Tuesday 18 / March / 2025
Washington: Tens of thousands of Americans gathered across the country on Saturday at "March For Our Lives" rallies to demand tighter gun laws, led by survivors of last month's Florida school massacre which reignited public anger over mass shootings.
Students from the Parkland, Florida, high school where 17 people were killed on February 14 were set to speak at the biggest event, in Washington, where organisers said as many as 500,000 people were expected to demonstrate near the Capitol and call on Congress to fight gun violence.
One local student, an 11-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, named Naomi Wadler, promised to represent the "African American women who are victims of gun violence who are simply statistics instead of vibrant beautiful girls full of potential."
"For far too long, these names, these black girls and women have been just numbers," Wadler said. "I'm here to say never again for those girls too."
The protests aim to break a legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings at schools and colleges have become a frighteningly frequent occurrence.
