Utahns fill the streets during local gun violence protest as part of national March for Our Lives event

IC photo/Laura Vallejo

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Protesters against gun violence participate in the March for Our Lives Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 8,000 people marched from West High School to the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, protesting locally as part of the March for Our Lives event that took place in many parts of the United States and in the world.

The March 24 protest against gun violence had its primary gathering in Washington, D.C. Among the participants and speakers were students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, where 17 people were killed in a shooting on Feb. 14.

The mission statement of March for Our Lives says in part, “Not one more. We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school. We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students.”

In Salt Lake City, families with babies, students from high schools, middle schools and elementaries, educators, young adults and the elderly – age, culture, ethnicity, and religion didn’t matter as they became one voice while marching to the Utah Capitol.

The Washington Post reported the student-led events throughout the country on March 24 were among the largest youth protests since the Vietnam era, with hundreds of thousands of people turning out Saturday in the nation’s capital and more than 800 sister marches from California to Japan.

As the people walked through the streets of Salt Lake City, chants of “Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” and “Not one more,”’ among others, could be heard from blocks away.

After the crowed arrived at the Capitol, one of the student organizers, Sophia Davis of Judge Memorial Catholic High School, opened the program with an acoustic rendition of “Imagine” by  John Lennon, as people made peace signs with their hands.

“Students are no longer accepting just thoughts and prayers, only policy and action,” declared Abena Bakenra, a West High School senior.

Another of the student organizers, Whilhemina Graff, said that the protest was about life and death.

Saida Dahir, a student at AMES, then recited a poem she wrote the day after the Florida shootings.

Ermiya Fanaeian spoke about her experience as a student of color, saying that there are discrepancies in how victims of gun violence are treated, depending on their skin color.

“Seeing all these young people coming together is really inspiring,” said Patricia Wheeler, mother of three boys from age 5 to 11 months.

For her, participating in the march was a priority.

“I knew it was not going to be an easy task with my three little ones, but I wanted to be present because this is such an important issue. … We need to protect our children, and schools need to be a safe place for them,” she said.

March For Our Lives in SLC was “a student-led protest against the looming threat of gun violence in schools, and throughout America,” according to the event organization’s press release. “We recognize that gun violence is multi-faceted issue, and are therefore focusing on a three-pronged legislative solution. We demand that military grade assault-style weapons be kept out of the hands of civilians. We demand that background checks be expanded to close the gun-show loophole. We demand that waiting periods be implemented between the purchase and pick-up of a gun.”