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WASHINGTON (AP) — Student survivors of the Florida school massacre anchored a massive rally against gun violence Saturday in Washington, D.C., while throngs of young people took to the streets in sister marches across the U.S. Some students also participated in counter protests in places like Helena, Montana, and Salt Lake City.
Here’s a look at what some of the demonstrators had to say:
TALIA RUMSKY, 16
SCHOOL: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
MARCHED IN: Washington, D.C.
WHY? “Because we keep chanting, ‘Never again,’ ‘Enough is enough,’ ‘Never again.’ But it’s already happened again. It happened in Maryland. There was a shooting in Napa (California). So I’m really here to make sure we can make our voices heard; so people are empowered to make sure we vote in legislators so this doesn’t happen again; so we can avenge those who were stolen from us because someone thought it was OK to own weapons of mass destruction.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I definitely want people to vote in new legislators that will help us pass bills that will include banning high-capacity magazines, banning certain semi- and automatic assault rifles — and not just focusing on school safety but focusing in on gun violence as a whole.”
GRACE BENDER, 17
SCHOOL: Capital High School in Helena, Montana
MARCHED IN: Helena, Montana
WHY? “My family are all gun owners, and I’ve been around guns my whole life. And I think that it’s absolutely necessary for people who own guns who are responsible gun owners to also be advocating for this because I don’t think there are two sides. I think that if you want to find solutions, you can do that really easily.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I don’t want to wake up to another headline that says 20 kids died in a school shooting. I don’t want people like the Parkland shooter to be able to get access to guns like he did. I just want to feel safe in schools. I don’t want to have to keep doing shooter drills.”
ADRIAN MAYAN, 13
SCHOOL: Sacred Heart Academy in Redlands, California
MARCHED IN: Los Angeles
WHY? “I’m here to represent the people who died in the several shootings that happened recently, and I’m here to represent those who can’t be here and to make changes in the government.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I hope many government officials are able to open their eyes to change gun laws in this country.”
ZOE BONNER, 16
SCHOOL: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
MARCHED IN: Washington, D.C.
WHY? “I’m here today because it happened to our school, and it shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened anywhere, and we feel like it’s time to make change and get gun reform.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “Banning military-style weapons, and more protections for our schools.”
BRAXTON SHEWALTER, 17
SCHOOL: Columbia Falls High School in Columbia Falls, Montana
RALLIED IN: Helena, Montana, in favor of the Second Amendment
WHY? “We are here for the millions of responsible gun owners in the United States and around the world. ... I’ve been an NRA member since I was little. ... That’s just kind of our way of life down here, to own a gun. Almost everyone has one. Our voices deserve to be heard, too.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “Anyone can have their own opinion. I believe that everybody has their own right to go out for what they believe in. But all we’re trying to do is advocate and show there are, you know, responsible gun owners in the United States. There’s 320 million people in the United States. One mass shooting happens, and they think that everyone in the U.S. in some way has to be held accountable for it.”
KALLI HONEYCUTT, 16
SCHOOL: Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado
MARCHED IN: Denver
WHY? “I wanted to be part of the movement that’s provoking a change.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I want to make it harder for tragedies that are happening at schools to be able to happen. ... They (lawmakers) need to take a look at making it harder to get guns and maybe take a look at Australia because they definitely have something going for them. So make sure assault weapons aren’t available to the public.”
HAVE YOU BEEN AT SCHOOL WHEN THERE WAS A SHOOTING OR OTHER TYPE OF GUN THREAT? Honeycutt said her mother survived the 1999 Columbine shooting. “Her experience, it’s been drilled into my head to be on the lookout, be mindful of your surroundings and just to, if I hear a loud noise make sure it’s a door shutting and not a gunshot or a bomb going off. ... It’s taking the trauma from her and definitely trying to keep myself safe.”
MAYA MCENTYRE, 15
SCHOOL: Northville High School in Northville, Michigan
MARCHED IN: Detroit
WHY? “I’m really tired of being afraid at school. When I come to school, I don’t want to have to look for the nearest exit.”
HAVE YOU BEEN AT SCHOOL WHEN THERE WAS A SHOOTING OR OTHER TYPE OF GUN THREAT? “My school hasn’t had any threats that I know of. ... I don’t want to have a problem like that. I want to get to the problem before it gets to me.”
