Citizens groups in five cities across the state are hosting memorial events on April 16 to honor the one-year anniversary of the campus shooting at Virginia Tech.

The civil protest is part of a national campaign to express the sorrow over the shootings that took place at the school, which remains the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

Organizers are attempting to stimulate public discourse and draw attention to the fact that it is too easy to purchase a gun in America. Each of the groups will have a total of 32 protesters, which symbolizes one of the students or teachers murdered.

The protesters will lie on the ground for several minutes, signifying how little time it took for the shooter to buy his gun.

Protest details and locations:

Charlotte-32: noon, Tryon Street & East 6th Street, southeast corner.

Duke-32: noon, on front steps of Duke Chapel at Duke University in Durham.

UNC-Chapel Hill 32: noon, Polk Place near Gardner Hall at UNC Campus.

Winston Salem-32: 10:30 am, Clock Tower at Winston Salem State University.

UNC-Wilmington-32: noon, Clock Tower at the Center of UNCW Campus, 601 S. College Rd.