US: Hundreds of Thousands March for tighter gun control

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AMN / WASHINGTON

Hundreds of thousands of protesters in United States, took to the streets to call for tighter gun control. The movement -‘March For Our Lives’, arose after 17 deaths in a school shooting at Parkland in Florida, last month. Student leader and Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez gave a powerful speech at the main Washington DC event.

In Washington, huge crowds, including a high proportion of young people and children gathered along Pennsylvania Avenue, with placards. A major demonstration was also held in Los Angeles.

More than 800 similar protests were planned nationwide and abroad, with solidarity events taking place in Edinburgh, London, Geneva, Sydney and Tokyo.

According to VOA, many students from Parkland, Florida, where a shooter killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, came to Washington to encourage other young people to stand up for gun control, and to urge people 18 and older to vote for lawmakers who do.

One of the most outspoken Parkland students, Emma Gonzales, spoke to the crowd of thousands in Washington Saturday about the loss of a good friend and her determination to make a difference.

And then, she stopped speaking. She stayed silent, tears streaming down her face, while those listening to her chanted, waited uncertainly, or began to cry themselves.

At the end of her long silence, Gonzales said: “It has been 6 minutes and 20 seconds. 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.”

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In New York City, former Beatles member Paul McCartney attended the rally, telling CNN, “One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here, so it’s important to me.” McCartney was referring to his former bandmate John Lennon, who was shot to death in 1980 outside his New York City apartment building.

The organizers of the march say about 800 marches took place around the country and across the world, including Tokyo, Berlin and Paris, where Americans living abroad turned out to support their countrymen at home.