Thousands rally for ‘common sense’ gun control measures

By Ashley Illenye and Karuga Koinange
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers

WASHINGTON—Thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of the nation’s capital on Saturday to call on Congress to pass stricter gun control laws that they hope will end the gun violence that plagues American communities.

Students, teachers, children, parents and grandparents marched down Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 12^th and Third streets before listening to more than two hours of speeches by teenagers and children from throughout the country who had lost a family member or friend to a bullet.

Speaker after speaker urged young people to register to vote and show up at the polls for the November mid-term elections. They said members of Congress who do not heed their call to pass common sense gun control should be voted out of office.

“I’m here for the many people that have died at the hands of gun violence,” said Delaney Tarr, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty members were killed in a mass shooting on Feb. 14. “We cannot move on. If we move on, the NRA wins. Today, and every day, we fight for those things that are right.”

Emma Gonzalez, another senior at the high school in Parkland, Florida, honored those who died in the assault with a 6-minute, 20-second moment of silence – the time it took for 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz to use an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill his victims.

Student activist David Hogg and others from Stoneman Douglas criticized U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., by placing on the podium a bright orange price sticker with $1.05 written on it. Hogg said the number represented the amount of money Rubio had taken from the NRA for each student’s life.

“Is this all that we are worth to these politicians – a dollar and five cents,” said Stoneman Douglas survivor Sarah Chadwick. “Well, I say that one life is worth all of the guns in America.”

Media reports placed the crowd size in Washington at anywhere from tens of thousands to between 500,000 and 800,000. In addition, more than 800 cities around the world held anti-gun rallies to coincide with the main event in DC.

The event, which was organized by the students of Stoneman Douglas, brought students and teachers from Broward County, Florida, to mourn the loss of their loved ones.

Young men and women who lost friends stood in huddles, arms around each other and in tears as they remembered their fallen classmates.

“I can’t stop crying,” Isabella Cayetano, a high school student 30 minutes away from Parkland, said with tears in her eyes. “I shouldn’t be scared to go to school. After the shooting, the entire environment changed. Everybody was sad and scared.”

The night before the march, a vigil was held in Newark, New Jersey, for a student lost in the Parkland shooting, Carmen Schentrup.

“We lit candles, commemorated Carmen and made a commitment to God to do what we can and engage in common sense gun control,” said Bishop Mark Beckwith, who coordinates a group of local politicians in New Jersey who are against gun violence, Bishops United Against Gun Violence.

Protesters waved signs with anti-gun sentiments in the air, calling for lawmakers to listen to their constituents and not the NRA.

“Congress is afraid to vote on anything because they’re receiving money from the NRA,” Dianna Sweeney said as she held a sign that boldly stated: “The NRA is a terrorist organization.”
In between speeches given by teenagers and children affected by violence, the crowd chanted, “Vote them out” and “No more guns.”

“The NRA, they’re bullies,” Sweeney said. “They try to scare people into supporting their agenda. I’m more afraid of the NRA than any other terrorist organization– they’re here.”

Elizabeth Lvino, a high school teacher from Pennsylvania, said she is puzzled about how highly guns are touted in society.

“I just don’t understand why we glorify guns in this country,” Lvino said. “I understand some people hunt. Some people live in rural areas and need to protect themselves, but we’ve got guns on a pedestal that we don’t have people on and that’s a shame.”

Lvino said her school ran a lockdown drill the day following the Parkland shooting. She said her students were terrified, adding that she will be helping all of her students register to vote to prevent such fear in the future.

According to Lvino, politicians receiving money from the NRA should be ostracized.

“We need to make the ‘A’ in the NRA give politicians a scarlet letter,” Lvino said. “You earn an ‘A,’ that means you’re out.”

Bruce Speck, a social worker from Philadelphia, attended with his family to express his desire for change in gun laws.

When asked what can be done to create change, Speck simply pointed to a banner on the Newseum building across the street that listed the rights of the First Amendment. He said that civilians must express themselves to make a difference.

