March for our Lives - latest updates: 'Welcome to the revolution' says Parkland shooting survivor Cameron Kasky as Washington rally begins
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'Welcome to the revolution': Hundreds of thousands march for US gun control at rallies across globe
Hundreds of thousnds gather at events across America and around the world
Key Points
- 'Beware, the voters are coming,' says Parkland student as Washington rally begins
- Marches are also happening in New York, Nashville, Boston, Philadelphia
- White House issues statement praising the 'courageous' marchers - but President Donald Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago resort
Thirty-eight days after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, hundreds of thousands of students across the country are taking to the streets in an anti-gun violence protest of unprecedented size.
The marches – which consists of a main event in Washington DC alongside sister protests in New York, Los Angeles and hundreds of communities across the country and around the world – is the culmination of weeks of planning by student survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting in which 17 people were killed on Valentine's Day.
The Washington DC even began at 12pm ET (4pm GMT), with students and a number of celebrities set to take to the stage. Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Cameron Kasky was one of the first to give a speech.
"Don’t worry we got this." Mr Kasky said of his fellow students. "stand up for us or beware... the voters are coming”.
“[This] is the springboard that may generation and all who stand with us will use to jump to a safer future,” he said.
The mass protests have been organised by a group of survivors including Mr Kasky, who have forced the nation
into a debate about gun control, even as the tragic cycle of gun violence has continued to repeat itself in communities across the country.
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Live Updates
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Live Updates
As opposed to the former president, the current White House incumbent, Donald Trump has yet to tweet about the marches (although the White House has issued a statement).
His only tweet so far today is about an attack in France on Friday.
His only tweet so far today is about an attack in France on Friday.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation’s loss. We also condemn the violent actions of the attacker and anyone who would provide him support. We are with you @EmmanuelMacron!
Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg now on stage, receiving a huge cheer when he asks who will be voting in November's midterm elections.
He says the US will take gun violence "no more" and he is calling on everyone to use their vote in November.
To those politicians supported by the National Rifile Association (NRA) should "get their résumés ready".
He says the US will take gun violence "no more" and he is calling on everyone to use their vote in November.
To those politicians supported by the National Rifile Association (NRA) should "get their résumés ready".
Zion Kelly is now on stage, he is a Washington DC student whose brother was shot and killed in 2017.
"Just like all of you, I have had enough," he says.
"Just like all of you, I have had enough," he says.
DC student Zion Kelly just asked everyone to raise their hand if they had been affected by gun violence. This front section of the #MarchForOurLives is reserved for Parkland students and other survivors.
Prominent civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis has said that the student-led, anti-gun protests occurring across the United States remind him of the early days of the civil rights era.
"I think it's amazing," Lewis said in an interview with The Associated Press. "They will be the leaders of the 21st century."
Mr Lewis joined the march in Atlanta, Georgia
"I think it's amazing," Lewis said in an interview with The Associated Press. "They will be the leaders of the 21st century."
Mr Lewis joined the march in Atlanta, Georgia
Stoneman Douglas student Alex Wind ends a very passionate speech that drew huge cheers from the crowd with the phrase: "We choose life!"
Not every speaking on the stage in Washington is a Parkland student
“La lucha sigue” or the fight goes on, says Los Angeles student Edna Chavez.
“La lucha sigue” or the fight goes on, says Los Angeles student Edna Chavez.
Everyone speaking today is a student. Not all MSD students though. Right now, Edna Chavez is speaking. She’s from LA and she greeted the crowd in Spanish. Her brother was the victim of gun violence. “Ricardo was his name. Can ya’ll say it with me?” CBSMiami @AMarch4OurLives
Paul McCartney has spoken with CNN during the New York march. He made a reference the death of bandmate John Lennon, who was fatally shot outside the Dakota in 1980.
“One of my best friends was shot not far from where we are right now,” he said.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior Delaney Tarr runs through the students’ demands from the stage, including background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
“When you give us an inch, that bump stocks ban, we will take a mile,” she said. “We are not here for breadcrumbs, we are here to lead.”
"Don’t worry we got this." Kasky says of his fellow students. "stand up for us or beware... the voters are coming”.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Cameron Kasky takes to the stage and gives an emotive speech.
"Welcome to the revolution" he begins. He said that today is the start, not the end for this movement.
“It is the springboard that may generation and all who stand with us will use to jump to a safer future,” he said.
"Welcome to the revolution" he begins. He said that today is the start, not the end for this movement.
“It is the springboard that may generation and all who stand with us will use to jump to a safer future,” he said.
The mayor of Houston, Texas has told thousands of demonstrators at a rally in the city that adults have a responsibility to protect all children.
Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke at the Tranquility Park event Saturday morning.
