Kids, parents, activists hold gun control rally in DTLA in wake of Florida school shooting

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Several activist groups as well as children, teens and parents in the Southland are hoping to turn tragedy into change with a rally against gun violence in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.

Grassroots movement Drain the NRA, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and members of the Everytown Survivor Network will hold the rally in the wake of last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.
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The rally urged lawmakers to make policy changes regarding gun laws and speak out against the National Rifle Association's financial support of members of Congress.

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The event was held at Pershing Square in the 500 block of S. Olive Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hundreds of people, including adults, teens and children, were seen holding signs and chanting "enough is enough."

"I think the tide is turning. This feels like a moment, this feels like a pivot point. I think we're seeing the students are rising, and they're telling us we've got to make a change," said Heather Matula of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Student and Sylmar resident Sophie Peterson of Drain the NRA joined the rally and held a sign that read "School shooting? Just another day in America as a student. That scares me. #DraintheNRA."



"I'm here to bring awareness to how many school shootings have happened because apparently when school shootings happen, it's just another day in America. Nobody cares," she said.

The survivors of the school shooting have been instrumental in leading the recent movement of demanding change in gun laws.