Students and Survivors Rally for Gun Reform in Florida: 'We Will Not Let Those 17 Beautiful Souls Die for Nothing'

In the wake of one of the country's most devastating school shootings, a group of intrepid students from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have been relentless in pushing for gun reform in both their home state and the country at large. On Wednesday they were joined by thousands of their peers—both in Florida and across the country—as scores of teens walked out of their classrooms in an effort to bring even more attention to the Parkland students' mission.

The shooting survivors turned activists had traveled to the State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, to meet lawmakers and push for a ban on assault-style weapons. In addition to those meetings, a massive rally was organized by organizations including the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, which was founded after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Survivors of the Pulse shooting even joined the throngs of students at the State Capitol in an incredible display of solidarity.

"I attended the rally at the Capitol because of the students from Stoneman Douglas," Florida State University junior Sydney Otis told Glamour. "Their passion and determination reminded me that even though we often feel helpless in the current political climate, there is action to be taken. There is a lot that needs to change. I want to see assault weapons and high-capacity magazines banned. I want to see stricter processes for buying guns, which includes closing loopholes, creating registries for guns, not letting people with a history of domestic violence buy guns, and removing guns from domestic abusers. Attending the rally seemed like the first tangible step I knew I could take."

While Florida lawmakers are showing some support for deeper background checks and tighter gun rules for people with mental health issues, the rally came a day after the Florida House voted against a motion to take up a bill that would ban assault rifles and large capacity magazines.

Demonstrations and walkouts for gun control led by students are heating up all over the country, with students staging a "lie-in" at the White House Monday, and hundreds of D.C.-area students walking out of class Wednesday and marching to the Capitol to demand gun control. Large-scale actions to come are the March for Our Lives on March 14 and the National School Walkout on April 20.

At the rally the survivors of the school shooting took a somber note in regard to the tragedy at their school but were seriously fired up about the government's lack of action on gun reform. Here's why they think gun control is the most important topic for lawmakers to be discussing right now:

"Everyone wants change, and we're all trying to work together to do that," said student Jenna Waldman. "You shouldn't have to go to school fearing for your life every day. You should have to go to school worrying about your tests and your school supplies."

"With other shootings by this point most people would have forgotten about us. But not this time," said Sophie Whitney, 18, a senior. "My classmates and I are probably the most determined group of people you will ever meet. People are talking about how we're not serious because we're children, but have you heard my friends talk? We're serious. How many people have to die before something changes? We will not let those 17 beautiful souls die for nothing, because we are going to make a change."

"The AR-15 is a senseless weapon that by default can shoot out over 600 rounds. It does not take 600 to stop an intruder in your home. It does not take 600 rounds to shoot a deer for food. These weapons are not hunting-issued. They are military weapons. People, I call upon everyone here and everybody who is not here to act. Soon enough many of us will be old enough to vote [out] these people who choose inaction in silence over the rights of our people. And to the many people who doubt us, if you are so strung up over your Second Amendment rights, then respect our First Amendment, the right to petition," said a survivor of the shooting at the rally.

"We're what's making the change. We're going to talk to these politicians…. We're going to keep pushing until something is done because people are dying and this can't happen anymore," said Alfonso Calderon, a 16-year-old junior.

“If a ban on assault weapons would save one more life, it would make a massive difference to our friends, their family, and their community. If a ban on assault weapons would save one more life it would be worth it,” said a survivor of the shooting at the rally.

"We're not going to be the school that got shot, we're going to be the school that got shot and made something happen. A change is going to happen," said Rachel Catania, 15, a sophomore.

"We cry, we mourn, and most importantly, we ask why. I've been asking that question a lot lately," said Sarah Chadwick, a junior. "I haven't gotten an answer that has satisfied me. So we came up with a solution that we've never gotten, and it has a name: Never Again. Because never again should a child be afraid to go to school. Never again should students have to protest for their lives. Never again should an innocent life be taken while trying to gain an education."

“We are too young to vote, but soon we will be able to vote, and we will vote you out," said Florence Yared, 17, a junior.