Source: News & Observer
Hundreds of North Carolinians joined in a nationwide rally to demand gun reforms in the “March For Our Lives” events held in Asheville, Raleigh and Charlotte earlier this month. The marches were three of more than 450 sister marches planned across the country, prompted by the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The Raleigh event was planned by 18-year-old Laura McDow. McDow has been involved in March For Our Lives all throughout high school since attending the organization’s first protest in Washington, D.C., when she was 14 years old.
“I think people are really starting to realize that this movement isn’t that people were trying to take people’s guns away,” McDow said at the rally. “I think people are just starting to see, truly, that this movement is about making sure that guns don’t fall into the wrong hands. I believe that people are for the safety of Americans.”
On June 12, a group of 10 Democratic and 10 Republican U.S. senators announced a bipartisan agreement on gun violence. This development gives the proposal enough support to overcome the Senate filibuster when the bill goes to a vote.
The proposal includes funding for school safety resources, an enhanced review process for buyers under the age of 21, a red flag provision, and investment in mental health and suicide prevention programs.
March For Our Lives is a student-led movement that began in response to the shooting in Parkland, Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and has had millions of participants across the country.
