The word "Enough" accompanies the March for Our Lives organisers and the MS Douglas High School students standing defiantly on Time Magazine's front cover.
The Stoneman Douglas students have spearheaded the nationwide protests for stricter gun control laws after a shooter killed 17 people from their Parkland high school, in Florida, on 14 February.
The students are the driving force behind the March for Our Lives protest and high school student Aalayah Eastmond will join a massive crowd of Americans - expected to number in the hundreds-of-thousands - taking part in nationwide protests for gun control on Saturday.
The 17-year-old says she will be marching not only for tougher gun laws but for the classmate whose body she hid beneath during last month's massacre at her school.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, and mass shooting survivors, from the left, Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and Alex Wind. Source: AAP
"Columbine happened - nothing's changed. Sandy Hook happened - nothing's changed. Parkland happened - nothing's changed," Eastmond said Thursday.
"The march is just the start," she said at an event with lawmakers, prosecutors and members of law enforcement on Capitol Hill.
"We will fight for this until change happens."
School shooting generation
Saturday's march is the latest event organised by the Stoneman Douglas students, who have launched the largest US grassroots movement for gun control seen in decades.
Under the banner #ENOUGH, tens-of-thousands of students walked out of classrooms across the country on 14 March to protest against gun violence.
David Hogg, a Stoneman Douglas student, said another school walkout was being planned for April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, which left 13 people dead.
Hogg said it is time for lawmakers to take on the powerful US gun lobby and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
"Either you stand with the kids or you stand with the NRA," Hogg said. "And we're asking people to put the USA over the NRA."
On Saturday, the March for Our Lives rally is expected to draw a crowd of 500,00 in Washington DC alone.
Students rally outside the Capitol Building in Washington, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Source: AAP
The aim of the march is to help gather the support of young voters who could then have their say in November's mid-term elections.
MS Douglas High School student Cameron Kasky said young people can mobilise and vote for the right politicians who could make a difference.
“Either have the politicians pass legislation or set them up to be voted out,” Kasky told Time Magazine.
The nationwide protests since 14 February has seen Florida pass its first bill on gun legislation in at least 20 years. But the Parkland students are not satisfied with just the Florida bill and are demanding more change.
Senior Rutik Shinglot speaks to students during a walkout at San Luis Obispo High School Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in San Luis Obispo, California. Source: The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo)
A new social movement
The march has been organised through social media to help galvanise students from across the country.
The protest has even caught the attention of celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney and opera Winfrey who pledged $US500,000 to the march. The Clooneys have also said they will join the protesters in Washington DC.
Barack and Michelle Obama wrote a letter to the Parkland students praising their "resilience" that has "helped awaken the conscience of the nation".
“We wanted to let you know how inspired we have been by the resilience, resolve and solidarity that you have all shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy," the letter read.
"Not only have you supported and comforted each other, but you’ve helped awaken the conscience of the nation, and challenged decision-makers to make the safety of our children the country’s top priority."
Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, where 20 children aged six and seven years old were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, praised the students on Thursday for their activism.
"We are in the midst of a new social movement, much like the civil rights movement, marriage equality movement, the anti-war movement," Blumenthal said.
"That has always been the way change, particularly revolutionary change, has been accomplished in this country," he said.
Blumenthal, an outspoken advocate for tougher gun control laws, ridiculed President Donald Trump's proposal to arm teachers.
"Armed teachers is toxic lunacy," he said. "What kind of country are we that says the new normal is bulletproof backpacks and armed teachers?"
Since the Parkland shooting, the state of Florida and the US Congress have made only modest tweaks to gun laws.
They have failed to adopt legislation promoted by gun control advocates such as a ban on assault rifles and expanded background checks which would cover all gun purchases, even private sales.
Sydney protest
As students set to stage satellite protests around the world, a March for Our Lives event will be held in Hyde Park Sydney.
The event promotes a peaceful stand with "American students, families and teachers in their courageous attempt to end senseless gun violence".
- With AFP
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