Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida arrived in eastern Iowa for two events, Thursday. It was part of the nationwide March for Our Lives Road to Change Summer Tour.

The students are survivors of the February 14 massacre at their high school in Parkland which took the lives of 17 people and injured several others.

"To be fully honest with you, what happened that day, as important as it is, the details aren't what matter," said Alfonso Calderon, 16, a Marjory Stoneman student who attended the group's first event, a meet and greet with eastern Iowa students inside Raygun in Cedar Rapids. "What matters is that 17 people were murdered in my high school."

From that tragedy, the March for Our Lives effort was formed to push lawmakers to pass legislation in favor of stronger gun control. The group started with five main planks in its platform.

-Require universal background checks on gun sales.

-Fund a searchable digital database for the A-T-F to investigate shootings and track guns.

-Fund the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence - something Congress banned in 1996.

-Ban Magazines with more than 10 rounds.

-And ban semi-automatic military-style rifles like the popular A-R 15.

Parkland students say this could help keep schools safer. But other high school students students from the area disagree.

"I do think I want to see teachers armed, teachers who are willing to be armed, or veterans who don't have jobs and are unemployed who are looking for work or to volunteer," Jefferson High School student Zion O'Neal said.

Those students say any gun control measure is an infringement on their constitutionally protected rights.

"Without the right to defend your family and property you're defenseless. It's something that our Founding Fathers gave us so we can protect ourselves from dangerous people," Marion High School student Drake Hess said.

At Thursday night's Town Hall in the Linn-Mar gym, the students wanted to make clear they don't want to get rid of all guns. They talked about longer wait times to buy guns and more funding for education to reduce class sizes so teachers can better spot students who are struggling.

They say the current system isn't working. And said active shooter drills aren't enough.

"We were told in to run in diagonal lines so the bullets don't get you. And if that's our first form of defense there is something wrong in the policy," UNI student Laney Kraus-Taddeo said.

The Parkland students had a booth set up outside the gym for people to register to vote.

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Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida will be in Eastern Iowa for at least two events Thursday.

It's part of the nationwide March for Our Lives Road to Change Summer Tour.

The first one is at Raygun in Cedar Rapids at 1 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m. at Linn-Mar High School in Marion.

Students from Cedar Rapids tell us the event is to demand stricter gun control regulations and background checks

They say it's all to make sure their schools and community are safe.

Parkland students are making stops across the country to try and educate young people and motivate them to get out and vote.

Students created the March for Our lives movement after a man shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

That happened back in February and since then, these students have been advocating against gun violence and pushing lawmakers for change.

Emma Lassen, a student activist from Cedar Rapids, believes some lawmakers aren't doing enough to keep students safe.

"People who aren't doing enough might not be elected again because to me, an issue that is that is concerning so many lives and so many families, we really need to make sure that our elected officials are taking a stand against it and actively working to prevent gun violence," Lassen said.

We also reached out to a few Iowa lawmakers who have been vocal in response to gun control efforts in the state.

First District Congressman Rod Blum says he is currently co-sponsoring a bill known as the Stop the Violence Act.

It would work to train students and school staff to identify signs and prevent violence among other things.

Blum also says he has suggested the use of metal detectors and armed guards at the entrances of schools.

Senator Chuck Grassley said, "There's no one simple solution to preventing these shootings and it's going to take action on the federal, state and local level."

Grassley also said he has worked to close loopholes in the background check system but he thinks there need to be more efforts to get help for people with mental health problems.

Linn-Mar faculty and staff will be on site and Marion police will also be nearby to help with security and bag checks.