BEN STEWART, 17
SCHOOL: Shiloh Hills Christian School in Kennesaw, Georgia
MARCHED IN: Atlanta
WHY? “People have been dying since 1999 in Columbine, and nothing has changed. People are still dying. Columbine isn’t even on the top 10 list of mass shootings in America. Something needs to change.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I’d like to see commonsense gun laws introduced. It would be preferable if there was a semi-automatic rifle ban. ... If you look at ... school shootings, the majority of them are with legally purchased weapons. So yeah, criminals will get weapons, but you could still do something. It’s better than doing nothing.”
CECILIA MCCOY, 17
SCHOOL: Assumption High School in Louisville, Kentucky
MARCHED IN: Washington, D.C.
WHY? “I’m here for the students, for gun control — honestly just for everyone. This is not just for students. Everywhere you go, there is a threat of guns.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “Stricter gun laws and to get rid of assault rifles.”
CHARLIE SHEBES, 16
SCHOOL: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
MARCHED IN: Washington, D.C.
WHY? “I’m here because previous generations couldn’t do what we’re doing right now. And we want to make this time the last time. So if that means marching all over the world, then I want to be a part of it.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I don’t want to hear that kids don’t feel safe at schools. ... I want to see change in gun laws, and I want to see control. We’re giving it to people who, it’s just not safe. There’s no other way to put it, really.”
WHAT DID YOU EXPERIENCE DURING THE FEB. 14 SHOOTING AT YOUR SCHOOL? “The shots just kept coming and coming. And I thought it was still a drill because they said we were going to have a drill, and then everyone started screaming along with the shots. And I was locked in the classroom on top of a printer for a good hour and a half. (When we were able to leave), I saw bodies everywhere, and there were just splatters on the wall. They actually told us to put our heads down and hands on the people’s shoulders in front of us, and it was very hard not to look around at the bullet holes in the wall. The only way to get out of the building was to step in blood and over bodies.”
BROOKE SOLOMON, 15
SCHOOL: Cass Technical High School in Detroit
MARCHED IN: Detroit
WHY? “I’m here today marching for the thousands of under-represented black and brown kids, especially in Detroit.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “I’m looking for tougher gun laws and legislation that includes banning semi-automatic and assault weapons, that includes background checks for all gun sales, and gun restraining orders.”
LEVI RODAS, 16
SCHOOL: Orem High School in Orem, Utah
RALLIED IN: Salt Lake City, in favor of gun rights
WHY? “I am all for the Second Amendment. I am highly against gun control.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “Potentially arming teachers. I don’t know if that will actually happen or not, but it’s definitely a possibility. I think this will open the eyes of the people that not everybody wants people to be disarmed and that some people still defend the rights guaranteed in the Second Amendment.”
HAVE YOU BEEN AT SCHOOL WHEN THERE WAS A SHOOTING OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF GUN THREAT? “I’ve never been in any sort of school shooting, but I’m very aware of the problem. I understand that measures need to be taken, but gun control is not the right measure. I believe we need to have better security at schools, but I don’t think that disarming people is the right way to solve that problem.”
KAYLA RENERT, 15
SCHOOL: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
MARCHING IN: Washington, D.C.
WHY? “I’m here because I look at the younger kids and I look at the future generations, and I just never want them to have to go through what we went through and to experience what we saw and what we heard.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE AS A RESULT? “Better gun laws and legislators voted into office that will actually do something about it and not just tell us, ‘What you guys are doing is not going to do anything. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not going for (re-election).’ We want people that actually care.”
WHAT DID YOU EXPERIENCE DURING THE FEB. 14 SHOOTING AT YOUR SCHOOL? “I remember getting a phone call from one of my best friends. She was in a closet. ... And I just remember her crying hysterically to me, and at that moment, I was heartbroken. I got a picture of one of my good friends. She was shot in the leg. Just seeing it, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It didn’t feel real.”
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Associated Press writers Andrew Harnik and Alex Brandon in Washington; Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles; Ben Nadler in Atlanta; Matt Volz in Helena, Montana; Ed White in Detroit; Rick Bowmer in Salt Lake City; and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
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