Student organisers of gun control rallies that drew hundreds of thousands to US streets vowed Sunday there will be no letup in their campaign for reform. The nationwide protests on Saturday were by far the largest in nearly two decades, part of a reignited gun control debate sparked by last month's killings at a Florida high school.
"This is not the end. This is just the beginning," Emma Gonzalez, a leader of the movement, said on CBS's "Face the Nation." Gonzalez, 17, is a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, north of Miami - which was traumatized into action last month after 14 students and three staff were killed by a former student armed with a military-style rifle.
She captivated Saturday's rally in Washington, the nation's largest, with an emotional eulogy for her dead schoolmates that ended with a plea to "get out there and vote" a lengthy silence to symbolize the timespan of the shooting spree. In a country with more than 30,000 gun-related deaths a year, Gonzalez is among those calling for legislative action.
"We're going to be revving up for the elections" this November, when Congressional seats will be at stake, Gonzalez said on CBS. "Over the summer we're going to try to go around to colleges and ... reach out to the kids locally around the country." Cameron Kasky, a fellow student from Stoneman Douglas, said the rallies - including the Washington protest that filled streets around the US Capitol building - prompted many voter registrations and discussions.
"So the fact that this movement has so many people realizing that it's important to get out to the polls is what I think is one of the best things that we've accomplished," Kasky said on "Fox News Sunday." The students said that, despite some initial signs that President Donald Trump would take greater action after the Parkland shooting, Washington has done little.
Trump's administration is increasing aid to states that want to arm school staff, endorsed minor legislation to improve background checks by gun dealers, and announced a commission on school safety, among other measures.