Seattle’s March for Our Lives

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3,266 people have died from some kind of gun violence just in the year 2018 alone.

Those are not just numbers on a page, those are human lives that are no longer here.

In response to the ongoing violence initiated by guns, on Saturday, March 24th, people from all over came to Cal Anderson Park on Capital Hill with signs to protest gun violence. The tragic Parkland shooting was the fire flamed that sparked this march. The combination of every shooting that has happened recently, including the one in Parkland, and the indifference the country had about it, was why this march happened. It represented fighting for a change in the laws to make a stand against gun brutality.

This march was youth-run  and exhibited many teenagers from across the city. Not only were high school students there, but people of all ages made appearances. There were little kids with signs walking alongside their parents or sitting on shoulders, and a group of elderly people were holding a sign of support, along with plenty of adults.

The march started in Capitol Hill at 11am and ended at Seattle Center with a rally in which the governor of Seattle, Jay Inslee, spoke, as well as the governor of Connecticut. In addition, many youth from different high schools spoke about their opinions on current gun laws. One guy even sang an acapella song, and another girl did some spoken word. Cameron Miles Lavi-Jones is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Gypsy Temple who was playing at the rally.

“We’re all coming from the same perspective, the same needs, the same goals, and that’s to let our future live,” noted Lavi-Jones, prior to the band’s performance.

Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile performed three songs at the rally and got the crowd even more excited about the movement. She was born in Ravensdale, Washington, and she dropped out of high school to pursue her career. She now plays folk and alternative country music on her tours around the U.S. She was invited to perform at Seattle’s march, and she took the offer, wanting to be apart of such a historical moment.

In one of Carlile’s songs as she repeated the words, “hold out your hands,” and everybody held their hands up to represent that “enough is enough.”

This made a very powerful statement and alluded to the Michael Brown shooting when he held his hands up saying, “don’t shoot,” but was killed anyways.

Carlile remarked before singing, “There’s been a lot of times in my life when I’ve been proud of this city, but today is when I’m the most proud of this city.”

Dave Mathews was featured as an unannounced, special guest. He debuted one song as his melodic voice carried through the crowd. He sang the song “Mercy” and had the crowd singing and swaying along with him in seconds.

Before he started singing, he talked for a minute about what the march meant to him.

“I lost my sister to gun violence, I lost my uncle to gun violence, and it’s a real thing. You can say ‘oh well you just don’t understand, there’s freedom at stake.’ But it’s not freedom at stake; its our children, our future, its comfort, its happiness, its education,” said Matthews.

The crowd cheered loudly in praise of these words and was captivated by his amazing performance.

One of the youth speakers, Sadie from Seattle Academy, also spoke.

“I may only be 15, but I’m old enough to recognize that once our country has gotten used to mass shootings in our cities, that something is wrong. Living in a place like Seattle, I thought I was untouchable. However, only three weeks later, a girl in my own grade was shot and injured in a neighborhood I visit often. We think it will not be us, until it is,” shared Sadie.

Student Sadie reminds the crowd how close these issues can be and how people should not be desensitizing them.

She also says that,”In Washington State as of right now, if you will be 18 by the next election you can register to vote. Governor Jay Inslee recently signed a bill that will allow for 16 and 17 year-old citizens to pre-register to vote,” said Sadie.

During the march, people with clipboards were walking around asking if people wanted to register to vote. People were feeling empowered to put their names down and start taking action.

Esme, a senior from Seattle Academy, engaged the crowd through her speech that she was invited to give.

“We are angry. Angry that what was once a national shock is barely a New York Times notification. Angry that our lesson as a country has not been learned time and time again. Why is it that we have to do the math of how many people we’ll lose? Why is it that every shooting is reduced to a number of casualties? The math is simple, a life is worth more than a gun,” shared Esme.

The speakers in this march were phenomenal, empowering the audience to feel ready to make a change. Another student chosen as a speaker was named Nara.

“I want to experience life the way it was meant to be experienced. With joy and laughter. Not worrying every moment in class that a gunman will come and shoot me,” Nara shared.

The youth inspired everybody standing in the vicinity, whether a part of the march or not. The citizens of Seattle and the people advocating against gun violence felt even more driven to keep fighting.

This was not a one time scenario; it was and is an everlasting push for keeping people safe and wanting the best for students in the education system. It is about honoring the lives lost and taking the anger from those tragedies and channeling it into something much, much bigger than any of us.

For more gun violence statistics: http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/