Hundreds of people spilled into the streets of uptown Sunday for Charlotte’s March for Our Lives demonstration.
The protest — coming on the heels of the deadly mass shootings across the country in recent weeks — called on lawmakers to take action on gun violence.
“It was a culmination of so many events that happened this year,” Lora Henley, a senior at Myers Park High School who helped organize the march. “It seems like the view has been shifted and we just really need to bring attention to this big cause because it's such an epidemic that's just plagued our country for years.”
Chants rang out calling for change — and in the middle of the event, a group of bipartisan senators announced a gun reform framework that could possibly pass the 60 vote threshold to end a filibuster and pass the measures into law.
“They finally heard our voices,” demonstrator and Moms Demand Action member Laura Bahmanyar said. “Maybe, finally, enough is enough.”
The senators came to a consensus on policies offering more money to schools for safety and mental health resources, expanded background checks for young gun buyers, and money to incentivize states to pass red flag law among other policies.
“Of course, it doesn't go far enough for any of us, but we were heard,” Bahmanyar said. “But we became a roar. And so now I'm feeling much more positive and optimistic.”
The march in Charlotte was one of over 400 March for Our Lives protests that took place this weekend.
“I think all of the recent shootings kind of set off an alarm bell, not just to me, but to everyone,” March for Our Lives member Tiffany Jones said. “And so we organized this march, as well as all the other March for Our Lives, to really just show Congress and those who are anti-gun regulation that it's a problem.”
Many of the march’s organizers are students from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, with a large contingent coming from Myers Park High School.
In the past school year, CMS found 30 firearms on school campuses — including at Myers Park — which some organizers suggest indicates CMS’s measures like their clear book bag policy have failed to create a safe learning environment for students.
“I just really think CMS needs to think of better solutions that will last a long term rather than the short term ones,” Henley said.
The event featured a number of speakers such as Rep. Alma Adams, state Sen. Jeff Jackson and Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham.