AUSTIN, TX – Thousands of people are expected to gather in Washington DC and in small local marches across the country in the second March for Our Lives on Saturday as part of a new nationwide gun control campaign.
Protesters gather at the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin as part of the national event.
Motivated by a new upsurge in mass shootings, from Uvalde, Texas, to Buffalo, New YorkProtesters say lawmakers must take note of changing public opinion and finally pass sweeping reforms.
The first rally took place in 2018 after 17 people were killed and 17 injured when a gunman opened fire on the school in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day that year. This massacre sparked the creation of the youth-led March For Our Lives movement, which lobbied the Florida state government to pass sweeping gun control reforms.
Parkland students then took aim at gun laws in other states and nationally, launching March for Our Lives and holding a large rally in Washington on March 24, 2018.
Now, with another round of mass shootings bringing gun control back into the national conversation, organizers of this weekend’s events say the time has come to renew their push for a national overhaul.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
