As bipartisan lawmakers seek to compromise in the wake of recent mass shooting incidents, thousands of young people will travel to Washington, D.C. to push Congress to approve tighter gun regulations.
The March for Our Lives rally will occur less than a month after 19 kids and two educators were gunned down in a shooting incident in Uvalde, Texas, and ten black individuals were murdered at a store in Buffalo, New York.
On Saturday, similar marches will be organized in more than 450 U.S. and international locations.
Yolanda Renee King
In a press interview, Yolanda Renee King, the 13-year-old granddaughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., revealed she will deliver one of the keynote lectures at this weekend’s Washington rally.
King also said youth activists are exhausted after years of protests and countless deaths.
🧵 Ahead of the March for Our Lives 2022 rally in Washington D.C., #YolandaReneeKing told me:
“My goal is that by time I finish my speech people will feel encouraged” pic.twitter.com/yGYAiS5B0A
— Symone D. Sanders-Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) June 11, 2022
After the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, March for Our Lives was created.
It attracted more than a million people to its inaugural rally in Washington and sister events across the nation in March.
King stated, “We are demanding our government ban assault rifles. We must minimize children’s fears about going to school and the anxiety of people like me about going to the grocery store.”
As a result of recent high-profile mass shootings, the Senate departed town without striking an agreement on gun control measures on Friday.
Democrats say they are near a deal with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who was chosen by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to lead the GOP’s negotiating efforts; however, linguistic issues must still be resolved.
This week, the House enacted its form of so-called red flag law, which permits courts to restrict access to guns for individuals deemed to be a risk to themselves or others.
The plan has a rocky path in the equally divided Senate, where Democrats need bipartisan backing to achieve the 60-vote barrier required to pass most initiatives.
Numb to the Pain
King stated she could not anticipate whether or not recent massacres would result in a shift in the status quo.
She remarked, “After two weeks, the news always contains various articles. People practically forget this problem exists in the United States until another major shooting occurs.”
“This time is different” 13 year old Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of MLK #MarchForOurLivesJune11 #EndGunViolence #doctorsforgunsafety pic.twitter.com/jZsHBRD6BA
— Kirsten Hawkins (she/her) (@kbhawkins1) June 11, 2022
Per consent filed with the National Park Service, approximately 50,000 people are expected to assemble near the Washington Monument on Saturday. The event is anticipated to occur between noon and 2 p.m.
King reported her parents never required her to live up to the legacy of her assassinated grandfather’s activism.
However, she has assumed the activist position in order to speak out against gun violence.
“It has been left to my generation to tackle this, to combat this issue and ensure other generations will not have to endure the same thing,” she said.
“No one has done enough to deal with this problem and make it easier for people to overcome their fears.”
