Students from the Parkland, Florida high school where 17 people were shot with an assault-style weapon last week have begun marching on the capitol Tallahassee to call for a ban on those guns.

It is another in a series of passionate on-camera media appearances, tweets, and protests the teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have participated since 14 of their peers and three adults were fatally shot.

"We're here to ask for change and we're confident change will happen," said Noah Kaufman, 16. "We know the issues, and we know who is with us and who isn't."

The students will be joined by several people who survived the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting during which 49 people were killed and 58 injured.

Local high schools have also said they will excuse their students to attend the Rally for Gun Safety Reform on the steps of the Capitol building.

Every mass shooting in the US has sparked the gun control debate, but this is the first time in the wake of a school shooting that the students themselves have organised and called for reform en masse.

About 100 students from Stoneman Douglas, some carrying signs that read #NeverAgain, are headed to the state legislature.

The Republican-controlled body rejected a bill proposal on 20 February that would ban sales of assault-style rifles, like the AR-15 which suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz used, in the state.

The rebuff was less than week after the Parkland mass shooting.

Florida student Emma Gonzalez passionately calls for gun control at rally after school shooting

But, signaling a possible shift, state Senator Bill Galvan, slated to be the chamber's next president, called for a bill to raise the legal age for purchasing assault rifles from 18 to 21, the same as it is for handguns.

Mr Cruz is 19 years old.

The legislature's current session ends on 9 March, however, leaving little time to vote.

The Tallahassee march is just one of many ongoing calls for gun control legislation reform by the students.

A group of students, known as Teens for Gun Reform, staged a lie-in on the square in front of the White House on 19 February.

Seventeen members of the group laid down outside the White House to symbolise the number of people who lost their lives last week.

Dozens more were involved in the protest as well, chanting “We want safe schools!” and carrying signs that read “Am I next?”

US President Donald Trump was at his Florida golf club Mar-a-Lago at the time.

In the wake of the tragedy, Mr Trump has been criticised for not discussing gun control reform but mentioning Mr Cruz’s possible mental health issues as a cause of the mass shooting.

He also blamed Parkland community members for not recognising signs of trouble with Mr Cruz and the FBI for not following up on a tip that Mr Cruz was a danger.

The famous for and against US gun control Show all 31 1 /31 The famous for and against US gun control The famous for and against US gun control Against: Robert De Niro Despite the actor being a gun-wielding fast-talker, he told Daily Mail: "There should be more control. It has just gotten out of hand, how easily you can get guns." The famous for and against US gun control For: Brad Pitt "America is founded on guns. It;s in out DNA. It’s very strange but I feel better having a gun." Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control For: Angelina Jolie "Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one. If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them." AFP/Getty The famous for and against US gun control For: Johnny Depp "When I was a kid it was a controlled atmosphere, we weren't shooting at humans - we were shooting at cans and bottles mostly. I will most certainly take my kids out for target practice." Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control For: Bruce Willis "Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then the only people who have guns are the bad guys." Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control For: Clint Eastwood "I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it." Reuters The famous for and against US gun control For: Whoopi Goldberg "I’m an NRA member, as you know or probably don’t know... I want to know that there’s at least some way to prevent folks who are just getting out from mental institutions [from getting guns]." The famous for and against US gun control For: Vince Vaughn "Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won't rid the world of criminality... I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home." Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control For: Donald Trump "Democrats want to confiscate all guns, which is a dumb idea because only the law-abiding citizens would turn in their guns and the bad guys would be the only ones left armed. The Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions" Getty The famous for and against US gun control Against: Matt Damon “I actually hate guns. They freak me out.” Rex The famous for and against US gun control Against: Mark Wahlberg "Well, I would love it if they could take all the guns away. Unfortunately, you can’t do that so you hope that good people in the world have them to protect the people who can’t protect themselves." AP The famous for and against US gun control Against: Sean Connery "It is said that a total ban on handguns, including .22s, would take away innocent pleasure from thousands of people. Is that more or less pleasure than watching your child grow up?" Rex Features The famous for and against US gun control Against: Arnold Schwarzenegger "I’m for gun control. I’m a peace-loving guy." Lionsgate The famous for and against US gun control Against: Sylvester Stallone "Until America, door to door, takes every handgun, this is what you’re gonna have. It’s pathetic. It really is pathetic. It’s sad. We’re living in the Dark Ages over there." Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Rashida Jones "Gun control is our only road to freedom. Freedom from the fear of senselessly losing children." Getty The famous for and against US gun control Against: Susan Sarandon "How much more suffering & loss will it take before we better regulate the sale of arms in our country?" Getty The famous for and against US gun control Against: Beyonce Queen B was part of the Demand a Plan campaign against guns after Newton shooting, by appearing in a video alongside a bunch of celebrities. AP The famous for and against US gun control Against: Jamie Foxx A Hollywood gang joined Beyonce in the campaign... GETTY IMAGES The famous for and against US gun control Against: Cameron Diaz Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Jessica Alba Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Jennifer Garner Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Jennifer Aniston Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Jason Merritt | Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Jon Hamm The Mad Men actor also appeared in the video... The famous for and against US gun control Against: Reese Witherspoon Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Ellen DeGeneres Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Reuters The famous for and against US gun control Against: Julianne Moore Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. The famous for and against US gun control Against: Selena Gomez Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. GETTY IMAGES The famous for and against US gun control Against: Peter Dinklage The Game of Thrones also appeared in the video... Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Zooey Deschanel alongside the New Girl star. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Steve Carell Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign. Getty Images The famous for and against US gun control Against: Gwyneth Paltrow Took part in the Demand a Plan campaign, too.

The President is scheduled to meet with high school students and teachers on 21 February to discuss school safety.

A group of Stoneman Douglas students is also on their way to Washington, DC and will likely also bring the issue to the steps of Congress.

Despite several Democratic members of Congress railing against their Republican colleagues for being in “the thrall” with the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby, students note that the issue goes beyond politics.

"This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it's a life issue," said Noah.

“It really needs to be recognised that they need to stop fighting each other and starting working together,’’ Jaclyn Corin, the student and junior class president who conceived of the trip, told the Tampa Bay Times.

“This has to be the last school this happens to,” she said.

Many in the group said they had stayed up all night researching legislation and writing speeches.