The March for Our Lives took place on Saturday, March 24th. This March was a major demonstration of the need for gun reform in this country. The March for Our Lives was organized in order to honor the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Mass shootings have been on the rise in the past few years with 17 school shooting in 2018. Spring has only just started. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have already made great strides to stay present in the media and not be simply another statistic. They want change.

The March for Our Lives has been one of the most influential recent movements to advocate for gun control. Over two million people marched for change. People are not okay with the standard grieve and move on rhetoric from the government anymore. The average age of protestors was just under 50, with teenagers only making up 10% of the crowd. This issue resonates not only with the current generation, but generations of the past who have had and seen enough. This march featured survivors of the Parkland shooting such as Emma González; one of the best-known advocates for gun control of today.

The March for Our Lives had five demands according to their mission statement. “Universal, comprehensive background checks, bringing the ATF into the 21st century with a digitized, searchable database, funds for the Center for Disease Control to research the gun violence epidemic in America, high-capacity magazine ban, assault weapons ban.”

These demands will require attention from the government as these changes need to be made to policies already put in place. It is devastating that so many people had to suffer before the wheels finally started turning to make a large impact on the media through a march.

This should have happened after Columbine, however, while some people are afraid of changes being made to the Constitution, children are fearing for their lives.