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Tens of Thousands Demand the Senate Take Action on Gun Violence at March For Our Lives Rally in Washington D.C.

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Survivors of gun violence, family of victims, teachers, and other activists lead rally for an estimated 40,000 people in first D.C. March For Our Lives rally since 2018

X Gonzalez: “After four years, I got my degree. What have you done?”

David Hogg: “Our enemy isn’t people on the left or right. Our common enemy is gun violence.”

March For Our Lives students held over 70 meetings with Congressional offices this week leading up to rally

WASHINGTON D.C. — An estimated 40,000 people gathered in the rain at the Washington Monument today for the first March For Our Lives rally in D.C. since the historic event in 2018. Survivors of gun violence, family of victims, teachers, and other activists urged those gathered to demand Congress take immediate action to address gun violence in America following a series of tragic shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo, Tulsa, and countless other communities.

“Our movement is louder and stronger than ever, and we’re not going to stop,” said the March for Our Lives. “People in every state are tired of watching their friends, neighbors, and family die from preventable gun violence. This day of action–with events around the world–proves that this moment is different. The movement to end gun violence is more inclusive, diverse, and representative of the country than ever before, because it has to be: none of us are safe. Today, we saw unity and momentum, and we hope that it will continue in the weeks and months ahead.”

The national rally in Washington D.C. was part of a day of action in which March For Our Lives hosted marches and rallies in over 450 cities around the world. Survivors, students, teachers, and activists rallied in cities like Houston, Milwaukee, and Phoenix to urge elected officials to prioritize lives over the gun lobby.

In one of their first public speeches since the historic 2018 march in Washington D.C., March For Our Lives co-founder and survivor of gun violence, X Gonzalez (formerly known as Emma Gonzalez) said: “After four years, I got my degree. What have you done?”

A sea of blue overtook the Washington Monument as participants of all ages in March For Our Lives shirts congregated just blocks away from Capitol Hill where students held over 70 meetings with legislators earlier this week.

“The time for these petty arguments is up. Over the years, I encountered my fair share of people who disagree with me,” said David Hogg, March For Our Lives Co-Founder and Parkland survivor. “This time is different because we all see a bit more clearly: our enemy isn’t people on the left or right. Our common enemy is gun violence.”

Participants thrust their signs in the air as March For Our Lives co-founder David Hogg led the crowd in a chant of, “This time is different.”

“Well enough is enough. We will not go quietly into the night as victims. We will no longer accept the inherent inequities built into our society as our reality,” said Garnell Whitfield Jr., son of Tops Supermarket shooting victim and former Commissioner of the Buffalo Fire Department. “We are here to demand justice for those who have been martyred in this struggle and action for those who are yet among us or yet to be born.”

Speakers included:

  • Mayor Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington D.C.

  • Trevon Bosley, March For Our Lives Board Member and gun violence survivor

  • RuQuan Brown, Gun violence survivor and activist with March For Our Lives

  • U.S. Representative Cori Bush, (D-MO)

  • Erica Ford, Founder of LIFE Camp, Inc.

  • X Gonzalez (formerly known as Emma Gonzalez), March For Our Lives Co-Founder and Parkland Survivor

  • Fred Guttenberg, parent from Parkland, FL

  • David Hogg, March For Our Lives Co-Founder and Parkland Survivor

  • Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.

  • Pastor Michael McBride, Executive Director of the LIVE FREE Campaign

  • Manuel Oliver, father of Parkland victim and gun violence prevention activist

  • Becky Pringle, National Education Association President

  • Reverend Denise Walden-Glenn, mother of 12 and executive servant leader for VOICE, a social activism group in Buffalo

  • Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers

  • Garnell Whitfield, son of Tops Supermarket shooting victim and former Commissioner of the Buffalo Fire Department

“Today, we honor the lives lost – in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa; we remember Columbine, Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas; we mourn tomorrow’s anniversary of the horrific shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando; and we vow: this time must be different,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, while surrounded by AFT and NEA members, parents, and students impacted by gun violence on stage. “In the words of Mother Jones, we pray for the dead, and we fight like hell for the living.”

“Every educator across this nation is joining students and parents; community members and clergy, demanding that our elected leaders show the courage to do what’s right,” said Becky Pringle, National Education Association President. “We will rally. We will organize. And we will vote. We will not rest until those in elected positions of power, use that power to protect our kids.”

“Many of us have been wearing our marching shoes for years,” said Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., who appeared again with March For Our Lives co-founder Jackie Corin again as they did in 2018. “But today we’re telling Congress, we’re telling the gun lobby and we’re telling the world: this time is different.”

Introduced by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, March For Our Lives activist and DC native RuQuan Brown argued: “Our politicians are committed to paychecks. But we, their constituents, are committed to comfort and peace.”

For more information visit marchforourlives.org/march22.

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