By Sera Gurzumar, Year 12, and Sofia Flynn
Protests. We’ve all heard of them, and some of us have even participated in them. But why do we march? I decided to have a chat with my friend, Sofia, who lives in the US and helped organize the Walkout Against Gun Violence that took place last week in DC.
We march to have our voices heard. As students, many of us can’t vote, run for elected office, or even put money into candidates we believe in. Hence, we need to pool our voices in a setting where adults are forced to listen to us. Climate change, gun violence…these are problems we, the youth, face. By protesting, we are showing that we care and that we have power, even though some adults don’t think we do. While forming opinions and learning about the issues is a key step in effective advocacy, our ideas are not visible unless masses of us come together and demand attention. While one person can sit alone and ask for change, large groups attract political and media attention, show the breadth of the issue, and boost energy in young activists. There’s no feeling like being surrounded by thousands of other teenagers speaking out or standing up for something they believe in. This is the reason why walkouts are so powerful. They show that the issues we are fighting for are as important as our education.
But how are marches organized? The march in DC was organized by “Moco4Change” or the “Montgomery County, Maryland Students for Change” – a student led and run organization that advocates primarily for gun control in addition to other social and political causes. Sofia is a school representative who helped coordinate school groups and get them down to DC; guiding students from her school to the White House where they then marched with thousands of other teenagers to the Capitol. The whole event was organized on a group chat on Groupme and Google Classroom and everyone had tasks which later on came together.
The walkout was held on the one year anniversary of the protest in DC last year (March 14 2018) which was one month after the Parkland shooting. It was organized to show that students still care – even after adults have told us that we’d lose interest. Additionally, it advocated for the passage of HR 8 and S 42, two bills in congress referred to as the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which mandate background checks for all private sales of firearms. Background checks prevent convicted felons and domestic abusers (as well as people who have been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution) from legally buying firearms through private sales (stores, gun shows, etc). As of right now, background checks aren’t required in all states or for all types of gun sales.
Fundraising was done through GoFundme and T-shirt sales and the money raised was used to set up a stage on the lawn of the Capitol, quite literally on the doorstep of the lawmakers. Speakers included gun violence survivors, students from the area, congressmen and gun control advocates.
So next time a protest comes around, think. Is this something I want to fight for? If it is, join. You might be one person, but even one person makes a difference.
