'This just needs to stop': Hundreds of thousands decry guns

Summoned to action by student survivors of the Florida school shooting, hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters rallied in the nation's capital and cities across America on Saturday to press for gun control in one of the biggest youth protests since the Vietnam era.

"If you listen real close, you can hear the people in power shaking," David Hogg, a survivor who has emerged as one of the student leaders of the movement, told the roaring crowd of demonstrators at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington.

Demonstrators cheer during a "March for Our Lives" protest for gun legislation and school safety Saturday, March 24, 2018. Students and activists across the country planned events Saturday in conjunction with a Washington march spearheaded by teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where over a dozen people were killed in February. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

He warned: "We will get rid of these public servants who only care about the gun lobby."

Chanting "Vote them out!" and bearing signs reading "We Are the Change," ''No More Silence" and "Keep NRA Money Out of Politics," hundreds of thousands of protesters packed Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House.

Large rallies with crowds estimated in the tens of thousands in some cases also unfolded in such cities as Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Houston; Phoenix; Fort Worth, Texas; Minneapolis; and Parkland, Florida, the site of the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead.

Protesters denounced the National Rifle Association and its allies and complained that they are scared of getting shot in school and tired of inaction by grown-ups after one mass shooting after another.

They called for such measures as a ban on high-capacity magazines and assault-type rifles like the one used by the Florida killer, tighter background checks and school security, and a raising of the age to buy guns.

"I'm really tired of being afraid at school," said Maya McEntyre, a 15-year-old high school freshman from Northville, Michigan, who joined a march by thousands in Detroit. "When I come to school, I don't want to have to look for the nearest exit."

She added: "I want to get to the problem before it gets to me."

Connor Feliu of Syracuse N.Y., covered in red paint, attends the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018, on Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

In Atlanta, Ben Stewart, a 17-year-old senior at Shiloh Hills Christian School in Kennesaw, Georgia, took part in a march in Atlanta to press for what he called "common-sense gun laws."

"People have been dying since 1999 in Columbine and nothing has changed. People are still dying," Stewart said. "It could be prevented."

Callie Cavanaugh, a 14-year-old at a march in Omaha, Nebraska, said: "This just needs to stop. It's been going on my entire life."

President Donald Trump was in Florida for the weekend. A motorcade took him to his West Palm Beach golf club in the morning. As of early afternoon, he had yet to weigh in on Twitter about the protests.

The NRA went silent on Twitter in the morning, in contrast to its reaction to the nationwide school walkouts against gun violence March 14, when it tweeted a photo of an assault rifle and the message "I'll control my own guns, thank you."

About 30 gun-rights supporters staged a counter-demonstration in front of FBI headquarters in Washington, standing quietly with signs such as "Armed Victims Live Longer" and "Stop Violating Civil Rights." Other gun-control protests around the country were also met with small counter-demonstrations.

Brenda Myers, center, comforts her daughter Jamie, who is an Ooltewah Middle School student, after a moment of silence at a "March for Our Lives" rally in Coolidge Park on Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

Organizers of the big rally in the nation's capital hoped their protest would match in numbers and spirit last year's women's march, which far exceeded predictions of 300,000 demonstrators.

"We will continue to fight for our dead friends," Delaney Tarr, another survivor of the Florida tragedy, declared from the stage. The crowd roared with approval as she laid down the students' central demand: a ban on "weapons of war" for all but warriors.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 9-year-old granddaughter Yolanda Renee King gave a rousing speech at the Washington rally, drawing from the civil rights leader's most famous words.

"I have a dream that enough is enough," she said. "That this should be a gun-free world. Period."

In Parkland, the police presence was heavy as more than 20,000 people filled a park near the school, chanting slogans such as "Enough is enough" and carrying signs that read "Why do your guns matter more than our lives?" and "Our ballots will stop bullets."

Lillie Perez, 11, holds a sign during a "March for Our Lives" protest for gun legislation and school safety Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Houston. Students and activists across the country planned events Saturday in conjunction with a Washington march spearheaded by teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where over a dozen people were killed in February. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Gun violence was also fresh for some in the Washington crowd: Ayanne Johnson of Great Mills High in Maryland held a sign declaring, "I March for Jaelynn," honoring Jaelynn Willey, who died Thursday two days after being shot by a classmate at the school. The classmate also died.

Rallying outside the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord, 17-year-old Leeza Richter said: "Our government will do more to stop us from walking out than it will to stop a gunman from walking in."

Since the bloodshed in Florida, students have tapped into a current of gun control sentiment that has been building for years — yet still faces a powerful foe in the NRA and its supporters.

Organizers hope the passions of the crowds and the under-18 roster of speakers will translate into a tipping point starting with the midterm congressional elections this fall. In addition to pushing for tighter gun laws, the students have been working to register young people to vote.

Polls indicate public opinion in the U.S. may be shifting on the issue.

A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 69 percent of Americans think gun laws in the U.S. should be tightened. That is up from 61 percent in 2016 and 55 percent in 2013.

Overall, 90 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of gun owners now favor stricter gun laws.

At the same time, the poll found that nearly half of Americans do not expect elected officials to take action.

