Fueled by young voices and the theme “We are the Change,” a national movement seeking to end gun violence showed its impressive might on Saturday.
Thousands of high school students took to the streets across America — from small towns to the nation’s capital — demanding action on gun control so that more of their peers don’t end up shot dead in their schools as has happened so frequently for as long as they have been alive.
The March for Our Lives was impressive not just for the sheer number of participants — between 2,000 and 3,000 in Northampton, hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C. — but also because the students’ expression of anger, passion and determination to make a difference is reminiscent of the early days of the anti-Vietnam War movement a half-century ago. It remains to be seen whether today’s outrage about gun violence will have the same impact as the rage against the war during the war, but the seeds have been planted.
“We must no longer solely fight back tears,” Northampton High School junior Cherilyn Strader said during Saturday’s rally on the steps of City Hall. “We must fight for change … not just here, but all across the nation. We are sick and tired of seeing our peers in coffins.”
Organized by the Pioneer Valley Students for Gun Control, the March for Our Lives in Northampton proceeded down Elm Street from the high school to City Hall as people came from their houses to stand with signs encouraging the marchers.
The most powerful messages, here and across the country, were delivered by teenagers. Julia Albro-Fisher, an eighth-grade student at JFK Middle School, described growing up at a time when practicing lockdown drills in a darkened classroom are routine.
“I wasn’t born yet when Columbine happened. I was 8 when Sandy Hook happened,” she said. “Every kid and teacher in America is thinking, ‘Is the door locked?’”
There were many poignant moments. At City Hall, Northampton High School senior Galen Winsor sang to the tune of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” a tribute to the 17 students and staff killed Feb. 14 during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He recited one line about each victim and asked people in the crowd to think about what the sentence might be for them or their child.
In Washington, D.C., Emma Gonzalez, one of the students from Parkland who has become the face of this national movement, stood silent for six minutes and 20 seconds before the thousands of people gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue. That was the time it took for the gunman to kill the 17 victims and wound others at the high school, she said. “Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands … Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”
Gonzalez ended by imploring her peers: “One final plug. Get out there and vote.”
High school junior Ben Moss-Horwitz, one of the organizers of the march in Northampton delivered the same message, urging all those 18 and older to register and vote. “Through voting, we can reverse the power in this country.”
Another organizer in Northampton, 17-year-old Jesse Zeldes said after the march, “A lot more people showed up than we are expecting. We need that presence to ensure that our story is told. I think people are leaving with the sense that we can go out and actually do something.”
At many of Saturday’s rallies, there were tables where volunteers helped young people register to vote, as speakers urged them to vote out lawmakers who refuse to support tougher gun-control laws. Students are calling for banning high-capacity magazines and assault weapons like the AR-15 rifle used by shooter in Florida, tighter background checks and raising the age to buy guns legally.
There are some hopeful signs. Earlier this month, Florida approved its first gun-control measure in more than 20 years, including raising the minimum age to buy guns from 18 to 21.
Northampton City Council President Ryan O’Donnell announced Monday that he will introduce a resolution April 5 supporting proposed legislation in Massachusets that would allow judges to order temporary removal of guns from people ruled dangerous to themselves or others, “and also in support of this courageous movement led by a new generation.”
To those young people, we say: Don’t give up.