Since a shooting at a Florida school took the lives of 17 people on Valentine’s Day, a national debate on gun control has been in full swing. The debate has sparked several protests and demonstrations in D.C. and nationwide:
Monday, February 19: Protest for Gun Reform
Organized by Teens for Gun Reform, which is being led by local DC students, this event is encouraging students to participate in a “lie-in” at the White House on President’s Day. During the protest, students are asked to lie in the ground for three minutes to symbolize the people killed in the Florida shooting as well as to “symbolize how little time it took for the shooter to buy his AR-15,” according to a press release by the organization.
The “lie-in” is scheduled to happen on Monday, January 19 at noon in front of the north side of the White House.
Monday, February 19: Falls Church Vigil for Parkland
A vigil will be held by Virginia Moms Demand Action for the victims of the Parkland shooting at George Mason High School. The vigil is scheduled for 5 p.m. More information on their Facebook page.
Wednesday, February 21: 'Enough is Enough' DC-area Student Walkout
Students from several D.C.-area schools are expected to walk out of class to call for action from Congress. The plan is for them to walk out of class at 9:30 a.m. and take the Metro to Union Station, where they’ll then march to the Capitol for a rally.
Wednesday, March 14: #Enough! National School Walkout
Exactly one month after the Florida school shooting, organizers are calling for “students, teachers, administrators, parents and allies” to participate in a nationwide school walkout. This event is being organized by the same people who organized the Women’s March.
According to the Facebook event, organizers are asking participants to walkout for “17 minutes at 10am across every time zone on March 14, 2018 to protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods.”
Saturday, March 24: March For Our Lives
The students of Parkland will be leading multiple marches throughout the country for gun violence protection. More information on their Facebook page.
Friday, April 20: National Day of Action against Gun Violence in Schools
On the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, the Network for Public Education is calling for a day action to prevent gun violence. “The failure to enact rational laws that bar access to guns designed for mass shootings is inexcusable. It is past time to speak out and act,” the Facebook event says.
This list will be updated as we learn about more protests and demonstrations.
