Weeks after a gunman killed 19 students and a pair of teachers at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, a second “March for Our Lives” rally will be held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
The first rally was held in 2018 in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that left 17 dead at Stoneman High School.
In addition to the Washington march, over 100 sister events will be held this weekend in the U.S. in nearly every state.The group’s mission is to reduce the number of gun-violence deaths in the U.S.
“Born out of a tragic school shooting, March For Our Lives is a courageous youth-led movement dedicated to promoting civic engagement, education, and direct action by youth to eliminate the epidemic of gun violence,” the group founded by survivors of the Parkland school shooting said.
The 2018 rally drew thousands, making it one of the largest youth-led rallies ever in Washington.
One of the group’s founders, David Hogg, wrote an op-ed on Fox News’ website. Hogg was among the survivors of the Parkland school shooting.
“I want to state unequivocally that I am not anti-gun. In fact, the movement I helped to start has been pro-Second Amendment from day one,” Hogg wrote. “There are so many things that we may disagree on, but there is also a lot we do agree on. The problem is that we don’t listen to each other long enough to find out. What we both can’t accept is the idea that we can’t do anything to stop the murder of children. We can. We all desperately want to protect our kids. Let’s start there and find common ground to take action because the next shooter is already plotting his attack.”
The march is coming amid discussions on Capitol Hill to enact new gun laws. The U.S. House approved on Thursday legislation that raises the age to purchase assault-style rifles to 21 and prohibits the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds.
The bill had the support of five Republican House members. Democrats would need 10 of 50 Republican senators to join them to approve any reforms.
