Orlando, Fla. — A total of over 25,000 people in Central Florida showed up to participate in the March for Our Lives march in downtown Orlando Saturday afternoon, as part of a nationwide movement. Wearing blue “March for our Lives” shirts that were offered at the event and carrying custom made signs, those in attendance flooded the downtown area ready to voice their thoughts on gun reform.
The main message is to demand stronger gun laws from their representatives and push for safer schools and put an end to gun violence and mass shootings.
The rally began at the Lake Eola Park at 1 p.m. and ended at City Hall. The rally was hosted by The Florida Resistance and NeverAgain UCF, a coalition of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High alumni at UCF. Before the march took place, the opening ceremonies featured performers and guest speakers.
Among the performers included local Lake Nona high school student and American Idol contestant Alyssa Raghu, who delivered a show stopping cover of “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera.
The guests speakers included U.S. Representatives Stephanie Murphy and Val Demings, a survivor from the Pulse nightclub shooting, and Amanda Marty, a sophmore at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school.
The riding app Lyft offered free transportation to the event. There was even a plane that flew overheard with a banner that reads “Senator Rubio, Vote 4 Kids, Not NRA.”
Senator Rubio tweeted about the marches, saying:
Today many are peacefully exercising their #1A right to march for gun ban. Many support gun ban. But many others see it as infringement of #2A that won’t prevent shootings. Protest is good way of making a point,but making a change will require both sides finding common ground
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 24, 2018
In case you missed the Live stream, you can catch the opening ceremony and speeches that were made during the rally before the march here:
Opening at March for our lives rally at Lake Eola
Posted by News 96.5 - WDBO on Saturday, March 24, 2018
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