March for Our Lives (event)
March for Our Lives is a significant mass demonstration primarily organized by high school students to advocate for gun control reform in the United States. The inaugural event took place on March 24, 2018, in Washington, DC, attracting a substantial crowd, with estimates of attendance ranging from 200,000 to over 800,000 participants, alongside sister marches held in many cities globally. The movement emerged in response to the tragic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed on February 14, 2018. Prominent student activists, including Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, and David Hogg, gained national attention by using their platform to push for legislative changes, such as universal background checks and bans on assault weapons.
The event featured powerful speeches from student survivors, emotional performances, and widespread participation from various celebrities and public figures who lent their support. March for Our Lives highlighted the urgent need to address gun violence, not only in schools but also in communities, reflecting a broader concern for public safety. Despite facing criticism from some political factions, the march garnered significant praise and recognition, solidifying its position as a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue about gun control in America.
On this Page
Subject Terms
March for Our Lives (event)
The March for Our Lives was a mass demonstration organized by high school students to raise awareness about gun violence and the need for gun control reform in the United States. The first march took place on March 24, 2018, with the main march located in Washington, DC. Sister marches were held in hundreds of cities across the country as well as internationally. The demonstration was organized in response to a school shooting that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018. The shooting was carried out by a student there, Nikolas Cruz, and claimed seventeen lives. A number of student survivors were interviewed in the wake of the attack and used the spotlight to promote gun control reform in American laws. The students eventually decided to organize a march to bring greater awareness to the issue of gun violence. The march shed a spotlight on the many school shootings that have taken place across the United States in recent decades. It also highlighted the high incidence of neighborhood gun violence many children regularly experience. According to estimates, between one and two million people attended the march in the United States alone, making it the country’s biggest youth protest since the Vietnam War.
Background
On February 14, 2018, a gunman entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and shot and killed seventeen people. In the aftermath, multiple student survivors were interviewed by the media. A number of these students used the opportunity to call upon Congress to pass gun control reform legislation, citing the growing frequency of school shootings as cause for tougher laws regarding gun purchases. Soon after the shooting, students from the school announced that they were organizing a march to advocate for improved gun control laws in the United States. Students then founded a gun-control advocacy organization called Never Again MSD. In the weeks leading up to the march, several Marjory Stoneman Douglas students became prominent voices among the shooting survivors, including Cameron Kasky, Emma Gonzalez, and David Hogg. They were interviewed by multiple major media outlets and were featured in magazines and newspaper throughout the country. Several of them toured the country to promote the march, which organizers scheduled for March 24, 2018.
As the march gained publicity, numerous celebrities lent their support to the cause. American actor George Clooney was one of the first to publicly announce his support for the march and even donated money to help with operation expenses. More celebrity support poured in in the coming weeks. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey and film director Steven Spielberg championed the march, and other celebrities announced their intentions to directly participate in the event.
The media projected that hundreds of thousands of people would attend the March for Our Lives. When the day came, researchers counted more than two hundred thousand attendees at the main event in Washington, DC. This was considered a conservative estimate, however; other estimates counted as many as eight hundred thousand attendees at the nation’s capital. Estimated attendance totals that included sister marches across the country counted anywhere from 1.2 to 2 million people. About eight hundred March for Our Lives events were held around the globe on March 24, 2018. Events were held in Japan, India, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Belgium.
Overview
The main rally held in Washington featured dozens of student speakers from across the country who had been affected by gun violence. Student organizers and spokespersons Gonzalez, Kasky, and Hogg also spoke at the event. Gonzalez’s emotional speech at the rally’s end received widespread coverage and included a four-minute-long moment of silence. In total, her speech lasted six minutes and twenty seconds, the same amount of time it took the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter to kill seventeen people at her school. Alongside the speeches, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama Club performed an original song to honor the victims. The rally also featured musical performances by a number of celebrities including Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato.
The March for Our Lives shed light on a hotly debated topic in American society. Supporters of the march demanded tighter gun control laws from Congress, particularly laws that required universal background checks on all gun sales. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter had legally purchased an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle. This type of weapon was originally designed for military use and fires off multiple rounds in a rapid sequence when triggered. The March for Our Lives highlighted the need for a ban on all commercial sales of assault weapons and high-capacity firearm magazines, which are ammunition chambers that can hold many bullets. Alongside the call for universal background checks on all gun sales, marchers also demanded the reform of current background check laws to account for possible loopholes. Activists also sought a higher age minimum for purchasing firearms.
Speakers at the march also called attention to legislators who in the past had received support from the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA declared its distaste for the march shortly after it was announced, going so far as to accuse the march’s high-profile supporters of exploiting the victims in order to infringe upon the Constitution’s Second Amendment, which gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms. Several right-wing and ultra-conservative figures called the shooting a hoax and expressed suspicions that the Parkland students were “crisis actors” who were paid to act like they were involved in a school shooting.
Despite the animosity the march received from the far-right, the March for Our Lives was praised by a wide range of celebrities, politicians, news outlets, and world leaders. The students were celebrated for their bravery and activism. In 2018, Time magazine listed the Parkland student organizers among its list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” The special issue featured a write up about the students by former president Barack Obama.
Bibliography
Almasy, Steve. “March For Our Lives: Top Moments That Made Up a Movement.” CNN, 25 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/03/24/us/march-for-our-lives-wrap/index.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Andone, Dakin. “What You Should Know About the March for Our Lives.” CNN, 23 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/us/march-for-our-lives-explainer/index.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Bacon, John, and Christal Hayes. “’We Deserve Better’: Students Nationwide Walk Out In Massive Protest over Gun Violence.” USA Today, www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/14/thousands-students-across-u-s-walk-out-class-today-protest-gun-violence/420731002/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Carissimo, Justin, and Thom Craver. “March for Our Lives 2018–Live Blog.” CBS News, 25 Mar. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/live-news/march-for-our-lives-2018-03-24-live-stream-updates-today/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Cooper, Kelly-Leigh. “In Florida aftermath, US students say ‘Never Again.’” BBC, 18 Feb. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43105699. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Griggs, Brandon. “Here’s What the NRA Had to Say Today About the March for Our Lives.” CNN, 25 Mar. 2018, edition.cnn.com/2018/03/24/us/nra-march-response-trnd/index.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Langone, Alix. “These Photos Show How Big the March For Our Lives Crowds Were Across The Country.” Time, 25 Mar. 2018, time.com/5214706/march-for-our-lives-us-photos/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Lopez, German, “It’s Official: March for Our Lives Was One of the Biggest Youth Protests since the Vietnam War.” Vox, 26 Mar. 2018, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/26/17160646/march-for-our-lives-crowd-size-count. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Shabad, Rebecca, Chelsea Bailey, and Phil McCausland. “At March for Our Lives, Survivors Lead Hundreds of Thousands in Call for Change.” NBC News, 24 Mar. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/march-our-lives-draws-hundreds-thousands-washington-around-nation-n859716. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.
Sit, Ryan. “More Than 2 Million In 90 Percent of Voting Districts Joined March for Our Lives Protests.” Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2018, www.newsweek.com/march-our-lives-how-many-2-million-90-voting-district-860841. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.