March for Our Lives - Sat. March 24, in DC and near you

One month ago today, 17 students and educators were shot and killed during a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Dozens more were injured. Surviving students didn't waste a moment to respond, insisting that elected officials do more than offer "thoughts and prayers." The students unrelentingly demanded action from an unresponsive government.

One month later nearly 700 "March for Our Lives" events in every state in the country are scheduled for Sat., March 24, with the main march in Washington, D.C. Denied a permit to meet on the National Mall, participants will be meeting at noon on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 3rd NW and 12th NW.

Student Emma Gonzalez, who was catapulted into public awareness with her speech at an anti-gun rally in Florida just three days after the massacre, stated, " When our country experiences a mass shooting, the NRA and their supporters in Congress always wait for our voices to quiet down. But we're not going to quiet down. School is a place where we should feel safe, and if the politicans won't do what's right to keep us safe, then we're going to be too loud for them to ignore. We're marching in Washington, D.C. on March 24 for ALL of our fellow students and for the victims and survivors of gun violence in every community."

Former Ohio Congressman and current gubernatorial candidate, Dennis Kucinich, said, "Today is an unprecedented day in the history of our nation, a day when our children all across this country are exhibiting the leadership, strength, and the courage that too many of our elected leaders lack in trying to stop gun violence in America. We need to listen to them. We need to support them. And we need to join with them in demanding that government live up to its responsibility to provide for the safety and protect the lives of its citizens -- in our schools, in our public places, on our streets, and throughout our communities."

Find a march near you here.

In addition, today is National Walkout Day, students across the country are walking out of their classrooms at 10:00 am local time for 17 minutes, one minute for each of the victims killed at Parkland. Live updates are here. According to the NY Times, "At 10 a.m., the entertainment company Viacom suspended regular programming on its cable channels. During the break, which lasted 17 minutes, MTV, VH1 and another Viacom network, Logo, highlighted the work and words of young anti-gun violence activists around the country, while other Viacom networks, including BET, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon, aired messages of support for the walkouts."

RT @DanWardVA07: When Nickelodeon has more moral courage than your Congressman... https://t.co/3vfdr42YNK at https://t.co/3vfdr42YNK

— Jessica Corbett (@jessicacorbett) March 14, 2018

Emma Gonzalez' speech: