Across the nation and right here in Central Oregon, people took to the streets to rally against gun violence.
Chants like “thoughts and prayers are not enough” and “protect the kids not the guns” echoed through Downtown Bend.
The local event was part of the national March For Our Lives campaign that started after the 2018 Parkland High shooting in Florida.
Organizers are calling for common sense gun regulations after the recent school shooting in Texas.
“It’s really going to take a collective voice to make our lawmakers realize what we want is change and we’re done waiting for it,” said rally organizer Makenzie Christy.
Her younger sister Kaytlin Christy, a junior at Summit High School, participated in the march, “I’m tired of having to call my parents because there’s been a threat, I’m scared to go to school and I don’t want that any more. So elected leaders do something.”
Students in attendance say they’ve grown weary of active shooter drills and the possibility of gunfire in the halls of their schools.
“We’re just kids we’re just trying to learn, we’re just trying to get though our lives and we can’t do that when there aren’t stricter gun laws,” said Ridgeview High School junior Lillian Gallentine.
“I have other more important things that I need to be worrying about, I shouldn’t have to do this,” said Stevie Irvine a freshman at Relams High School in Bend.
