I’m sick of people with mental illnesses being scapegoated when the problem is gun access. Don’t call me a sicko. I struggled with severe depression for 2 years and although it’s never going to completely go away, I now understand and appreciate the value in my life. I don’t want to die at school, at the movie theater or in a restaurant when I have my whole life ahead of me. It is a FACT that countries with less guns have less homicides. The government can no longer let people die preventable deaths. It’s time for change. — Anonymous, Minnesota.

I am marching for gun reform because black lives matter and we have to start somewhere. I’m marching for gun reform because I want the NRA and other right wing supporters to recognize we aren’t blind to their deceitful influence on policy makers. I’m marching and voting to make sure those policy makers are reminded that they are held accountable as public servants. I’m marching because my abuelita asks me to stay silent sometimes out of fear for my safety, I will not step down and fearfully mourn as brothers and sisters lose life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness. I march for gun reform, for our lives, for our future. I march for change and the transition of our planetary community. I march because I believe in the power of the revolutionary love people are capable of showing towards each other, towards our enemies, towards ourselves and towards our planet. I will march to lift my voice, to elevate the voices of those around me, for those who cannot speak, and I hope you march with me my friend, to raise your voice alongside us. — Sapoverde, 22, Chicago.

Hope. After nothing happened in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, I feared that the nation may be past the point of no return, when we decided killing first graders was acceptable. However, the loud banging on the door in the wake of Parkland gives hope that there are still people who care enough to change this. As we’ve learned, schools, movie theaters, workplaces, nightclubs, and concerts aren’t safe. We need to change that. We need to fight for a safer future for all Americans. — Ryker, 19, Colorado Springs.

Adults are always telling us kids that school is our job. If legislators continue to ignore their job of protecting schools against mindless gun violence, then we’ll refuse to do ours. — Richard, 16, Massachusetts.

Seems like a good idea. I don’t think current gun control works well for anyone, especially those who want to own guns responsibly. We can make it better and safer for everyone. — Isaac, 17, Baltimore.

In my home state, Virginia you don’t need to be Federally licensed to privately sell weapons at your own discretion or even at a gun show. Only federally licensed weapons dealers are required to run background checks. This means that there are unlicensed dealers here who can legally access the large audience of a gun show without legally having to run a background check on all of their customers. They are only required to check their customers I.D. which they may or may not even do depending on the individual. These policies allow anyone above 18 with a license to walk into one of these places with cash and instantly be locked and loaded. This puts us into unnecessary danger. It just seems like common sense to me. If you need to pass a background check to work at Pizza Hut, you should have to pass one to own a deadly weapon. It also seems like common sense not to allow the sale of high range, high accuracy, high fire rate weapons with deadly ammunition. However, sometimes money speaks louder than common sense and the NRA certainly isn’t short on money or power. Whether you identify with a political party or not, I believe that this movement speaks to the most basic level of humanity in all of us. Some folks in VA are toting their guns in fear that this discussion will lead to a violation of their second amendment rights. Others are uniting our public schools to participate in the cause. I am feeling the weight of the grief, anger and sadness that we are all feeling a little too often in this country. It’s time for us to put our differences aside for our children. — Andrew, 21, Richmond VA.

I am marching because I don’t want to see fellow students running from a safe place such as a school because Congress can not agree on gun control measures that 97% of Americans agree are needed, measures that would allow students to not go to school worrying that each day might be their last. — Trent, 18, Arlington Heights IL.

Art by Koy Suntichotinun, San Diego CA.

Responses from reddit.com

r/teenagers

I’ll say our generation has plenty on our shoulders now that we have instant access to news. We hear immediately and often about the things going wrong in our society which gives many of us the realization that we have a civil duty as this worlds future to take action. Because of this we’ve both grown to be more distressed/sensitive yet more driven to make our voices heard. Like every teen before us we want to be represented or understood and thanks to social media we now have that power so we get to have greater influence. So after years of hearing debate over what to do with guns and having to sit as the safety of our future is determined for us, I think most of us want to throw our hat in the ring, some of us want to leave class and a select few are still considering their sides on the issue.

— foxelexof.

r/esist

When the 2013 Navy Yard shooting happened in DC I was working at a restaurant 0.6mi away. In 2015 when Umpqua Community College in OR got shot up, a friend of mine was attending that school. Different but related issue: I’ve lost a grandfather, a friend from grade school, and a college roommate (all armed services veterans) to suicide by firearm. My mother is a teacher, she does not want to be armed or work in a school that arms staff. I’m convinced guns are the problem (mixed with male anger and other societal problems, but still mostly the guns).

— David, Philadelphia.