MIAMI — Thousands of people are gathering in Parkland and across the country on Saturday to rally against gun violence.
“Most people say they want assault weapons for protection, but those weapons are used for mass shootings,” Broward School Board member Debra Hixon told the crowd in Parkland. “They killed my husband, Chris, along with other students within seconds. We deserve better.“
More than four years after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, where Chris Hixon was athletic director, and just two weeks after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the March for Our Lives rallies are calling for measures against gun violence.
March for Our Lives has its roots in Parkland. The organization was founded by Stoneman Douglas survivors. Four years ago, a mass shooter killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at the Broward County school.
Survivors, families and gun control advocates gathered at Parkland’s Pine Trails Park Saturday morning. Another March for Our Lives rally was planned for later in the day in Coral Gables. Thousands of protesters also were expected across Florida, in Washington, D.C., as well as New York and Chicago.
In Parkland, at the start of the rally Saturday morning, a crowd of hundreds included gun control advocates, parents and students, many holding up signs calling for changes in gun law. Some of the signs said: “Vote For Our Lives,” “Never Again” and “Enough is Enough.”
“The only ones who have the power to get gun reform is us, the voters,” gun ban advocate and Parkland family member Gayle Schwartz told the crowd. “We are tired of politicians refusing to help our innocent students.”
In between speakers, the crowd chanted: “Vote them out.”
After the speeches from the amphitheater stage, the crowd marched around the park.
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