“The most important thing you can do is petition the government for a rejoice of grievances,” Speck said. “That’s what we’re all doing here today.”

Russell Daly, a lawyer from Philadelphia, suggested a unique law change. He wrapped a sign around his back that proposed a 28th amendment that would repeal the Second Amendment.

Daly said that though he appreciates guns being used for sports, assault rifles have no place in civilian society.

“They’re not for hunting and not for sport,” Daly said. “They’re strictly weapons of mass destruction and that’s what they were designed to do. I don’t think they make a positive contribution to society.”

With speakers at the march putting an emphasis on the younger generations making change, it seemed fitting that a large number of students were in attendance.

Ryan Greyer, a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said he has been in a state of disbelief at all of the gun violence that has occurred in recent years.

“It’s hard to believe when you see the headlines,” Geyer said. “Trying to cope is rough.”

Greyer held a sign that stated getting healthcare is more difficult than getting a gun. He said he was inspired to make the sign because he is shocked at how accessible guns are in this country.

Greyer stressed that in order for his generation to make in impact, people in his generation must come out and vote against politicians who are pro-guns.

“We need to vote all these people out [and] make sure they’re held accountable for taking money from the NRA [or] if they’re voting in favor of guns,” Geyer said. “We’ve got to take action.”

Though several speakers and civilians at the event shared Greyer’s viewpoints, there were some in attendance who felt differently.

Eric Ciabottia, a freshman at Penn State University, walked around the streets with a “Make America Great Again”hat and sign that read, “Protect the 2nd Amendment.” The back of the sign contained a satirical list of reasons to ban guns, such as “guns are icky.” He said he made the sign satirical to attract people to come and talk to him.

Ciabottia said that he had been heckled a few times throughout the day and at one point he was woofed at by a man, but he stressed that he was in attendance to open himself up to different perspectives.

“I am pro-gun and I wanted to open a dialogue with people who disagree with me,” Ciabottia said.

Ciabottia stressed that though he thinks gun violence is awful, a lot of people are missing out on important information about gun crime. He said the vast majority of gun crime is committed by handguns, not AR-15s. He said that handguns are mainly owned by gangs.

“I want to open people’s eyes to the statistics about gun crime they might not be aware of,” Ciabottia said.

Ciabottia said he felt disgusted about how the sheriff department handled the Parkland shooting. He said he would be open to stricter background checks, but he said the best way to prevent more mass shootings is to keep guns available to the public.

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Ciabottia said.

The speakers had a different message. They called for a ban on assault weapons, better background checks, and resources to help the mentally ill. They said teachers should not be armed – a proposal that has been pushed by the NRA and President Trump.

School shootings and gun violence, though the focal point of the march, were not the only issues addressed on the streets of Washington.

Ella Azovlay, a college student at New York University, was passing out flyers labeled “Run for Something,” the title of a non-profit organization that supports progressive young people under 35 to run for local government.

“Young people need to run for local office,” Azovlay said. “People our age don’t feel like they’re represented. They’re the voice of the next generation.”

The Run for Something mission statement says the organization is looking for diverse individuals that they can help with seed money, organization building, and access training.

Paul Harfleet traveled from London to be at the march and proudly held up a sign that said, “Have flower power, not gun power.”

“We should be encouraging peace and acceptance in our communities, not hate and violence,” Harfleet said.

Harfleet started the Pansy Project, which involves planting pansies all over the world in areas affected by homophobic hate crimes. He even wrote a children’s book, Pansy Boy, about his own experiences with homophobia in grade school.

Several elderly people were also in attendance, voicing support for young people to take action and make their voices heard.

Martha Margoski, an elderly White woman who sported a “Black Lives Matter” sign, said she has long been a staunch supporter of civic action among youths.

Margoski said she has been showing up at rallies and marches for over 40 years, cheering on young people to make themselves heard and make themselves visible.

“I’m all for putting your body where your mouth is,” Margoski said.