Massive crowds demand tighter US gun controls

WASHINGTON: Hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on Washington in what anti-gun campaigners hoped would be a pivotal moment in their campaign to end mass school shootings in America, The Telegraph reported

The March For Our Lives was led by survivors of last month’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people died.

David Hogg, 17, one of the survivors, said: “This is the start of our marathon. They’re going to start trying to move the finishing line so we need to conserve out energy. We need to use this anger as adrenalin but realise that stamina in this situation is important. I think success is a lot of America coming out and becoming politically active

He added: “Washington is very nice and pretty but it’s all spectacle at the end of the day. In reality the politicians aren’t saying anything. We need to realise it’s BS, and call BS. Speak from the heart because these politicians don’t.”

While children were in the forefront of the march, many also brought several generations of their families, including babies in strollers and grandparents in wheelchairs.

The protests aim to break a legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings at schools and colleges have become a frighteningly frequent occurrence

Eight year-old Larisa Jeffers, wearing a Harry Potter scarf and glasses, was one of three generations of the Doros family who came from Philadelphia.

She said her teacher had talked to her about what to do if there was a shooting at school, and she felt unsafe sometimes in class

“I hope people listen to us,” she added Sharon Doros, 74, her great aunt, said: “We all have children and grandchildren, and they’re afraid every day when someone opens the door to their classroom. We failed but I think the kids are going to make the change.”

The crowds stretched away from the US Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue, past the Trump International Hotel, toward the White House. Crowds were respectful as they passed Mr Trumps hotel. The president had flown to Mar-a-Lago in Florida the previous evening

Teenagers carried signs with messages including “Am I Next?” and “Arms Are For Hugging” and “Washington You’re Fired”. Another read “I’ve already had my first lockdown drill”.

One boy aged about eight, wore a skeleton costume and held a sign saying “Do I Look Like A Target?”. He clutched the hand of his younger sister who wore a teddy bear outfit and carried a sign saying “I have a right to life”.

Diton Dashaj, 37, had his two year-old daughter Ezra, who will soon be going to kindergarten, on his shoulders. His wife Christina, 34, said: “When you go to look at schools parents are having to ask what is your school shooting policy, where do the kids hide if it happens. That didn’t happen when I was a kid, it’s just not the kind of conversation we should be having.”

At a rally in New York, a moment of silence was held for the Parkland victims. The accused gunman, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, faces the death penalty if convicted.

More than 800 demonstrations were set to take place in US cities from Los Angeles to New York and in countries around the world, according to coordinators.

In Sydney, Australia, rally organiser Jennifer Smith told a crowd of about 300 people, many of them Americans, that she could “breathe easy” about sending her children to school in Australia with its tough gun laws.

“I never have to worry about them having to do active shooter drills,” she said.

Organisers of the US marches retweeted photos from sister demonstrations as far afield as Northern Ireland, Mauritius, and Stockholm.

Organisers want the US Congress, many of whose members are up for re-election this year, to ban the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida rampage and to tighten background checks for gun buyers. On the other side of the debate, gun rights advocates cite constitutional guarantees of the right to bear arms

The teenage US organisers have won kudos and cash from dozens of celebrities, with singer Ariana Grande and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda among those performing in Washington.