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Operation survive
Retired United Methodist staffer Cathie Lyons, a photographer, posted this photo from the New York City March for Our Lives as "the one I will never forget." Used by permission.
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South Carolina March
Retired Bishop Kenneth Carder and his daughter, Sherri Carder Hood, participated in the Columbia, S.C., March for Our Lives. Photo Courtesy of Bishop Carder.
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Photo Courtesy of Bishop Easterling
Washington Bishop Rallies
United Methodist Bishop LaTrelle Eastering, leader of the Washington DC episcopal area, rallied with her husband, the Rev. Rev. Marion Easterling, Jr., pastor of Wesley Grove UMC, in Hanover, MD.
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Photo by Wes Magruder
Emma Meme
Parkland School shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez has become a "meme" of the gun reform movement in this sign from the Dallas March for Our Lives.
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Denver Rally
Bishop Karen Olivet (center) joins the Rev. Bich-Thy Betty Nguyen (left) and her family at the Denver March for Our Lives. Photo by Robin Ridenour.
United Methodists of all ages were among the estimated 1-million-plus Americans who participated in the March 24 student-led March for Our Lives demonstrations. Some 800,000 people alone came to Washington, D.C., for the main event, while Buzzfeed reported totals of 175,000 in New York, 45,000 in San Francisco, 50,000 in Boston, 30,000 in Atlanta. Austin brought out 20,000, and another 15,000 took part in Houston, 15,000 in Phoenix, and 18,000 in St. Paul. "Parkland, Florida, where a shooter killed 17 people last month, is a city of 35,000 people. About 20,000 people marched," Buzzfeed's e-letter said.
The reasons for so many United Methodists joining March for Our Lives were best expressed by the Rev. Michael Baughman, pastor of the innovative faith community at Union Coffee House in Dallas. His message is reposted here with his permission from his Facebook page.
I marched today because I am convinced that’s where Jesus would be—holding a sign, wearing a shirt in solidarity with survivors.
I marched today because I worship a God who stands up for children when others would silence them.
I marched today because God has raised up a generation to prophesy to the church and nation.
I marched today because my children have learned things I never learned in school—to hide in bathrooms and closets and make themselves small behind the messianic bodies of teachers who will cover them.
I marched today because if the Church does not cry out the rocks themselves will do so.
I marched today because there is community, there is power, there is history when people take to the streets and make their voice heard.
I marched today because the NRA is coming to Dallas. The nation will turn its eye upon a city that has witnessed a presidential assassination, lynchings, police officers slain in the street and innocent boys killed by law enforcement. We must be ready to make our voice heard and learn from the lessons of our past.
I marched today because grief can transform a nation.
I marched today because the blood in the streets, the blood pooled around school desks, the blood torn from organs and the blood in the communion cup are one in the same.
I marched today because history is watching and we will write a better story. #marchforourlive #marchforourlivesdallas #palmSaturday
Now that the marches are over, the activism continues, according to the movement's website. In addition to a voter registration drive aimed primarily at 18-year-olds, March for Our Lives now includes a section "How We Save Lives" where the organization's goals include universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and a ban on military-style assault weapons.
5. Limit firing power on the streets.
Weapons of war have no place in our communities. Our nation requires a comprehensive assault weapons ban that prohibits the future production and sale of these weapons and provides a solution for dealing with those assault weapons that are already owned, such as a buyback program or registration. Limiting high-powered weapons to the military has worked elsewhere to eliminate the opportunity for mass shootings.