Thousands of students, supporters march in Milwaukee for stricter gun-control laws
As many as a million or more marchers took to the streets across Wisconsin and the nation on Saturday to call for stricter gun control laws, lending their voices to a burgeoning movement launched by survivors of the deadly shooting at a Florida high school in February.
"We are here today to remember ... the 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School ... (and) every community member that has dealt with the impacts of mass shootings, from Columbine to Sandy Hook to the Pulse nightclub," Marvell Reed, a student at Milwaukee's Barack Obama High School told the crowd, estimated in the thousands, that rallied outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
"While we remember and honor those whose lives have been changed forever ... we demand something be done to prevent these tragedies," he said. "We are here today to say we will not stand by while students live in fear at school."
"That's what happens when all the adults get out of the way and let the kids lead," Alex Lasry, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and former aide to President Barack Obama, told the cheering crowd after several young people spoke.
"The question is what will the rest of us do now that we are woken up," he said. "It's up to all of us to say 'Enough is enough.' "
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The Milwaukee gathering was one of the hundreds of March For Our Lives events that swept across the country on Saturday, organized largely by young people inspired by the survivors from Parkland. A massive march in Washington, D.C., drew at last 500,000 people, according to organizers.
Accurate crowd estimates are notoriously difficult, and Milwaukee police did not respond to a request to gauge the crowd size. The event's organizers estimated the turnout was at least 12,000, but the number could not be independently verified.
The Milwaukee march drew from a broad swath of southeastern Wisconsin — urban, suburban, rural; young and old; black, brown and white. There were students, clergy and teachers; retirees and young families. Many carried signs with slogans touting "Enough is Enough" and "Books not Bullets."
"I feel I have a right to stand up for my safety," said Rachel Price, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Ian Hamilton of Brookfield, who was there with his family including two young children, said he supports universal background checks for gun buyers.
"I just want to make sure kids are safe," he said.
Sandy Sites, a deacon at St. James Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, attended with a group of religious leaders.
"Prayer is still powerful. But we also have to act. ... Enough is enough," he said.
Similar events were scheduled in cities across Wisconsin, including Racine, Fort Atkinson, Madison, La Crosse, Appleton and Green Bay. And a four-day, 50-mile march kicks off Sunday in Madison, with plans to wrap up in Janesville, the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.
The Milwaukee marchers headed east on W. State St. shortly before 11 a.m. en route to Red Arrow Park for a second rally and get-out-the-vote campaign. City Hall was open until 2 p.m., and several marchers took the opportunity to register to vote or cast ballots in the April 3 election.
Outside, marchers gathered along Water St. hoisting signs and shouting "No more guns!" "We want change!" and "This is what democracy looks like!"
The Milwaukee speakers and organizers were young, many of them still in high school. They called for restrictions on sales of high-capacity magazines and weapons that allow shooters to fire at large numbers of people without taking the time to reload. And they called out state and federal lawmakers for their allegiance to the National Rifle Association and their failure to enact "common-sense" gun laws.
"For too long, the issue of gun violence has been put on the back burner," said Sophia Zhang, a junior at Homestead High School in Mequon, who helped organize the march.
"Even when survivors of a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, have directly called for change, our representatives have been too busy focusing on school safety bills that do nothing to combat gun use," she said.
"We demand to have common-sense gun laws that will expand background checks on all gun sales, including those that are online and at gun shows," said Destiny DeVooght, a senior at Union Grove High School.
She also called for federal funding to implement violence-intervention programs in schools.
"Our voices, collectively, are powerful," DeVooght told the crowd. "I expect nothing less than absolute change."
Tatiana Washington, a junior at Rufus King High School, challenged the notion expressed by some that students were too young to be involved in the gun-control debate.
"How can this exclusively be an adult matter when we, the students, are constantly living in fear, wondering if we are next?" Washington said.
"How can they say this is an adult matter when we are losing our classmates, our parents and our teachers to gun violence?"
Like many speakers across the country on Saturday, she urged her peers to vote.
"As you cast your ballot, think about all the children who lost their lives to gun violence," she said. "Your voice is the most powerful tool."
Izzy Staton, a Marquette University freshman, stressed that responsible gun laws shouldn't be a partisan issue.
"This is an issue about common sense and protecting students," Staton said. "It does not take a rocket scientist to recognize there is a gun problem in our country. There are people who should be speaking here today ... but they are dead."
A small contingent of counterprotesters could be seen in the crowd, including at least one carrying a "Guns don't kill people; people kill people" sign.
"A gun will never just fire itself without someone initially pulling the trigger," said Kristen Gilmore, a high school senior. "People are the problem rather than guns," she said.
Gilmore said she wasn't at the rally to be confrontational.
"I am glad that people are out here for what they believe in. But I just want to offer a different perspective, too," she said.
Several of the marchers said they were not opposed to gun ownership, but want reasonable gun laws that will protect innocent people from harm.
"I support the law that says Americans can bear arms," said college student Emma Widmer. "But with that right you hold responsibility."
Politicians and celebrities joined in solidarity with young people across the country.
In New York, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney said he was marching for the late John Lennon, who was gunned down by Mark David Chapman near his home on Dec. 8, 1980.
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And former Vice President Joe Biden skipped the Washington, D.C., rally to surprise the young organizers in his home state of Delaware.
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But one of the real stars turned out to be an 11-year-old girl who took the stage at the Washington, D.C., rally to speak about the often unseen deaths of black women and girls.
"I represent the African-American women who are victims of gun violence, who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls full of potential," Naomi Wadler, from Alexandria, Va., told thousands listening on Pennsylvania Ave.
"For far too long, these black girls and women have been just numbers," she said. "I am here to say 'never again' for those girls, too."
USA Today contributed to this report.
