Dozens of teenagers participated in a "lie-in" outside of the White House on Monday, calling for stricter gun laws and an end to school shootings like the massacre last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, which left 17 dead and 15 injured.
The protest was organized by a group called Teens for Gun Reform. On Facebook, the organizers said they wanted to "make a statement on the atrocities which have been committed due to the lack of gun control, and send a powerful message to our government that they must take action now." The teens stretched out on the sidewalk, remaining on the ground for just a few minutes "in order to symbolize how quickly someone, such as the [Florida] shooter, is able to purchase a gun in America," the group said.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have also mobilized, and they're planning a rally against school and gun violence, March for Our Lives, on March 24 in Washington, D.C., with sister events across the United States. "We're going to have, in every major city, somewhere that people all across the country can go to," student Brendan Duff told NPR. Students "want to feel engaged, and they want to do something to help. And this is it." Catherine Garcia