On Saturday, demonstrators at more than 840 marches worldwide will protest, calling for gun reform. The marches are in support of the #NeverAgain movement, led by the high school students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida. Over 500,000 marchers are expected in Washington, D.C., alone, according to the Washington Post.
Here are the feeds from our reporters in Gainesville at Bo Diddley Plaza and Washington, D.C.
People started gathering at Bo Diddley Plaza at abut 10 a.m.
Some of the protestors are Gainesville residents and UF students. Others drove into town for the march.
Speakers began addressing the crowd at about 11 a.m. Although Gainesville Police Department originally estimated about 300 would attend, between 1,000 and 1,500 came.
Local politicians spoke, including Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and UF political science junior Shreyas Amol Jethwani, who’s running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
Additional speakers: Several Marjory Stoneman Douglas alumni and 11-year-old Aagneya Singh Banerjee, who organized a walkout at his school, Joseph Williams Elementary School, more than a week ago to advocate for gun reform.
On Thursday, 112 UF students took a 12-hour bus ride to march in D.C. Many are alumni of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 were killed and another 17 we wounded on Feb. 14.
Our reporter Meryl Kornfield talked with some of the students about why they're marching.
