In 2018, protests against gun violence in the United States increased after a series of

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

s, most notably at the

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Parkland, Florida, United States. Established in 1990 as part of the Broward County Public Schools district and named after the writer Marjory Stonem ...

on February 14 that year. An organized protest in the form of a national school walkout occurred on March 14. March for Our Lives was held on March 24. Another major demonstration occurred April 20, 2018.

Demonstrations

Rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2000- Gun sales and NICS firearm background checks - U

The anti-gun violence group Never Again MSD, formed and led by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, held a rally on February 17 in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, which was attended by hundreds of students. The Fort Lauderdale rally was followed by other protests across the country. On February 19, a group of teenagers staged a " lie-in" outside the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Hundreds of students marched to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 20. Students also demonstrated at Florida's Capitol. In Kansas, several hundred high school students protested on February 21.

March 1 NRA-sponsor boycotts

The students from Parkland, Florida began encouraging companies who partner with the NRA—offering perks or discounts to members—to sever ties with the organization. Over a dozen companies dropped their NRA partnership in the days following.

Enough! National School Walkout

The Enough! National School Walkout was a

walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

planned by organizers of the Students' March, that occurred on March 14, in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The protest had students, parents, and

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

students leaving schools for seventeen minutes (one minute for each person who died during the shooting) starting at 10:00 a.m. in their respective time zone. The protest was held exactly one month after the Stoneman Douglas shooting. The

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU) supported the student's activism. An estimated 3,000 schools and nearly 1 million students participated in the protest. Thousands of students gathered in Washington, D.C., and observed 17 minutes of silence with their backs turned to the

. At Greenbrier High School in Greenbrier, Arkansas three students elected to receive

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

in the form of two paddlings on the thighs for their participation in the walkout. This required parental consent, and was administered the same day. Nearly 200 U.S. colleges added their names to #NeverAgain Colleges, including the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT),

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. The colleges would not penalize high school students who face disciplinary action as a result of participating in a peaceful Never Again MSD protest. U.S. broadcaster Viacom expressed support for the protests, including executive

Shari Redstone Shari Ellin Redstone (born April 14, 1954) is an American heiress, businesswoman, and media executive. She is the non-executive chairwoman of Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS) and chairwoman, president and CEO of National Amusement ...

making a $500,000 donation to March For Our Lives, and all Viacom U.S. cable networks (including

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

) suspending programming for seventeen minutes at a time at 10:00 a.m. in each time zone, in solidarity for the walkouts. The company also planned discussion and acknowledgement of the movement in programming and other output by its channels.

March for Our Lives

March for Our Lives was a student-led demonstration in support of tighter

that took place on March 24, 2018, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with over 800 sibling events throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and around the world. Student organizers from Never Again MSD planned the march in collaboration with the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Everytown for Gun Safety Everytown for Gun Safety is an American non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between ''Mayors Against Illegal Guns'' and ''Moms Demand Action for Gun Sens ...

. The event followed the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...

, which was described by many media outlets as a possible tipping point for gun control

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

. Protesters urged for

universal background check A universal background check for guns is a policy that requires a background check for all gun sales or transfers, regardless of where they occur or who is involved. This includes sales at gun shows, private sales between individuals, and sales ...

s on all gun sales, raising the federal age of gun ownership and possession to the age of 21, closing of the gun show loophole, a restoration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines in the United States. Turnout was estimated to be between 1.2 and 2 million people in the United States, making it one of the

largest protests in American history The right to assemble is recognized as a human right and protected in the First Amendment of the US Constitution under the clause, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ...

Northwestern Senior High School

On Tuesday, April 10, 2018, hundreds of students walked out of their Miami high school to protest gun violence after four current or former classmates were shot off campus. The students chanted " no justice, no peace" Tuesday and carried "enough is enough" signs outside Northwestern Senior High School. They staged the protest after the weekend shooting deaths of 17-year-old Kimson Green, a 10th-grader who was about to become a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

, and 18-year-old Rickey Dixon, a former Northwestern student. Two other current or former classmates were wounded. The shooting happened Sunday at an apartment complex in the Liberty City neighborhood, which is plagued by gun violence.

April 20 The National School Walkout

The National School Walkout occurred nationally on April 20, 2018, which was the 19th anniversary of the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

. The movement was founded and organized by Lane Murdock of Ridgefield High School. On the day of the walkout, student demonstrators wore

safety orange Safety orange (also known as blaze orange, vivid orange, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA orange, hunter orange, or Caltrans orange) is a hue used to set objects apart from their surroundings, particularly in color theory, c ...

and departed from over 2600 schools to push for legislative action against gun violence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:United States gun violence protests, 2018 Gun violence protests 2018 protests 2018 gun violence protests 2018 gun violence protests