Emotions run high at mass gun demonstration
Speakers and volunteers pushed a voter registration drive and vowed to oust lawmakers who oppose gun control.
By CAITLIN EMMA and IAN KULLGREN
03/24/2018 10:22 AM EDT
Updated 03/24/2018 02:59 PM EDT
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the country descended on Washington Saturday to demand action on gun control in a mass demonstration that could rival the annual womens marches sparked by President Donald Trumps election.
Spurred by the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month, the March for Our Lives has the backing of well-funded gun control groups like Everytown for Gun Safety. They are organizing youth voter registration drives and running crash courses on activism and public policy.
More than 800 sibling marches are planned across the United States and in other countries on Saturday.
The demonstration is the culmination of years of inaction by lawmakers as mass shootings have continued unabated in America. Left-leaning activists, feeling stymied by the National Rifle Associations lobbying, are wielding one of the few tools they have left: taking to the streets to demand change.
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Samantha Fuentes, a Parkland student who was shot in both legs, recited a poem she wrote about the assault. I was crying tears and blood at the same time, Fuentes told the crowd. She then paused, doubled over and vomited behind the podium.
When she recovered after a few moments, Fuentes straightened up and said proudly: I just threw up on international television and it feels awesome!
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/24/gun-control-march-for-our-lives-dc-483428