The Los Angeles Post

Seven most memorable moments from ‘March for Our Lives’

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The “March for Our Lives” rallies that took place in cities across the country on Saturday underscored the momentum of a political movement that emerged following a deadly mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school last month.

The marches featured students delivering impassioned calls for Congress to pass stricter gun control measures, and drew hundreds of thousands of people to the streets of large cities and small towns alike.

In Washington, the epicenter of the protests, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the Feb. 14 shooting took place, sought to galvanize support for the movement they started more than a month ago.

Here are some of the highlights from Saturday:

 

1. Emma González’s moment of silence

Emma González, one of the survivors of the Parkland shooting, capped off a speech at the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington with a stunning silence.

“Six minutes and about 20 seconds,” González said, breaking the silence. She then revealed that the pause equaled the amount of time that her high school had been terrorized by the shooter.

“In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured, and everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered.”

 

2. 11-year-old’s emotional speech calling for reform

In a speech in Washington, Naomi Wadler, an 11-year-old elementary school student from Virginia, rejected criticism that she and her peers were too young to understand the nuances of gun policy.

“My friends and I might still be 11, and we might still be in elementary school but we know. We know that life isn’t equal for everyone and we know what is right and wrong,” she said.

The speech also sought to draw attention to minority women affected by gun violence.

“I urge everyone here and everyone who hears my voice to join me in telling the stories that aren’t told,” Wadler said. “To honor the girls and the women of color who are murdered at disproportionate rates in this nation.”

 

3. Parkland student who was shot continues speech after throwing up

Sam Fuentes, who was among the students injured in the Parkland shooting, pushed on with a speech in D.C. after becoming physically ill on stage.

“The truth is, I am not here for me. I am here for you. So you don’t have to fear getting shot in your own classroom,” Fuentes said, before throwing up. She was then helped back to the podium by another organizer.

“I just threw up on international television, and it feels great,” Fuentes proclaimed proudly, before proceeding to speak for several more minutes.

 

4. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 9-year-old granddaughter’s dream for a ‘gun free world’

The granddaughter of one of the most iconic figures of the civil rights movement echoed her grandfather on Saturday, delivering remarks in Washington reminiscent of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

“My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” 9-year-old Yolanda Renee King said.

“I have a dream that enough is enough, and that this should be a gun-free world, period.”

 

5. Signs showcase frustration with lack of action on gun control

Protesters across the country brought with them signs that sought to underscore their intense frustration and anger with policymakers over the issue of gun violence.

Some signs riffed on internet memes, while others took direct aim at politicians and the National Rifle Association.

“Our children are dying! Trump is golfing,” one poster displayed outside the White House read, criticizing the fact that President Trump spent Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.

 

6. Parkland students who were still recovering from shooting attended march

Two Stoneman Douglas students, Kyle Laman and Ashley Baez, attended Saturday’s rally in Washington, despite still recovering from injuries they sustained in the shooting.

Laman, who appeared at the march in a wheelchair, was shot in the foot during the attack, while Baez, who had been shot in the leg, used a cane to walk.

“I genuinely was afraid to come,” Baez told the Miami Herald. “It’s such a big group, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

“It’s kind of overwhelming,” Laman said. “I don’t really know what to expect.”

 

7. Celebrities came out in full force to show support

From music legend Paul McCartney to the cast of the hit NBC show “Parks and Recreation,” celebrities turned out in droves at “March for Our Lives” rallies across the country, further raising the profile of the events.

“One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here,” McCartney said in New York, referring to the 1980 murder of his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon.

Among the other celebs to make appearances at marches on Saturday were Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame, actor George Clooney and singers Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus.

Several others voiced their support for the marches on social media. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has acknowledged he might run for office someday, chimed in on Twitter.