March For Our Lives San Jose

Never again. These are the words that reverberated through the overpass as we marched from San Jose City Hall to Arena Green. The chants of fifteen thousand students and citizens from the Bay Area echoed off the concrete walls, which duplicated our voices and made it sound like the millions of gun violence victims were right there shouting beside us. As if the 17 students slain in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that sparked this movement were lifting their voices too. On March 24th, 2018, we were able to achieve one of the largest community gatherings in San Jose’s history. However, with 49 mass shootings in 2019 as of March 3rd, it is evident that we still have much work to do.

In order to create central, viable solutions, it is important to address that gun violence does not always look the same; this issue includes mass shootings, suicides, domestic abuse, violence on our streets, and more. It is vital to remember that our youth and communities of color are disproportionately affected by this violence, and we must focus more on preventing trauma than comparing it. Bullets do not discriminate and our response to violence cannot either.