In Boston, hundreds demand stricter gun laws at March for Our Lives rally
BOSTON - Hundreds attended a March for Our Lives rally at Christopher Columbus Park in Boston on Saturday.
Many in the crowd held signs denouncing recent mass shootings like the ones in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
Speakers called on local, state and federal officials to tighten gun laws and make it much harder to buy them.
"Action is needed, and it's needed now," said Mary Najimy, president of the state's teachers union. She argued that armed teachers, police at schools and active shooter drills are no substitute for common-sense legislation. "We are outraged because, on a national level, nothing has happened to change the circumstances that allowed for Columbine."
That slaughter at a Colorado school was 23 years ago, but Saturday's demonstrators hope that the recent massacre in Texas will help push through the assault weapons ban, background checks and "red flag" provisions that Democrats passed in the House last week, which are expected to fail in the Senate.
"We are out here because we're in great pain, because our communities -- our children -- are dying," said Lawrence Stevenson of the Louis Brown Peace Institute.
In Cambridge, police held the seventh annual gun buyback -- offering a "no questions asked" surrender of guns in exchange for gift cards. City officials have also written an open letter urging other states to pass the gun restrictions that have not been forthcoming at the federal level.
"In Massachusetts, we have the most comprehensive gun laws and the second-lowest rate of gun homicide in the country -- because of our smart and thoughtful gun ownership laws," said Rep. Marjorie Decker.
Many are hopeful that this generation will be the one to make change happen.
"That's why it's so powerful to see all of these young people out here fighting for change," Stevenson said.
The first national March for Our Lives occurred in the aftermath of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.