March For Our Lives and Gays Against Guns Demonstration
On March 24, 2018, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across the country rallied together with the common goal of ending senseless gun violence and lack of gun control. Along the same vein of the Women’s March, the March For Our Lives was an incredibly unifying experience with a tremendous turnout of people from all walks of life and purposes. The march was also organized in a similar fashion to the Women’s March, via social media and digital grassroots means.
The creation of this rally has been credited to #NeverAgain, a group of student survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, along with the help of nonprofits, celebrity endorsements and local businesses. The mission and focus of the march is to demand a comprehensive and effective bill be brought to Congress, along with voting out politicians in the midterm elections who have affiliations with the NRA.
The way this march was organized is a true testament to the change in how people are rallied together, using social media, as well as traditional media, to spread the word and gain traction. The website for the march also used some tactics we have seen throughout class like giving page visitors the ability to donate, sign petitions and provide resources for those interested in the rally. There were also volunteers stationed around the march area with voter registration information, which helped to advance the march’s purpose to vote out irresponsible politicians and get a bill presented to Congress.
The demonstration in Washington D.C. was just one of the 800 rallies across the world. In the nation’s capital, amongst the demonstrators were the outspoken students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, celebrities who have taken a firm stance against gun violence, and even the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.
I attended the March For Our Lives, not only as a concerned citizen, but as a graduate of a public school, the sister of a public school student and the daughter of a public school teacher. That said, I don’t believe gun violence is only a concern in a school setting, but these are some identifiers that allowed me to connect to the demonstration. My high school back home instead of demonstrating through a walkout, they came together as a school community to voice their concerns and discuss what the community could do to prevent gun violence (http://tbrnewsmedia.com/harborfields-students-choose-unite-instead-walking/).
At the march, I was not only a demonstrator, I also helped my best friend record a news package for her class at American. This made me much more aware of the ubiquity of Facebook Live, Instagram and Snapchat stories that were being recorded as a way to share the experience with those who could not be present. I was much more aware of the news coverage from freelance and news affiliated reporters.
Amidst the main drag along Pennsylvania Avenue, one group in particular had set up shop in Pershing Park across from the Willard Hotel. Gays Against Guns or GAG, utilized the entire space to demonstrate their mission. The mission of Gays Against Guns is “an inclusive direct action group of LGBTQ people and their allies committed to nonviolently breaking the gun industry’s chain of death--investors, manufacturers, the NRA and politicians who block safer gun laws”.
In the lower area of the park, there was a podium and chairs with signs propped up along the walls and then in the upper area of the park was the “pink” carpet. Along the pink carpet stood members of GAG who invited passing individuals to “tell the NRA to go away, sashay down our runway!” There were also individuals dressed as Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, with boas made of fake money and blood. This was to call attention to the large amount of financial support the congresswoman has received from the NRA.
My best friend and I interviewed one of the members dressed as Barbara Comstock who happened to be an AU alum from the Public Communications program. We also interviewed a woman who has supported the LGBTQ community’s efforts against gun violence since the Columbine shooting. It was interesting to get her perspective as an activist who has been part of a multitude of grassroots organizations throughout her life and how going about acting on the organization’s mission has changed over time.
Overall, the March For Our Lives and Gays Against Guns demonstrations were a testimony to the changing and turbulent times we are living in, but more importantly how we go about organizing and creating positive change in our country. So many strategies and tactics were utilized to make these demonstrations happen and it was an amazing opportunity to be a part of it.
To learn more about March For Our Lives and Gays Against Guns here are the links to their websites: http://www.gaysagainstguns.net/
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