OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) - Students across the country are demanding action after multiple mass shootings, including the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
This Saturday, many of them will be taking part in March for Our Lives rallies. One in Oakland is organized by an 11-year-old.
KRON4 spoke with the student about planning the event.
While many 11-year-olds are hanging out with friends or playing sports, Alexander Ibarra of Coliseum College Preperatory Academy is fighting for gun control.
"Most of the kids who were involved in the Uvalde shooting were near my age”, he said, “and that kinda scared me a little bit because it showed that could have been me."
He says he needed to do something to try and prevent mass shootings from continuing to happen, and to remember all of those who have been killed.
"I went to do a little bit of research and I found March for Our Lives so I knew that I was going to do something that incorporated them because they were one of the biggest organizations looking for gun control," Ibarra said.
The group was founded by survivors of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Ibarra says he's been planning for the last few weeks--that includes promoting the event, and even getting a permit from the city.
"It's definitely very tiring but i've had a lot of people help me, my school friends have helped me, numerous adults have helped me and i really appreciate the support from them," he said.
The protest will include speeches from students and survivors of gun violence.
there will also be a letter writing station where people can write to congress and demand change.
"As of now, we have more mass shooting than days in our calendar year and for me that's just unacceptable. We call ourselves the country of the brave but alot of people are scared that they can get shot at any point in time," 11-year-old Ibarra told KRON4.
He will also be carrying a second pair of shoes to send a symbolic message.
"We're trying to represent with those extra pair of shoes the people who have died because of gun violence. And we're trying to be like they're here with us in our hearts."
The event will be Saturday morning, 10am, at Oakland City Hall plaza. There are also other protests scheduled to take place across the Bay Area.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/4eumQCY
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