Hundreds gather in Raleigh for ‘March for Our Lives’ to protest gun violence
Hundreds of people gathered at Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh Saturday to protest recent mass shootings and gun violence in communities across the country — including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas — and demand change from lawmakers.
The local rally was one of hundreds that took place nationwide Saturday, including one in Columbia, South Carolina, that drew some 300 people. The rallies were organized by March for Our Lives, an anti-gun violence organization that formed after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Laura McDow, an 18-year-old from Durham, organized the Raleigh event. McDow marched at the first March for Our Lives event in Washington, D.C., in 2018, and has stayed involved with the movement locally since then.
McDow and other student organizers spoke at the rally, recounting their experiences with gun violence in their own schools, as well as how shootings at schools across the country have affected them during their education.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been in this fight for my whole high school career, and I chose to miss some graduation festivities because some students are missing the rest of their lives,” said McDow, who will graduate from high school Sunday. “I didn’t just figuratively survive high school. I literally made it through alive. And that’s something many Americans can’t say.”
Other speakers included Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, state Rep. Marcia Morey, former president of the N.C. Association of Educators Mark Jewell and Raleigh-Apex NAACP president Gerald Givens.
Allam, who is expecting her first child, said she and her husband worry about the gun violence their child could face in school or in other spaces, such as a grocery store or a mosque.
“And that’s not how we should be living in America,” Allam said. “That’s not what our politicians should want for their constituents, for the people of this country.”
Several speakers encouraged attendees to vote for elected officials who will support “commonsense” gun control measures, such as the one passed Wednesday by the U.S. House of Representatives that would enhance background checks for people buying guns.
“If politicians want our support, then they should listen to the citizens they are supposed to lead, serve and protect,” said Ashley Ju, a 17-year-old high school student from Cary. “It is their job to represent what the majority of citizens want, and the majority want stricter gun control laws.”
People at the event appeared to represent a wide range of ages, something that Ju told The News & Observer surprised her, but made her feel that the anti-gun violence message was reaching beyond just students.
The Dunn family from Cary — Anna, 20; Patrick, 21; Tommy, 16; and mom Katie, 51, — attended the event together, carrying signs with messages that asked elected leaders to “solve the problem” and encouraged other attendees to “demand change” by calling the offices of North Carolina Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr.
.jpg "Image from iOS (3).jpg")
“We’re tired of seeing all of the school shootings on TV,” Katie Dunn said. “And I thought this was a good way to bring about some change and let our representatives know that we’re voting and this is a big issue for us.”
Tommy Dunn’s sign read, “I should be writing my college essay, not my will.” He said that as a high school student, gun violence in schools affects him on a daily basis, and he hopes elected leaders will take action on the issue.
“I could go to school one day and not come home,” he said, “which I think is very wrong.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2022 at 4:20 PM.
