March For Our Lives Rally Set For Freehold

FREEHOLD, NJ — A group of high school students from the Freehold area will be holding a rally in Freehold Saturday in solidarity with the national March for Our Lives that will be held in Washington, DC, in response to the Florida high school shootings that killed 17 people.

Joshua Eiger, a student at Freehold Township High School, said he and his classmates have organized the local event because parents did not want them making the 4-1/2-hour trip to Washington without supervision, which was their original hope.

"We saw there were marches in Asbury Park, Newark, and Morristown, but those locations are also rather far for us, so we decided to do a local march," Eiger said.

As of Friday, March 23, there were 540 responses and signatures on the rally's associated petition, he said.

It will be held outside the office of 4th District Rep. Chris Smith, who represents portions of Monmouth and Mercer counties. His office is at 112 Village Center Dr. in the Raintree Shopping Center in Freehold. The rally will be from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

"We chose Rep. Smith's office specifically because he is in good standing in the House of Representatives to put forward bipartisan gun legislation," Eiger said. "He does not receive donations from the NRA and voted against the recent Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act." The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is a House bill that would make it legal for those who have concealed-carry permits in other states to carry their firearms in any state in the country, regardless of that state's firearms laws. Proponents say firearms laws vary so signifcantly from state to state that it's easy to run afoul of the law by accident, and this bill resolves that issue. Opponents say the bill allows people to circumvent strict firearms laws in some states by obtaining them in states where the laws are less stringent.

"He most notably is in favor of an assault weapons ban and said he would vote for one if it was put forward," Eiger said, adding the group put together a petition that people can sign.

The petition thanks Smith for voting against the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act but asks him to do more.

"We believe that it is time for you to take action, instead of just supporting this potential legislation passively. As high school students, we are sick and tired of "thoughts and prayers" and demand action, demand safety, and demand security for students like ourselves all over this great nation," the petition says.

Since the Valentine's Day killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, students around the country have been speaking out and demanding action from lawmakers to reform gun laws and address issues that allow people such as the accused Parkland shooter to obtain the AR-15 used to gun down 17 students and staff. Another 14 were injured in the shooting.

If you would like to register for the rally or sign the petition, click here.

Raintree Shoppes in Freehold is the location of Rep. Chris Smith's local office. Image via Google Maps