Los Angeles is one of the many cities where protestors gathered Saturday to promote gun legislation in response to the most recent rash of mass shootings in the U.S.
NBC 4 reported that thousands were gathered in downtown Los Angeles for the event, organized by the March For Our Lives advocacy group that was established after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
Furor about lenient gun laws has increased since an 18-year-old gunman purchased an AR-15 style rifle shortly before murdering 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas last month. According to March For Our Lives, there have been 41 mass shootings in the three weeks since Ramos opened fire on Robb Elementary.
Other mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Tulsa, Okla., have highlighted the nation’s gun violence issue this year. The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed gun legislation. Senators have also been discussing new regulations on firearms.
According to NBC 4, the Los Angeles March For Our Lives rally was scheduled to take place around Grand Park, outside City Hall from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Speakers slated to talk at the event include: Joseline Garcia, co-founder of Un-PAC, a national organization centered on achieving democracy reform; Santiago Mayer, executive director of Voters Of Tomorrow youth voting organization and co-founder of the Prom At The Polls campaign; Hasan Piker a Twitch content creator; Mia Tretta is a 17-year-old wounded gun violence survivor and activist; Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; C Heis, a 17 year old trans and disabled youth organizer and Cameron Kasky, a Parkland survivor who co-founded Never Again MSD.
“March organizers asked that attendees to marches around the country bring signs, but not picket signs, along with their own water, sunblock, hats and snacks,” said NBC 4. Protestors were also asked not to block sidewalks or access to buildings and to stay out of streets unless they have a permit to march.
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