At Seattle March For Our Lives, Thousands Demand Gun Reform

SEATTLE, WA - "Guns don't kill people? Ummm ... yes they do," read one young girl's protest sign. She was dancing down Pine Street Saturday morning with her friends in the Seattle March For Our Lives rally, and her sign was one in a sea demanding gun reform.

But it stood out. The sign summed up what's different about this movement: the kids today don't buy those old pro-gun slogans. They are organized, angry, and ready to vote. They care about stopping shootings, whether in schools or out on the streets.

Thousands of people marched in Seattle, part of a nationwide day of protest advocating gun reform. And although supported by adults - including Jay Inslee, Maria Cantwell, Bob Ferguson, Brandi Carlile, and Dave Matthews - Saturday's event in Seattle was led by students demanding gun reform.

"If the president isn't going to do anything, we're never going to have change," said 9-year-old Elliot Schoenholz, who was sitting on his father's shoulders holding a sign that read, "Fear has no place in our schools." It was his first protest rally.

>> Watch live footage of the march and rally right here:

Seattle's march began at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Attorney General Bob Ferguson addressed the thousands stretched across the park's sports fields. And while many speakers focused on mass shootings in public schools and gun reform, young people from the group Youth 4 Peace talked about the everyday violence that people living in high-crime areas experience.

Rainier Beach High School senior Elijah Lewis underscored that the slow violence that occurs in inner-city neighborhoods never gets as much publicity as a single mass shooting.

"Black and brown kids face gun violence every day, but we don't see it on the national news," he said.

From Cal Anderson, the march moved through Capitol Hill, downtown, and Belltown before ending up at the Seattle Center. The crowd chanted along the way against groups like the National Rifle Association and demanding gun reform.

"Change must come!"

"Gun control, now!"

"No more silence, end gun violence!"

The event concluded with a series of speeches and performances outside the Seattle Center armory. Gov. Jay Inslee spoke, and he brought along Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, who was in office during the Sandy Hook massacre.

Musician Brandi Carlile closed the event, praising the kids who organized and marched. Carlile, a mother of two, thanked them for trying to make the world safer for her two daughters. Carlile also brought musician Dave Matthews up on stage for an unexpected performance.

Carlile played her own songs, but also Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin," which drew cheers and some tears from the crowd.

Photos by Neal McNamara/Patch