Downtown LA hosts 'March for Our Lives' rally in response to recent mass shootings

On Saturday, more than 1,000 people marched through downtown Los Angeles to demand tougher gun laws. The March for Our Lives rally is a nationwide movement led by students and comes in light of recent mass shootings. 

The message against gun violence was loud and visible throughout the march. 

Demonstrators walked from Grand Park, through the streets of downtown LA, holding signs that called for a ban on assault rifles and tougher gun legislation. 

"It starts with raising the age of gun possession to 21. It starts with a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. It starts with having mental healthcare in schools that helps prevent gun violence in the future," said event organizer Marianna Pecora.  

The march downtown was held in solidarity with 400 other marches that occurred nationwide. The demonstrations are in response to recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, which combined killed 31 people. 

The March for Our Lives movement began after the 2018 deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Students who survived that mass shooting said four years later, there's been no major progress and they're fed up with the violence. 

"It's really sad that safety is no longer a right," said demonstrator Elle McRae. "Kids can't even go to school. It makes me want to cry. It just sucks." 

Cate Hindman, a student, said she's tired of hearing about more shootings and tired to have to see it. She was in class at Saugus High School in November 2019 when a 16-year-old shot and killed two students before killing himself. 

"It was the most terrifying experience I've ever had in my life. Like, having to decide whether I should run with this friend or that friend or where we should go," she said. 

Students said that in addition to rallying for change, their power lies in voting for elected officials that they believe will create change.