Members of the Sacred Heart Greenwich community marched along side men, women, and children in peaceful protests to fight gun violence at the March For Our Lives Saturday, March 24, according to marchforourlives.com. The mission of March For Our Lives is to bring awareness to the issue of gun violence, with the hope of inspiring change in the nation’s gun laws. Over 800 marches occurred in the United States and worldwide March 24.
Students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School organized the March For Our Lives. Stoneman Douglas High School, located in Parkland, Florida, recently experienced a mass school shooting, in which 17 individuals were killed, according to washingtonpost.com.
The students who organized the march spread the word of their cause through social media and their website.
“March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar,” according to marchforourlives.com.
The majority of the participants in the marches were students and young people from schools across the nation, showing an interest in changing the nation‘s current gun laws.
At the march in Washington, DC, Sacred Heart Greenwich was among the schools represented. Senior Clara Geffs organized a bus to take Sacred Heart students and faculty members to the march. Additionally, many other Sacred Heart community members participated in local marches, including the ones in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut.
Clara described the marches and the inspiration she felt after witnessing the willingness of young people standing up for what they believe in.
“Something that everyone should be inspired by, no matter your view on the subject of gun control in our country, is the passion of kids, and our ability to make a change,” Clara said. “Along with the push for stronger gun control laws and safety in our country, the message is clear: no matter what age you are, you’re not too young to stand up for something you believe in and start a change.”
Several faculty members also represented the Sacred Heart community at the March For Our Lives on Saturday.
Middle School History Teacher Mrs. Kelly Bridges attended the march in Washington, DC with Clara Geffs. She reflected on the impact of individuals voicing their concerns through protest.
“One of the greatest privileges we have as a democracy is the right to freedom of speech and petition, both exercised in the form of a peaceful protest on Saturday at the March For Our Lives,” Mrs. Bridges said. “Exercising our freedom of speech and petition allows our government leaders to understand how the people feel about an issue.”
Mrs. Bridges also discussed the importance of creating change by electing the proper officials in our government.
“While the March was a wonderful expression of people of all ages supporting the youth of our nation and calling for our leaders to protect them with common sense gun legislation, it is even more important that everyone registers and shows up to vote in November,” Mrs. Bridges said. “Real change will only happen if the people demand it at the polls.”
– Katherine Santoro, Staff Writer
Featured Image by Pau Barbosa ’18