"We have a responsibility for those of us as adults, we have a responsibility to stand up and protect our children," Mayor Turner.
Mr Turner also chanted with the crowd "Now is the time" to "do the right thing."
Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke at the Tranquility Park event Saturday morning.
"We have a responsibility for those of us as adults, we have a responsibility to stand up and protect our children," Mayor Turner.
Mr Turner also chanted with the crowd "Now is the time" to "do the right thing."
Meanwhile in Parkland:
Freshman Kyle Laman is in a wheelchair after being shot in the foot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. But today as he prepares for the #MarchForOurLives he’s in good company. Jeff Heinrich, the first police officer Kyle saw after the shooting, is pushing his wheelchair.
In Atlanta, Lindsey Alexander, a freshman at Decatur High School in Decatur, Georgia, attended her first protest, inspired by hearing Parkland students debate the NRA on television.
"If nothing changes, we're going to continue to have school shootings," she told the Associated Press. "I understand the Second Amendment is important. We've always had this right. But when the Founding Fathers put that right in place, they didn't mean it to become what it is today.
"If nothing changes, we're going to continue to have school shootings," she told the Associated Press. "I understand the Second Amendment is important. We've always had this right. But when the Founding Fathers put that right in place, they didn't mean it to become what it is today.
Parkland student David Hogg, one of the most prominent voices in the student gun reform movement, has told CNN that after the march today it will be all about "persistence". He has called for communities to organise town hall meetings to discuss the issues of gun control and gun violence and invite their local elected officials.
In the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland, thousands of people passed through police checkpoints to assemble in a park for a rally and march. Many held signs with slogans including "Am I Next?" "A Call To Arms For the Safety of Our Sons and Daughters" and "Congress = Killers."
Adam Buchwald, who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, told the crowd he and his friends would stay focused on getting new legislation passed.
"Sadly, this could be repeated in your city or town. This stops now!" he said to loud cheers.
Students chanted "enough is enough" and held up signs with slogans like "our ballots will stop bullets" at the rally in Parkland, Florida.
Others from the area have travelled to Washington, DC. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft let over 100 people, including families of victims of the Parkland shooting, use the team's charter plane for the trip.
Team spokesman Stacey James says astronaut Mark Kelly reached out to Mr Kraft for the favor.
"It's a hard thing to say no to, especially involving these victims," Ms James said.
Team spokesman Stacey James says astronaut Mark Kelly reached out to Mr Kraft for the favor.
"It's a hard thing to say no to, especially involving these victims," Ms James said.
Organisers are hoping to draw 500,000 protesters to the nation's capital; that would match last year's women's march and make it one of the largest Washington protests since the Vietnam era. It would also bolster claims that the nation is ready to enact sweeping changes to its gun control laws.
“We’ve all come together and we’ve all united which is why the march in Washington... will be so effective, Parkland student Demitri Hoth said on Friday during a press conference in Washington, with the towering Capitol building behind him. “People were hunted down in the hallways of my school, and that’s not okay.”
The movement has seen some early success, though gun laws in America remain largely the same. In the weeks after the shooting in Parkland, Florida passed gun restrictions to raise the minimum age for buying a firearm in the state, and to impose a waiting period to receive those weapons, defying the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) presence in the state even as advocates said the bill did not go nearly far enough.
On the federal level, the persistent cries for help from the Parkland teenagers forced President Donald Trump to hold a listening session with students, and to float several possible ideas to tackle gun violence – even going so far as to suggest that taking guns from potentially dangerous people should be priority, and that the constitutional right to due process could be worried about later.
But, just weeks later Mr Trump, who has received notable support from the NRA, appeared to bow to the gun lobby and back away from loftier gun control bills and his calls for raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21.
Josh Sugarmann, the director of the Violence Policy Centre, told The Independent that he hasn’t seen youth engagement to compare to Parkland in his three and a half decades working in gun control advocacy, and that he has never seen a march of this size on gun violence. For Mr Sugarman, the question is whether they can continue the momentum beyond Saturday.
“I think the success of what comes out of Parkland is not measured in marches but will those who participated in them continue to be engaged on the issue It’s not just these students: It’s their friends, their family, their siblings,” he said. “The question is, is this one step towards helping to create and organise a working grass roots movement that will work on gun violence prevention?”
The Parkland students, for their part, say that their march in Washington is just the start.
Speaking at another press conference inside the US Capitol on Friday, Aaliyah Eastmond, one of the Parkland students visiting for the march, said that they are not going anywhere until they get what they want.
“A lot of people feel like this is the end and the march is just – that’s going to be it. The march is just the start,” Ms Eastmond said. “We will fight for this until change happens. If you guys don’t want to hear about it anymore, you fix it, so we don’t have to keep repeating ourselves.”
copy https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world
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