March For Our Lives recap: Frustrated Americans rally for gun reform across US

Rallies spanned D.C. to Florida to Michigan to New York.

ByEmily Shapiro
Last Updated: June 11, 2022, 6:45 PM EDT

Angry and frustrated Americans joined rallies and marches across the U.S. Saturday to advocate for gun reform in the wake of the back-to-back mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.

The nationwide event was organized by March For Our Lives, a group founded by student survivors of the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

The marches are in response to the May 24 shooting at a Uvalde elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers, as well as the May 14 massacre at a Buffalo grocery store where 10 people, all of whom were Black, were gunned down in an alleged hate crime.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 11, 2022, 2:37 PM EDT

A teacher's perspective

"We need fewer guns in schools -- not more of them!" Randi Weinstein, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a passionate speech in Washington, D.C.

"Teachers want to be teaching!" she said. "As we head back to school this fall, please arm us with resources -- with books, with school counselors. Not with bulletproof vests."

A demonstrator holds a sign with the names of children and teachers killed by shootings during March for Our Lives 2022, June 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Weinstein also addressed critical race theory, noting, "If we have the judgment to shoot a bad guy, why don't we have the judgment to plan our lessons?"

Jun 11, 2022, 2:08 PM EDT

MLK's granddaughter returns to stage

Yolanda King, a 14-year-old granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., returned to the Washington, D.C., March For Our Lives stage, four years after she addressed protesters at age 10.

"Like so many of you, I come from a thoughtful, prayerful family. My grandfather was taken from the world by gun violence," the teen said.

PHOTO: Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks during 'March for Our Lives', one of a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in Washington, D.C., June 11, 2022.
Jaclyn Corin, lead organizer for March For Our Lives and survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, gestures as Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks during 'March for Our Lives', one of a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in Washington, D.C., June 11, 2022.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

King stressed that this movement "isn’t only about kids -- it's about all of us."

"We've had enough of having more guns than people," she said.

Jun 11, 2022, 2:06 PM EDT

Crowd briefly disperses in false alarm

The Washington, D.C., crowd briefly dispersed in a false alarm incident.

Karin LaBanca comforts two survivors of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school after a man tried and failed to rush the stage during the second March for Our Lives rally in support of gun control, June 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Activist Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in Parkland, took the mic to calm the protesters, saying everyone was OK and "there is nothing to be concerned about."

Speakers then resumed.

Jun 11, 2022, 1:48 PM EDT

Congresswoman shares personal story surviving gun violence

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., shared a personal story at the Washington, D.C., march, recounting when, as a young adult, she was in a relationship with an abusive partner who owned guns.

"He did not approve of the way I was cooking … we began arguing, he started to hit me. I decided to run out of the apartment," Bush said. "As I ran, I remember thinking to myself, why isn’t he chasing me? … When I turned back for a moment … I heard shots. Shots fired. But I didn’t know if they were aimed at me. Until they started whizzing past my head."

Rep. Cori Bush speaks during the 'March for Our Lives', one of a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in Washington, D.C., June 11, 2022.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

"That moment of horror, it stays with me," Bush said.

"It's so deeply traumatic and completely preventable," Bush said, referencing the boyfriend loophole, red flag laws and universal background checks.

Bush said, "We will never give up our push to save lives."

Helen Carpenter, 8 1/2 years old, attends "March for Our Lives" rally, one of a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in New York, June 11, 2022.
Jeenah Moon/Reuters