LA Mayor Garcetti, Parkland survivors urge young kids to vote, speak up about gun violence

KOREATOWN, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Students and teens shared how gun violence has affected their lives during a roundtable discussion held by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and March for Our lives.

The discussion on gun control and youth voting was held Thursday evening at RFK Community Schools, which was formerly the Ambassador Hotel, in Koreatown.

Garcetti spoke, as well as Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. California's Secretary of State Alex Padilla was also in attendance, along with Gabrielle Giffords' husband Capt. Mark Kelly.

"Young people are disproportionately the victims of gun violence. They should be disproportionately the voices of the solutions of ending gun violence," Garcetti said. "They are the experts on this issue. They are the ones who have the passion, who have the purpose."

During the discussion, Hogg and Garcetti emphasized how important it is for young people to get out and vote. As a way to make it easier, Garcetti said all Los Angeles Unified School District high school and continuation schools will have voter registration drives.

The stop in L.A. is part of March for Our Lives Road to Change national bus tour and movement.

"If we want free college, young people need to vote for that. If people want a free and open internet - they've got to vote for it and realize even if you don't like either of the presidential candidates, there's a lot of stuff on that ballot that you need to be voting for to create a more just America," Hogg said.

They also hosted a town hall meeting at the African American History Museum around 7:30 p.m. to further discuss getting people to register to vote and building resistance against the NRA.

March for Our Lives will also hold a barbecue in Los Angeles on Friday. On Saturday, they will be in Huntington Beach for an afternoon town hall