Protesters fill a street during a march in favor of gun control Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Seattle. Summoned to action by student survivors of the Florida school shooting, hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters rallied in the nation's capital and cities across America on Saturday to press for gun control. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

People taking part in a march against gun violence walk along 6th Avenue in New York Saturday, March 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

People take part in a march rally against gun violence Saturday, March 24, 2018, in New York. Tens of thousands of people poured into the nation's capital and cities across America on Saturday to march for gun control and ignite political activism among the young. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

People take part in a march rally against gun violence Saturday, March 24, 2018, in New York. Tens of thousands of people poured into the nation's capital and cities across America on Saturday to march for gun control and ignite political activism among the young. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Protesters hold up signs outside the US Embassy in London, Saturday March 24, 2018, in solidarity with the “March for Our Lives” protest against gun violence. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

Ayanne Johnson, a student from Great Mills High School in southern Maryland holds up the photograph of her classmate Jaelynn Willey during the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018. Willey was killed by a classmate this week at the school in southern Maryland. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Crowds of people hold signs on Pennsylvania Avenue at the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control, Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Crowds of people hold signs on Pennsylvania Avenue at the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control, Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sofia Briceno, left, and Josie Dang, hold banners during the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018, on Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Looking west from the stage area, the crowd fills Pennsylvania Avenue during the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control, Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Demonstrators pass a makeshift memorial to school shooting victims during a "March for Our Lives" protest for gun legislation and school safety Saturday, March 24, 2018, in Houston. Students and activists across the country planned events Saturday in conjunction with a Washington march spearheaded by teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed in February. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature approved sweeping gun safety legislation including background checks on private gun sales, waiting periods for gun purchases and criminalizing gun sales to prohibited people before adjourning Thursday morning, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and the Democratic-led Legislature pressed for a number of gun and mental health proposals after the shooting that claimed 18 lives and injured 13 others, and most were adopted despite the state’s strong hunting tradition and gun ownership.

“We heard loud and clear from Mainers across our state that they wanted meaningful action to make our communities safer from violence, and I’m so proud that we had the courage take meaningful steps that will get us closer to making that a reality," the House assistant majority leader, Rep. Kristen Cloutier, a Democrat from Lewiston, said Thursday in a statement.

The governor will sign her bill, approved early Thursday, that would strengthen the state’s yellow flag law, boost background checks for private sales of guns and make it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to someone who is prohibited from having guns, said Ben Goodman, a spokesperson. The bill also funds violence- prevention initiatives and opens a mental health crisis receiving center in Lewiston.

The governor will review two other bills narrowly approved by the Senate on Wednesday to establish a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks that can transform a weapon into a machine gun, Goodman said.

However, there was no action on a proposal to institute a red flag law. The bill sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross would have allowed family members to petition a judge to remove guns from someone who is in a psychiatric crisis. The state’s current yellow flag law differs by putting police in the lead of the process, which critics say is too complicated.

Lawmakers pushed through the night and into the morning as they ran up against their adjournment date, which was Wednesday. But it didn't come without some 11th-hour drama. Lawmakers had to approve a contentious supplemental budget before casting their final votes and didn't wrap up the session until after daybreak.

The Oct. 25 shooting by an Army reservist in Lewiston, Maine's second-largest city, served as tragic backdrop for the legislative session.

Police were warned by family members that the shooter was becoming delusional and had access to weapons. He was hospitalized for two weeks while training with his unit last summer. And his best friend, a fellow reservist, warned that the man was going “to snap and do a mass shooting.” The shooter killed himself after the attack.

Survivors of the shooting had mixed feelings. Some wanted legislative action. Others like Ben Dyer, who was shot five times, were skeptical of the proposed laws.

“A sick person did a sick thing that day. And the Legislature and politicians are trying to capitalize on that to get their agendas passed,” said Dyer, who contends law-abiding gun owners are the ones who would get hurt by the proposals while criminals ignore them. The state already had a yellow flag law but law enforcement officials didn’t use it to prevent the tragedy, he added.

His feelings echoed the view of Republicans who accused Democrats of using the tragedy to play on people’s emotions to pass contentious bills.

“My big concern here is that we’re moving forward with gun legislation that has always been on the agenda. Now we’re using the tragedy in Lewiston to force it through when there’s nothing new here," said Republican Sen. Lisa Keim. “It's the same old ideas that were rejected year after year."

But Democrats said constituents implored them to do something to prevent future attacks. They said it would've been an abdication of their responsibility to ignore their pleas.

“For the sake of the communities, individuals and families now suffering immeasurable pain, for the sake of our state, doing nothing is not an option,” the governor, a former prosecutor and attorney general, said in late January when she outlined her proposals in her State of the State address. Those in attendance responded with a standing ovation.

FILE - A make-shift memorial lines Main Street, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - Law enforcement officers stand near armored and tactical vehicles in Bowdoin, Maine, following a mass shooting, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - A man walks by flowers and a sign of support for the community, Oct. 28, 2023, in the wake of the mass shootings that occurred on Oct. 25, in Lewiston, Maine. The Maine Legislature has approved sweeping gun safety legislation early Thursday, April 18, 2024, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - The Maine State House stands at sunrise, March 16, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. The Maine Legislature moved in fits and starts toward adjournment on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, with unfinished business including final votes on a series of gun safety bills that were introduced after the deadliest shooting in state history last fall. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)