March For Our Lives Draws Thousands To Railroad Park

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Joining nearly a million people across the country Saturday in a demonstration to bring awareness to gun violence, an estimated crowd of 5,000 people convened at Birmingham's Railroad Park for its March for our Lives rally. A chant of "Not one more!" could be heard as protesters marched - most with signs that relayed their thoughts on gun control - in solidarity for the cause.

Birmingham's march, which began with a Facebook group pitching the idea to join others in the country by hosting an event, was attended by a mix of ages, races and backgrounds. Jim Carroll, a Shelby County resident, said he has two children in college, and said he was marching because "there is no reason for students to have to worry about dying in school."

Carroll said he has grown up around guns, and he and his son go hunting together every year. "I support the Second Amendment," Carroll said. "I don't think all of these people here are saying we want everyone to surrender there guns. But something has got to be done to make it harder for a person to walk into a school and kill dozens of kids in a matter of minutes."

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One of the organizers of the event, Helena High School student Ashley Causey, said the march Saturday was just the beginning of her activism, and that the other students who came together with her to help organize the event have vowed to stay focused on the issue and to continue pushing their cause. "We're going to keep going after this," she said. "We're not just going to go home."

J'Corion Johnson, a student at Birmingham's Phillips Academy, was one of the speakers at the rally, and said "I believe it is time for us to come up with our own solutions." Johnson said making the people's voices heard is the only way to get lawmakers to take action on gun control.

One student from Hoover High School said her classmates have been divided on the subject of gun control, and it has caused some tension in her school. She said there is almost daily debate and discussion about the issue, which she added, was not necessarily bad. "At least everyone is talking about it now," she said. "I am here because I wanted to see how many people feel like I do, that guns have no business being in the hands of dangerous people. And not in schools at all."

Although the student asked that she not be named, she said she will continue to be involved in rallied such as March for our Lives until something is done to change existing gun laws.

"Shouldn't it be common sense?" said Jennifer Simon, a Birmingham resident. "Look at this problem on its surface. Guns have become too easy to get, the guns available are too dangerous, and that danger has spilled into my children's schools." Simon said her elementary school- aged children are aware of what has been happening in regard to school shootings in the country, and they are scared about one happening in their own school. "I mean, isn't that the most horrifying thought? That school, of all places, is considered a place where kids do not feel safe?"

In addition to the "Not one more" chants, there was also a chant of "Vote them out!" This was echoed by Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham, who was on hand to speak to demonstrators. Sewell said she was pleased to see so many people getting involved in the political process, and that their voices need to be heard, and the best way to take action is in the voting booth. "If lawmakers refuse to change the laws," Sewell said, "Vote them out."

Sewell had just attended the funeral of Huffman High School student Courtlin Arringtom, who was shot and killed in the hallway of the school March 14. A moment of silence was taken for Arrington before the march.

Photos by Michael Seale/Patch