On June 12th, 2022, tens of thousands will demonstrate in Washington DC to protest gun violence. They will hold a rally to call for Congress to take action to prevent more tragedies. While the White House is the backdrop of the rally, speakers will speak about their outrage and frustration with the government’s inaction. This rally is one of several planned across the country, but was marred by a moment of panic during the rally. Some people rushed from the stage and a man yelled something at the crowd, which prompted a stampede and a brief panic.
The march comes just four years after the Parkland, Fla., shooting, which killed seventeen children and two adults. Ten days earlier, in Buffalo, a gunman killed ten African Americans at a supermarket. A few days before the march, three workers were shot and killed by a coworker at a concrete molding company near Hagerstown, Md. While the original march was hoped to draw 200,000 protesters, organizers have focused on smaller marches at 300 locations. While the event will draw thousands of demonstrators, the political climate surrounding gun violence has recently shifted, making it imperative for action to be taken in Congress.
The March for Our Lives rallies have become a national movement, with many student leaders pushing for legislation to stop gun violence. The rally in Washington, DC is only the first of many scheduled nationwide to take place on June 12th 2022. The goal is to increase pressure on Congress to pass legislation to curb gun violence. The rally was organized by a student group called March for Our Lives, and speakers spoke in support of gun reform. The rally also has events in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and around the country.
Survivors of mass shootings took their message to Capitol Hill. Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old girl from Uvalde, Texas, told lawmakers how she covered herself in her classmate’s blood. Matthew McConaughey, a celebrity who appeared in the White House briefing room during the protest, also spoke up. He pressed for reform and personal remarks about Uvalde.
The March for Our Lives event was the first major protest against gun violence in the US, four years ago. Since then, there have been more than eleven thousand student and teacher victims of gun violence on K-12 campuses during the school day. A gunman also shot and killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery store just a few days earlier. The number of smaller shootings has soared, with homicides rising 30 percent from the year before.
The US House of Representatives has passed several gun-control bills this week. Some of them will raise the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons, ban high-capacity magazines, and more. However, the bills are unlikely to be passed in their current form. The Senate’s Republican members are opposed to all of the gun-control measures, but the House has passed some.