Editor's Note: In the original version of the video attached to this article, Christian Marquez was not credited. The video was created by Christian Marquez and Makayla Grijalva.
Five and a half weeks after the Parkland, Florida shooting took the lives of 17 individuals, “March for Our Lives” rallied in cities across the world to protest school shootings and gun violence on March 24.
Here, in Albuquerque, the “March for Our Lives” march began at 10 a.m. in Old Town Plaza. The march went from the Plaza to Tiguex Park, where the rally began at 11 a.m.
Albuquerque’s “March for Our Lives” was organized and ran by local youth. Blair Dixon, Jessica Stanton and Zoey Craft were the head organizers for the march. According to Dixon, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, youth organizers and volunteers met every day for the past three weeks to plan the march.
The rally and march were created in remembrance of the victims of the Parkland shooting, but also to demand gun reform, Dixon said.
“March for Our Lives” is not anti-Second Amendment, he said, but rather a demand for reform of the Second Amendment to keep students safe.
“Safety to us does not look like over-policing and metal detectors in our schools. It looks like prevention, intervention and restorative justice,” Dixon said.
The rally included several youth speakers. Mayor Keller also spoke at the march, along with Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who spoke about the importance of voting.
One of the main goals of the rally was educating people and encouraging them to vote and become politically active, said Zachary Marshall, one of the youth organizers for the march and the chair of the media committee.
“Come November, if you are a legislator or running to become a legislator, you will not be elected or re-elected if your views do not align with your constituents — particularly about gun regulation,” Marshall said.
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Sarah Gorrell is a student at UNM, who attended the march with a handmade sign. She said it is important that people speak up about gun violence and work toward change, because it seems to be a never-ending cycle.
“I think (school shootings) happen way too often, and sometimes it feels like there is no end in sight. This is one of the first times that people have really moved to do something,” Gorrell said.
Gorrell’s sign read “My right to go to school, church or a concert outweighs your right to own an assault weapon #neveragain.”
T-shirts were sold at the rally to raise money to cover the costs of the event, Dixon said. Any remaining money raised will be sent to the national “March for Our Lives” movement and the organization’s continued work.
The marches held in Albuquerque and across the world were particularly important for youth, Dixon said. This was because students are being impacted by school shootings, and more often than not, these students are not old enough to vote.
“Many well-informed youth are not old enough to vote...Millennials and Generation Z students are getting involved, because that’s who is impacted by school shootings — that’s who isn’t safe,” Dixon said.
UNM student Alexis Walton decided to attend the march, because it is time that people do something about school shootings and gun violence, she said. She came out to support the youth who are creating this change and to be a part of that.
“I am tired of kids and students dying, because guns do not outweigh these kids’ lives,” Walton said.
“We are not an anti-gun campaign. We are trying to protect students, gun owners and non-gun owners. Yes, we honor them in our thoughts in our prayers, but we are also honoring the victims through gun regulation, so that our schools can be safe again,” Marshall said.
Multiple groups partnered with the youth organizers of Albuquerque’s “March for Our Lives,” such as Indivisible Nob Hill and Moms Demand Action. Indivisible Nob Hill partnered with organizers to provide the PA system for the event, and Moms Demand Action spoke at the rally about the need for gun sense across the United States.
Dixon said the Albuquerque’s “March for Our Lives” had an amazing turn-out. He estimated that over 8,000 people participated in the march and rally.
“If we, as youth, are old enough to get shot, than we are old enough to create solutions and demand reform,” Dixon said.
Megan Holmen is a freelance news and culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com, culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @megan_holmen.
