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March for Our Lives demonstrators walk past the Milwaukee Police Administration building early Saturday morning.
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The march began at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and finished at Red Arrow Park.
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Demonstrators hold up signs and chant during the march.
Chants of “enough is enough” and “not one more” could be heard throughout downtown Milwaukee Saturday morning as approximately several thousand people (despite some local media outlets claiming only hundreds) participated in the March for Our Lives. The nationwide demonstration was planned to bring awareness to gun reform laws following the Florida high school shooting last month.
City leaders and student activists spoke at the demonstration, encouraging politicians across the nation to take action on the issue. Destiny DeVooght, a senior at Union Grove High School, spoke at the rally. She said that she wants to see politicians make more common sense gun laws.
“We demand to have common sense gun laws that will expand background checks on all gun sales,” said DeVooght. “Our voices are powerful and loud, and I expect nothing but absolute change.”
RELATED: Photo Gallery: Milwaukee March for Our Lives
The march was planned in reaction to the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 students. There were more than 800 total demonstrations planned across the globe, according to the March for Our Lives website.
Tatiana Washington, a junior at Rufus King International High School, also spoke at the rally. Students at Rufus King were one of several schools in the area that participated in the March 14 National School Walkout that was planned following the Florida shooting.
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“How can they say this is an adult matter, when we as students are constantly living in fear,” Washington said. “We’re just getting started.”
Phyllis Talarczyk, mother of an 11 year-old from Milwaukee, came to the march to support the students that are trying to make a difference.
Phyllis Talarczyk (left) and her daughter and daughter’s best friend hold up signs at Red Arrow Park.
“This change should have happened already… it can’t go on any more,” said Talarczyk. “We are going to keep up the fight because silence leads to violence.”Another event, titled “March for our Lives: 50 Miles More,” will start Sunday in Madison. 50 students are planning to march for three days to Janesville, the hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), to continue to push for gun law reforms.
“We will continue to raise our voices until change is made,” said Katie Eder, one of the organizers of the march. “I’m challenging every one of you to use your voice. You all have the power to make the impossible, possible.”
