Teens organize Phoenix 'March for Our Lives' in wake of Florida shooting

Two Arizona teenagers are rallying high school students to march next month in solidarity with survivors of last week's mass shooting in Florida to advocate for gun control and other measures --- an effort that already has taken off on social media.

The #MarchForOurLives Phoenix  page on Facebook was launched Sunday afternoon and by Monday evening, nearly 2,000 people were interested in the planned event on March 24, and 500 had indicated they would attend.

Adults indicated they would attend with their children; teens quickly showed support; still others offered to help the teens organize the event.

MORE:Activists organize national school walkout after Florida school shooting

'We will be heard'

Samantha Lekberg, a 16-year-old student at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, was one of those who started the page.

After survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., called for a March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, she was inspired to join them. The shooting left 17 dead and more injured.

"This is our time to push for a change in gun laws, mental health education, and security in schools. We will be heard and things WILL change,'' the page says.

Lekberg said watching the Florida students on TV felt personal.

"I can’t help but to see me and my classmates in them," Lekberg told The Arizona Republic.  "I see my best friends in the victims and I see my family in theirs."

Going to school in a time when mass shootings at schools across the country are now commonplace, she said, teenagers and young adults now don't feel completely safe at school. 

"I think it has to do with the fact that we are at the same stage in our lives. We deal with the same things on a daily basis," she said. "So young people, now more than ever, understand the issue that’s going on because we are the targets. We are forced to quit being so naive when things like this happen." 

BLAND:Who knows what to do about shootings? People who have experienced it

The nationwide group March For Our Lives announced Sunday the march on the nation's capital March 24, a Saturday, and other cities to press their demands for safer schools and for legislation "to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant" across the nation.

"Politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now," the group said in a statement announcing the march. "Not one more — we cannot allow one more child to be shot at school."

Time to take action

The group wants the safety and lives of students to become a priority. They demand a comprehensive bill be immediately brought before Congress to address gun control, the statement says. 

The Phoenix March is being planned for 10 a.m., the Arizona State Capitol.

Lekberg saw the announcement and decided to march in Phoenix. 

The quick reaction to the event was encouraging, but not surprising, Lekberg said.

"I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not," she said. "There are so many passionate people out there with so much optimism, many of which are planning on attending. I just feel inspired and ready to finally make something happen."

Rebecca McHood, a volunteer for Moms Demand Action, reached out to help set up the Phoenix rally, which McHood said should be student-led, Lekberg said.

Lekberg also connected with Jordan Harb, another teen activist from Mesa, who began helping her coordinate the march.  Harb told The Republic he was in Washington when the Florida shooting happened.

MORE:These are the 17 victims of the Florida school shooting

"I was in D.C. for Model U.N. conference and afterwards I️ went down to lobby Arizona legislators and senators," said Harb, 17, a junior at Mountain View High School in Mesa. "The responses I️ got were vague, all the usual politician shrug off. It was disgusting to me since the victims of these shootings are those my age — innocent children."

Words and beliefs can't do enough to prevent tragedies like last week's shooting, Harb said. But the growth of the march has inspired him.

"We all give our thoughts and prayers, but none of them are taking action," he said. "It humbles me to see such a huge national movement. People, especially the youth, are sick of seeing shootings regularly. When mass death becomes the status quo, something has gone very wrong."

'If there's a will, there's a way'

But even as he joined Lekberg in leading the charge, as the event drew more people, internet trolls descended. 

"I had received messages saying that marching for gun laws was a waste of time ... to which I didn’t respond at all," said Lekberg.

"If you have such a pessimistic view on the world then eventually it will catch up to you and ruin your outlook on life," she added.

The antagonists were blocked from the page, and the young organizers were drawn into group chats with the leaders of Moms Demand Action, Save Our Schools AZ and organizers of the Women’s March, all with experience in organizing such events.

"All of them are persistent with it being student-led which I admire so much," said Lekberg. "It’s more impactful that way." 

Harb hopes to use the march as a stepping stone, growing a grassroots community to advocate for laws to make schools safer.  

"We are ensuring this goes farther than just a simple protest — we are building a movement to empower our youth," he said. "The fact so many young people have been taking initiative on this is an amazing opportunity."

DEBATE:Is there a better way to react to the Florida school shooting?

The march is meant to inspire others to speak out, and hopefully create some kind of lasting change, so that other schools will never experience a mass shooting, Lekberg said.

"I’m a firm believer in 'If there’s a will, there’s a way.' if there are so many people wanting a change, the change will come," she said. "It may not be easy to get, but it will come. I will not sit here and wait for it either." 

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