Note originally written in English.
The sound of cars echoed the chants of hundreds of people walking down Main Street on Saturday morning: “Why are we here? To march for our lives.”
The motivated crowd of 400-500 people gathered at the Redwood City Library as part of a day of marches organized by the national organization "March for Our Lives». The Redwood City meeting was a joint effort of student leaders from the Sequoia Union and the March for Our Lives chapters of Saint Joseph, and was intended to draw attention to the push for stricter gun legislation and an end to gun violence.
March for Our Lives was founded nationally in 2018, in response to the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, in which 17 students lost their lives. The Sequoia Union chapter was started in 2019, and today’s efforts were led by current student organizers Nicholas Kwok, Christopher Kwok, and Nicholas Lawrence.
Protesters gathered in the plaza in front of the Redwood City Public Library and marched several blocks through downtown, passing an anti-gun violence mural, before returning to the library.
Despite the 80-90 degree heat, the diverse crowd of young children, students, adults and community members were undaunted, uniting through passionate speeches, songs, chants and a myriad of signs.
Local civic and community leaders expressed their support at the March For Our Lives.
“We need more than thoughts and prayers, we need our legislators to act. We cannot wait any longer, our children deserve the right to learn without fear,” said San Carlos Councilwoman Laura Parmer-Lohan.
The day of national marches follows the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, which have highlighted the gun violence plaguing the country. Since the Uvalde shooting on May 24, in which 22 people were killed and 18 injured, there have been more than 246 mass shootings as of June 5, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Local students are motivated to stop this violence and explained why they are called to action.
“We will continue to fight to ensure that these tragedies do not happen again, and we are grateful that you are joining us in this fight,” said student organizer Nicholas Kwok.
"As I hear more stories about the impact of what gun violence can do, I'm more and more determined to make sure this doesn't happen again," said fellow officer Aiden Jackson.
Sequoia High School District teacher Cindy Shusterman tearfully described how she was willing to give her life to protect her students in the event of an armed intruder. Shusterman, however, called for action to be taken to prevent gun violence and school shootings.
"Teachers and students should take the summer to organize and then refuse to return to classrooms until something is done," Shusterman said.
Bethany Talley, member of «Moms Demand Action", he expressed the importance of speaking out to act against armed violence.
“I feel like it’s really important that we help spread the word and show that we’re visible because this is a really important issue in our society today,” Talley said.
Congressional hearings this week focused on emotional testimony from some of the survivors of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo.
The magnitude of the recent shootings appears to be spurring lawmakers to attempt bipartisan agreements on gun control legislation, with the House of Representatives recently passing the Protecting Our Children Act, which would raise the age to legally purchase semi-automatic weapons, strengthen regulations on ghost guns and enact other gun safety measures. Despite these efforts, they are not expected to succeed in the Senate.
However, local students are making it clear that everyone needs to make their voices heard and continue to fight for change.
Encouraged by the tremendous turnout, Kwok summed up the morning’s efforts.
“If we channel our fear and pain into hopelessness instead of action, the bad guys win. If the bad guys win, Uvalde will repeat itself, and more kids will go to school in the morning and never come home again. This cannot continue to be the reality in America. It must stop. I hope they realize how powerful we are when we come together like we did today, that there really is power in the masses.”
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