Parkland shooting survivors plan 3 Iowa events during national March for Our Lives

Kevin Hardy | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption 'Today was my first day back after the shooting' Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School share their experiences on their first day back and explain their mission to create change. Get to know them as they will continue to voice their personal journeys across the USA Today Network.

Students from the Parkland, Florida school where 17 people died in a February mass shooting will bring their political movement pushing for gun control to three Iowa communities next week.

The massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sparked a high-profile campaign to lobby for stricter gun control. It has since spread to schools across the nation. Thousands of students in Iowa and across the country walked out of school in April to push lawmakers for change.

More: Iowa teens inspired by Parkland students organize Capitol rally

Now, the group March for Lives will bring its Road to Change tour through Cedar Rapids, Marion and Sioux City. Events include:

An event Wednesday in Sioux City. The group has not announced the time or location.

A 1 p.m. youth meetup Thursday at Noelridge Park, 4900 Council St. NE, in Cedar Rapids.

A 7 p.m. town hall Thursday at Linn-Mar High School Gymnasium, 3111 10th St., in Marion.

Landed in Chicago! Let the #RoadToChange begin!! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/x3uSufTI2F — March For Our Lives (@AMarch4OurLives) June 15, 2018

March for Our Lives is calling for universal, comprehensive background checks, better database technology for tracking guns, a ban on high-capacity magazines, a ban on semi-automatic assault rifles and public funding "to research the gun violence epidemic in America."

"The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to assure that no special interest group or political agenda is more critical than the timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country," the group's website says. "We demand morally-just leaders to rise up from both parties in order to ensure public safety."

The two-month tour began Friday in Chicago. They plan at least 75 stops in more than 20 states. A separate tour will make stops in each of Florida's 27 congressional districts.

"We can fix the political system," Cameron Kasky, one of the group's leaders told USA Today earlier this month. "Our generation and the many generations that are helping us can change the game."

More: Parkland students honor those lost at graduation, plan next phase for their gun-control movement