March for Our Lives: South Bend rallies against gun violence
“How can you have a postiive learning environment when the only thought on your mind is, ‘Am I next? My brother, my sister, my friend’?”, said one student.
“I don’t want to be worried that I’m going to die at school, that I’m going to be shot,” said Kendall Moore, a 16-year-old Adams High School student.
Dozens of students. One goal.
“I don’t want to go to school and be in fear for my life,” said Juliana Harges, a 13-year-old LaSalle Intermediate student.
“We shouldn’t have to feel like our lives are at stake,” said Genna Horvath, a 14-year-old LaSalle Intermediate student.
One of the 800 March for Our Lives rallies being held across the country gave hundreds of people across South Bend a reason to speak up about gun violence, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg who addressed shootings in South Bend from this weekend alone.
“It happened again overnight…” said Mayor Buttigieg.
“Three victims… two incidents… one fatality. What is happening around the country when it comes to gun violence, is an urgent issue here for us right here in South Bend too,” said Mayor Buttigieg.
And like the many students, organizers, and those who took the stand he called on Washington for changes during the rally.+
“I for one am sick and tired of living in a country where this is routine now, Washington needs to wake up and become part of the solution,” said Mayor Buttigieg.
And students say actions will speak louder than words now.
“There’s a big issue in our country and our community that the adults don’t really want to talk about, so it’s time for us to talk about it,” said Horvath.
“The adults have had their turn to try and fix all of these gun violence issues. It’s our turn now. We’re the ones who have to fix this,” said Sarah Wheeler, a 15-year-old Adams High School student.
These students say they’re hoping for better gun laws and that they will continue to fight this fight. Coming up on April 5th they will have a letter writing meeting where organizers plan to write letters to local, state and federal representatives demanding change. The meeting will be held at the near northwest neighborhood’s meeting room, 1005 Portage Avenue, South Bend from 6:30-7:30p.m. The meeting is open to the public.