School shooting survivor's plea to March for Our Lives protesters: 'Keep screaming at your own congressman'

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Jaclyn Corin delivered a passionate plea on Saturday to the hundreds of thousands of people who converged on the nation's capital to rally against gun violence.

"There is strength in numbers, and we need each and every one of you to keep screaming at your own congressman," Corin yelled to the massive crowd at the March for Our Lives event in Washington, D.C. "We cannot 'keep America great' if we cannot keep America safe," she added, using air quotes to reference President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."

Corin, 17, survived the Valentine's Day shooting at her Parkland, Florida, school that left 17 people dead. Since then, the high school junior has been among the most outspoken students calling for action. She and her classmates helped organize Saturday's event.

March for Our Lives 2018

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Hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets in cities across the U.S. on March 24, 2018, in the biggest protest for gun control in a generation, spurred largely by the shooting that took place on Valentine's Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people died. Students from Centreville, Va., wear targets on their chests as they arrive for the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

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"Parkland is the heart of this movement. But just as a heart needs blood to pump, my hometown needs the alliance of other communities to properly spread this message," she said. "We openly recognize that we are privileged individuals that would not have received as much attention if it not were the affluence of our city. Because of that, however, we share the stage today and forever with those who have always stared down the barrel of a gun. That is why Parkland cannot and will not do this alone."

The March for Our Lives rallies across the nation and around the globe were anchored by the main event in the U.S. capital on Saturday. There were more than 800 so-called "sibling marches" planned worldwide for this weekend in solidarity of the main event.

Like Corin, many in the crowd were not old enough to vote yet. But she urged her peers to use their voices to convince Congress to enact tougher gun control and school safety measures. The March for Our Lives organizers have called for banning the high-powered, highly-lethal assault-style weapon often used in mass shootings as well as prohibiting the sale of high-capacity magazines.

"Our elected officials have seen American after American drop from a bullet. And instead of waking up to protect us, they have been hitting the snooze button. But we’re here to shake them awake," she said.

"So I need each and every one of you -- no matter your age -- to continue to fight alongside us, because hearts cannot pump without blood and I don’t want your community to join the ghastly inner circle that mine is now a part of. In the end, we are all fighting for our lives. But we are a great generation and we’ll be the ones to make America safe."