A day of national protest against gun violence came to Sonoma on Saturday with the ‘March for Our Lives,’ one of some 500 rallies across the country.
The call for “common sense national and state gun safety restrictions” was organized by March for Our Lives, a youth-driven organization first created by students who survived the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
One of its co-founders is David Hogg, a Parkland survivor, who addressed huge crowd in Wshington D.C. “We need to put aside our politics and save our kids and loved ones from this senseless and horrific violence before it impacts them,” he said.
The Sonoma Plaza protest numbered about 175 people, estimated Neva Baer, one of the organizers. “Some people brought their small children holding signs,” said. “We had a good response also from teenagers who showed up.”
The extreme heat sent many protesters to seek shade under the nearby trees, and there was one profane heckler, she said. “We did talk to a few people walking by who said ‘there should be more guns,’ if you can believe it.”
At least 254 mass shootings have taken place in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. These include the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings.
In 2020, guns became the leading cause of death among people between the age of 1 and 19 in the U.S., more than vehicle crashes, drugs overdoses or cancer.
Photos by Katy Byrne
Thank you for covering this Rally. We need to make this an urgent issue for America!