Thousands are gathering in Washington for a protest that organisers claim will be a defining moment in the long-simmering national debate over gun-control legislation.
Organisers of the March for Our Lives rally are hoping to draw 500,000 protesters on Saturday.
That would match last year's women's march and make it one of the largest Washington protests since the Vietnam era.
A student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attends a news conference about gun violence. Source: AAP
It would also bolster claims that the nation is ready to enact sweeping changes to its gun control laws. More than 800 marches are planned in cities across America and dozens of locations overseas to be held at roughly the same time.
Washington is generally nonchalant about protests, but Saturday's gathering has prompted more attention and speculation than usual.
Washington officials say they are prepared to handle the crowds - more prepared than they were for the women's march, which far exceeded the organisers' official predictions of 300,000.
The protesters, many of them high school students, claim that the youth leadership of this initiative is what will set it apart from previous attempts to enact stronger gun-control legislation.
In the wake of the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the students have tapped into a powerful current of pro-gun control sentiment that has been building for years.
They have also partnered with well-funded liberal groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control advocacy group founded by former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Polls indicate that public opinion nationwide may indeed be shifting on an issue that has simmered for generations, and through dozens of mass shootings.
A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, found that 69 per cent of Americans think gun laws in the United States should be tightened.
That's up from 61 per cent who said the same in October of 2016 and 55 per cent when the AP first asked the question in October of 2013. Overall, 90 per cent of Democrats, 50 per cent of Republicans and 54 per cent of gun owners now favour stricter gun control laws.
But even with claims of historic social momentum on the issue of gun control, the AP poll also found that nearly half of Americans do not expect elected officials to take action.
Among the questions facing march organisers and participants will be how to translate this one-day event, regardless of turnout, into meaningful legislative change.
One way is by channelling the current energy into mid-term congressional elections. Students in Florida have focused on youth voter registration and there will be a registration booth at the Saturday rally.
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