• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2026 ABC News
ABC News

March For Our Lives recap: Frustrated Americans rally for gun reform across US

PHOTO: Participants hold placards during a "March for our lives" rally for gun control in Parkland, Fla., June 11, 2022.
1:46
Marco Bello/Reuters
Protesters rally across US to push for gun control
By Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: June 11, 2022, 8:42 PM

Angry and frustrated Americans joined rallies and marches across the U.S. Saturday to advocate for gun reform in the wake of the back-to-back mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.

The nationwide event was organized by March For Our Lives, a group founded by student survivors of the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

The marches are in response to the May 24 shooting at a Uvalde elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers, as well as the May 14 massacre at a Buffalo grocery store where 10 people, all of whom were Black, were gunned down in an alleged hate crime.

Latest headlines:

  • Gen Z 'done' with 'thoughts and prayers'
  • Congresswoman shares personal story surviving gun violence
  • Parkland dad, survivor take the stage
  • Buffalo victim's son: 'Until it happened to us, we were sitting on the sidelines'
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Jun 11, 2022 8:42 PM

Gen Z 'done' with 'thoughts and prayers'

Santiago Mayer, executive director of Voters of Tomorrow, shed light on Generation Z's perspective at the Los Angeles rally.

"We have grown up in a world where we all jump when a balloon pops. In a world where we have to scan every single exit and the movements of our classmates at school," he said.

pic.twitter.com/T7qlw1fLtJ

— March for our Lives LA (@mfolla22) June 11, 2022

"We don't live like this because we like it … we live like this because every single day the people in power make the conscious decision to put the NRA's money over our lives," Mayer said. "It's incredibly frustrating to keep talking about this, because every time that we try and do something, the other side just throws their hands up in the air and gives us 'thoughts and prayers.'"

Aaron is marching with us because our lives matter. pic.twitter.com/mksE9Qh2rN

— March for our Lives LA (@mfolla22) June 11, 2022

Meyer said that "Generation Z is done with the games, done with the 'thoughts and prayers.'"

"We must take action now," he said. "We must ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. We must invest in school counselors and social services. We must raise the minimum age to buy a gun to 21."

Lawmakers, he said, "can vote for common sense gun legislation, or young people will vote them out."


Jun 11, 2022 7:55 PM

'No one should be able to inflict these types of injuries'

At the March For Our Lives rally in Los Angeles, one woman held a sign reading: "Send the guns to Ukraine."

Dr. Jeffrey Birnbaum, a pediatric emergency medicine doctor in LA and a Parkland, Florida, native, explained the severity of semi-automatic rifle injuries.

pic.twitter.com/W11OWbmmNy

— March for our Lives LA (@mfolla22) June 11, 2022

He recalled his first experience treating patients shot by semi-automatic rifles, saying "the images of their injuries will be forever burned into my mind."

"I vividly remember thinking that no one should be able to inflict these types of injuries on a fellow human being," Birnbaum told the crowd.

NOW: City Attorney Mike Feuer joins the student-led MARCH FOR OUR LIVES in downtown. It’s long past time for commonsense solutions to our nation’s gun violence epidemic! #MarchForOurLivesJune11 pic.twitter.com/cpEcFS2DuZ

— The Office of Mike Feuer, L.A. City Attorney (@CityAttorneyLA) June 11, 2022

A survivor of the 2014 mass shooting at the University of California Santa Barbara also shared her experience at the LA rally. She said after the shooting, her mother begged her to drop out of college, terrified for her safety.

Last month's Uvalde, Texas, shooting came one day after the anniversary of the UCSB massacre. She said she doesn't want any other generation to endure this grief.

"I know that we are exhausted -- but we must continue showing up … because I can't take it anymore," she said.

I am #StillMarching—for the six people taken the day I was shot in Tucson, for the 19 children lost in Uvalde, for over 45,000 lives killed in a single year because of gun violence.Thousands of us are still marching, and we will not stop until gun violence ends. pic.twitter.com/JIvokUDQNh

— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 11, 2022

Jun 11, 2022 7:00 PM

Buffalo community marches weeks after mass shooting

Buffalo, New York, residents held a March For Our Lives rally on Saturday, weeks after a mass shooting that killed 10 shook their community.

PHOTO: A group estimated in the hundreds takes part in a March For Our Lives event, June 11, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images
A group estimated in the hundreds takes part in a March For Our Lives event, June 11, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images

Another rally was in Parkland, Florida, home to the 2018 school shooting that killed 17.

PHOTO: Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla., June 11, 2022.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla., June 11, 2022.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

Americans in cities across the nation, from New York to Chicago, also joined in, taking to the streets and making their voices heard.

PHOTO: Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in New York, June 11, 2022.
Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in New York, June 11, 2022.
Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in Chicago, June 11, 2022.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in Chicago, June 11, 2022.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in Chicago, June 11, 2022.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in Chicago, June 11, 2022.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images


Jun 11, 2022 6:37 PM

A teacher's perspective

"We need fewer guns in schools -- not more of them!" Randi Weinstein, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a passionate speech in Washington, D.C.

Teachers want to be teaching, not holstering firearms. We need fewer guns in schools, not more of them. #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/jFzliaJcXR

— AFT (@AFTunion) June 11, 2022

"Teachers want to be teaching!" she said. "As we head back to school this fall, please arm us with resources -- with books, with school counselors. Not with bulletproof vests."

PHOTO: A demonstrator holds a sign with the names of children and teachers killed by shootings during March for Our Lives 2022, June 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images
A demonstrator holds a sign with the names of children and teachers killed by shootings during March for Our Lives 2022, June 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Weinstein also addressed critical race theory, noting, "If we have the judgment to shoot a bad guy, why don't we have the judgment to plan our lessons?"


GMA Newsletters

Sign up for our newsletters to get GMA delivered to your inbox every morning!

Up Next in news

PHOTO: Mara Flávia Souza Araujo drowned during the Ironman competition on April 18.

Athlete drowns during Ironman Texas triathlon

April 20, 2026
PHOTO: Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department rescue a skydiver who crashed into the scoreboard at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA on April 18, 2026.

Skydiver speaks out after crashing into Virginia Tech stadium scoreboard

April 20, 2026
PHOTO: Gas station clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem speaks to ABC affiliate WXYZ.

Gas station clerk speaks out after foiling alleged kidnapping

April 15, 2026

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2026 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2026 ABC News