Students, teachers, parents and citizens converged Saturday morning in downtown Raleigh to demand action addressing gun violence, coinciding with the larger March For Our Lives in Washington D.C. Thousands of people marched in the streets from Raleigh’s City Plaza through downtown to the Halifax Mall and state government complex.
The march was organized by two Wake County high school students, Lauren Smith and Amber Mitchell. Mitchell said that she and Smith organized the event because they feel that the current climate regarding gun violence is a worrisome one.
“We are both students and we want to make sure that students can go to school and not have to worry about things like their lives,” Mitchell said. “As teenagers, we have a lot to deal with already. We’re going through a lot of changes and getting into colleges. We shouldn’t have to worry about active shooter drills.”
On Feb. 14, 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In the weeks since, survivors have spurred a movement across the country for safer schools and gun legislation reform.
Smith said that she primarily organized the event because she wants to see legislative action.
“We would like to see our legislators listen to us and make the changes that we’ve been asking for,” Smith said. “We’d like to see a ban on military-grade weapons. We need regulations on private gun shows. You shouldn’t be allowed to get a gun in 15 minutes.”
There was an abundance of NC State students participating in the march. Caleb Brownfield, a second-year student studying plant biology and fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, said he came to the march because he sees it as an opportunity for compromise between political parties.
“They’re actually trying to compromise with the right and the left,” Brownfield said. “I like that we’re actually trying to come with a nonviolent solution to this. I mean, I like my guns. But I also don’t see the point in having combat rifles, or really large magazines. I mean, single-shot is perfect for recreation.”
When asked what he would like to see come out of the march, Brownfield said he doesn’t want to see gun control overshoot its goal.
“If I really wanted anything it would be smaller clips and smaller ammo capacities,” Brownfield said. “And you don’t really need a combat rifle or anything like that. I just don’t want us to go too far. We already have a hard enough problem if our government decided to go become a corrupt government. We couldn’t really overpower anybody, because we have such a strong military. So I like having at least somewhat of a fighting chance if we ever needed to defend ourselves.”
The march began at 9:45 a.m. on Fayetteville Street. Protesters marched past the governor’s office, the State Legislative Building and the state education building, chanting slogans such as “Enough is enough,” “This is what democracy looks like” and “Vote them out”, in some cases referring specifically to Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr. Tillis and Burr received approximately $4.5 million and $5.6 million, respectively, from the NRA during their recent election bids.
Catherine Chirichillo, a first-year studying engineering, said she participated in the protest because she wants to see stricter gun laws.
“I’m here to support stricter laws for gun control and join the generation asking for change,” Chirichillo said. “We don’t want complete removal of the Second Amendment, obviously, just change.”
The march concluded on the lawn of the Halifax Mall and state government complex, where speakers expounded on gun violence and avenues for progress.
Jessica Bryan, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, said that time is up for the usual routes of politics.
“I’m done with waiting for someone else to do something about this gun problem,” Bryan said. “It’s obvious Congress is not going to do it unless we force them to do it. I just really believe that we need to have gun control to keep guns out of schools and make things safer for future generations.”
When asked what she would like to see come out of the movement, Bryan echoed the sentiments of many at the march.
“People are literally dying here,” Bryan said. “It shouldn’t be a political issue. It shouldn’t be ‘Oh we can’t do anything because this wouldn’t have fixed this one shooting, or this wouldn’t fix this other shooting, so let’s just not do anything’. It doesn’t make any sense. Why are you just going to sit there and tell me that nothing can be done. At least try. They’re not even trying.”
When asked what students should do if they are concerned about gun violence, Smith stressed the importance of voting and continuing political action.
“We want students to continue the momentum and keep it going, and vote,” Smith said. “Register to vote and get involved in the movement. Get out, vote and tell people about the movement.”
