentes, who was injured in the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and still has shrapnel in her face, was just on stage. |
| The 18-year-old’s speech was briefly interrupted by an upset stomach, but Fuentes continued her remarks resilient as ever: “I just threw up on international television and it feels great.” | The 18-year-old’s speech was briefly interrupted by an upset stomach, but Fuentes continued her remarks resilient as ever: “I just threw up on international television and it feels great.” |
| She then led the crowd in a rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of Nicholas Dworet, who was killed in the shooting. He would’ve turned 18 today and many of the Parkland students have mentioned him in their remarks. | She then led the crowd in a rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of Nicholas Dworet, who was killed in the shooting. He would’ve turned 18 today and many of the Parkland students have mentioned him in their remarks. |
| Relatives of victims of the 1996 Dunblane school massacre in Scotland were among hundreds of people who protested outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday as part of a campaign for greater gun control in the US. | Relatives of victims of the 1996 Dunblane school massacre in Scotland were among hundreds of people who protested outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh on Saturday as part of a campaign for greater gun control in the US. |
| The shooting, which killed 16 five and six year olds along with their teacher, led the UK to bring in some of the strictest firearms legislation in the world, outlawing private ownership of most handguns. Gun massacres have been almost unknown in the UK since. Speakers at the Edinburgh rally, held in solidarity with today’s march, included Jack and Ellie Crozier, whose sister Emma was killed in the Dunblane shooting, and Ali Ross, whose sister Joanna also died. | The shooting, which killed 16 five and six year olds along with their teacher, led the UK to bring in some of the strictest firearms legislation in the world, outlawing private ownership of most handguns. Gun massacres have been almost unknown in the UK since. Speakers at the Edinburgh rally, held in solidarity with today’s march, included Jack and Ellie Crozier, whose sister Emma was killed in the Dunblane shooting, and Ali Ross, whose sister Joanna also died. |
| They read a letter of support to those affected by the Parkland tragedy. The letter, first published on the 22nd anniversary of the Dunblane shooting, stated: “Wherever you march, whenever you protest, however you campaign for a more sensible approach to gun ownership, we will be there with you in spirit.” | They read a letter of support to those affected by the Parkland tragedy. The letter, first published on the 22nd anniversary of the Dunblane shooting, stated: “Wherever you march, whenever you protest, however you campaign for a more sensible approach to gun ownership, we will be there with you in spirit.” |
| Catherine Wilson, who lost her sister Mhairi in Dunblane, also took part in the event, reading her poem For Parkland/The Public I. “I am so overwhelmed and incredibly impressed by the teenagers in America who are walking out of schools and who are demonstrating today,” she said. “Today is a really important mix of both showing that anger and fighting against something that is incorrect, but also offering that support and that love really, to the students in America.” | Catherine Wilson, who lost her sister Mhairi in Dunblane, also took part in the event, reading her poem For Parkland/The Public I. “I am so overwhelmed and incredibly impressed by the teenagers in America who are walking out of schools and who are demonstrating today,” she said. “Today is a really important mix of both showing that anger and fighting against something that is incorrect, but also offering that support and that love really, to the students in America.” |
| This is a video message Dunblane relatives recorded for the US marchers: | This is a video message Dunblane relatives recorded for the US marchers: |
| Parkland student Nikhita Nookala has been speaking to Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr, and father of Yolanda King, who spoke at the march earlier today. | Parkland student Nikhita Nookala has been speaking to Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr, and father of Yolanda King, who spoke at the march earlier today. |
| This is the first time in many many years that high school students have led, really, a movement— this is the start of a movement. Tomorrow, literally, nothing will happen. But over a great period of time, change can occur. | This is the first time in many many years that high school students have led, really, a movement— this is the start of a movement. Tomorrow, literally, nothing will happen. But over a great period of time, change can occur. |
| Rightwing website Breitbart has its own unique take on the march, while the Fox News website is giving it less prominence than many other US news sites. | Rightwing website Breitbart has its own unique take on the march, while the Fox News website is giving it less prominence than many other US news sites. |
| How Breitbart and Fox News website are covering the march #march for our lives pic.twitter.com/byuHvHkcOd | How Breitbart and Fox News website are covering the march #march for our lives pic.twitter.com/byuHvHkcOd |
| Student Aalayah Eastmond was in the third Marjory Stoneman Douglas class room to be attacked by the gunman. | Student Aalayah Eastmond was in the third Marjory Stoneman Douglas class room to be attacked by the gunman. |
| She says she is at the rally to speak for her classmates, as well as people killed in urban communities well before this teenager-led movement to end gun violence. | She says she is at the rally to speak for her classmates, as well as people killed in urban communities well before this teenager-led movement to end gun violence. |
| “We need change, now,” she says. | “We need change, now,” she says. |
| “All of our lives are important and all of our voices need to be heard.” | “All of our lives are important and all of our voices need to be heard.” |
| Aalayah says her uncle died in an act of gun violence in Brooklyn, 15 years ago. | Aalayah says her uncle died in an act of gun violence in Brooklyn, 15 years ago. |
| She says yes, she is a Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, but also: “Before this, I was a regular black girl. And after this, I am still black and still regular.” | She says yes, she is a Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, but also: “Before this, I was a regular black girl. And after this, I am still black and still regular.” |