Joseph Ax

(Reuters). Tens, if not thousands, of protestors are expected to march in Washington, D.C., across the country, calling for legislation that would curb gun violence, following the massacre at a Texas elementary School last month.

March for Our Lives is a gun safety group that was founded by survivors from the Parkland High School massacre. It has organized more than 450 events for Saturday including rallies in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, 17 were shot to death, hundreds of thousands marched on Washington in 2018. The march was organized by the group.

According to organizers, the message of this year’s Washington event is simple: Americans are dying because you don’t act.

Trevon Bosley, a member of the MFOL board, stated via email that “we will not allow you sit back while others continue to die.”

Uvalde was the victim of a shooting attack by a gunman who killed 19 children and 2 teachers in Texas on May 24th. It happened just days after another attacker murdered 10 Blacks in Buffalo’s grocery store as part of a racist attack.

Recent mass shootings add urgency to our ongoing discussion about gun violence. However, federal legislation prospects remain unclear.

Among other things, MFOL calls for an assault weapons ban as well as universal background checks on all gun purchasers. A national licensing system would also be required to register gun owners.

A bipartisan group composed of Senate negotiators has pledged to strike a deal in the last weeks. But, no agreement has been reached. They are focusing on minor changes like incentivizing states that pass red flag laws to allow them to confiscate guns from those deemed dangerous.

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a sweeping set of gun safety measures, but the legislation has no chance of advancing in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed gun limits as infringing upon the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Speakers included David Hogg (Parkland survivors and co-founders MFOL), Becky Pringle (NYSE) and Randi Winegarten(NYSE:), who are the presidents and vice-presidents respectively of the two largest U.S. teachers’ unions. Yolanda King is the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.