(CNN) A day ahead of March for Our Lives, the South Florida school shooting survivors leading the gun control demonstration made their presence felt Friday in Washington, pressing lawmakers for their cause and asking why more restrictions hadn't already been passed.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a shooter claimed 17 lives February 14 in Parkland, met face-to-face with legislators as part of a full day of pre-march events in the nation's capital.

"America: We are your future. Why won't you protect us?" Demitri Hoth asked during a morning news conference on Capitol Hill with scores of fellow students standing behind him.

Survivors of the Parkland shooting quickly became the faces of a national conversation on gun control, and are lobbying lawmakers for more restrictive gun laws -- including a ban on assault-style rifles and higher-capacity magazines.

Small groups of students met Friday morning with members of Congress while other students visited the Newseum to discuss their experiences in the mass shooting.