In 2018, protests against gun violence in the United States increased after a series of
mass shootings, most notably at the
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14 that year. An organized protest in the form of a national school walkout occurred on March 14.
March for Our Lives was held on March 24. Another major demonstration occurred April 20, 2018.
The Fort Lauderdale rally was followed by other protests across the country. On February 19, a group of teenagers staged a "
lie-in" outside the
White House.[4] Hundreds of students marched to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 20.[5] Students also demonstrated at Florida's Capitol.[6] In Kansas, several hundred high school students protested on February 21.[7]
The students from Parkland, Florida began encouraging companies who partner with the NRA—offering perks or discounts to members—to sever ties with the organization. Over a dozen[8] companies dropped their NRA partnership in the days following.[9]
The Enough! National School Walkout[12] was a
walkout planned by organizers of the Students' March, that occurred on March 14, in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The protest had students, parents, and
gun control students leaving schools for seventeen minutes (one minute for each person who died during the shooting) starting at 10:00 a.m. in their respective time zone.[13][14] The protest was held exactly one month after the Stoneman Douglas shooting.[15][16] The
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supported the student's activism.[17]
An estimated 3,000 schools and nearly 1 million students participated in the protest.[20][21][22][23] Thousands of students gathered in Washington, D.C., and observed 17 minutes of silence with their backs turned to the
White House.[24]
U.S. broadcaster
Viacom expressed support for the protests, including executive
Shari Redstone making a $500,000 donation to March For Our Lives, and all Viacom U.S. cable networks (including
MTV and
Nickelodeon) suspending programming for seventeen minutes at a time at 10:00 a.m. in each time zone, in solidarity for the walkouts. The company also planned discussion and acknowledgement of the movement in programming and other output by its channels.[29][30]
On Tuesday, April 10, 2018, hundreds of students walked out of their Miami high school to protest gun violence after four current or former classmates were shot off campus. The students chanted "
no justice, no peace" Tuesday and carried "enough is enough" signs outside
Northwestern Senior High School. They staged the protest after the weekend shooting deaths of 17-year-old Kimson Green, a 10th-grader who was about to become a member of the
National Honor Society, and 18-year-old Rickey Dixon, a former Northwestern student. Two other current or former classmates were wounded. The shooting happened Sunday at an apartment complex in the
Liberty City neighborhood, which is plagued by gun violence.[42][43]
The National School Walkout[44] occurred nationally on April 20, 2018, which was the 19th anniversary of the
Columbine High School massacre.[45] The movement was founded and organized by Lane Murdock of
Ridgefield High School.[46][47][48] On the day of the walkout, student demonstrators wore
safety orange and departed from over 2600 schools to push for legislative action against gun violence.[49]
^Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna (2012).
"A Guide to Mass Shootings in America". MotherJones.com.
Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Updated March 27, 2023 Describes inclusion criteria.