CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) The Pavilion at McGregor Park Riverwalk was filled to overflowing Saturday as close to 300 people gathered to be a part of the March for Our Lives in Clarksville.
The rally was part of reportedly over 800 events taking place across the country in response to school shootings. Local students were featured who spoke, read poems and performed songs in remembrance of the lives lost and those injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14 in Florida.
Nahan Abubucker, a junior at APSU Middle College, one of the key organizers of the rally was pleased with the turn out and told the crowd that the school shootings aren’t a minor inconvenience that can be brushed off.
“This country needs to sit down and really think about whether or not our pride is worth more than the lives being ripped apart. We students have made the choice to say if the grown men and women of the nation are not brave enough to make change then we will stand where they will not stand and we will fight where they will not fight,” said Abubucker.
Abubucker added that it’s easy to think that this is politics, this is us raging against the 2nd Amendment trying to take away people rights but it’s anything but that. Reform is needed not so we can steal away guns from law abiding citizens but so we can make sure that we can keep dangerous weapons away from dangerous people.
There was a presentation at the rally called Flowers for the Fallen. As recent shooting events were announced, local students placed flowers near the stage, one for each of the lives lost in a school shooting.
Two individuals at the rally expressed their support of gun rights displaying a flag that said “Don’t Tread on Me-Second Amendment Since 1789.” One of those who carried the flag, Jeff Stewart, talked about the gun issue.
“People are mistaken about the assault weapons. They’re really not assault weapons. They look fancy, they look scary but there’s a lot of guns out there that could do a lot more damage that are not classified as assault weapons. The liberal media has made those guns evil, which they’re not,” said Stewart.
Stewart added that there are some issues like the loopholes in trade shows, the private sales, maybe strengthen the criminal background checks to stop people from mental health issues from getting guns. There’s nothing wrong with that and that’s a good idea.
The local group Clarksville Indivisible assisted the students in organizing the rally.