SEATTLE — The March for Our Lives on Saturday showed that it’s not just students in Parkland, Fla., who are affected by gun violence, said Emily Menshew, a Port Angeles High School student who was among those from the North Olympic Peninsula who joined the march in Seattle.
The March for Our Lives was a national movement calling on lawmakers to make changes to reduce gun violence. It was organized after 17 people were shot and killed at a Florida school.
Menshew said nine students and three parents from Port Angeles attended the march.
About 20 students traveled from Port Townsend to Seattle for the march.
“I especially like how they didn’t focus on just school shootings — and neither did the [Washington,] D.C., march,” Menshew said.
“They focused on gun violence that’s been going on with minority communities and lower-class impoverished neighborhoods.”
She said the national movement has helped give a voice to many who hadn’t been able to be heard before.
Menshew is continuing to plan events in Port Angeles to raise awareness about gun violence, she said.
On April 20, a march from Port Angeles High School to the Clallam County Courthouse is planned, she said. At this point she is unsure how many plan to attend. That will happen after school lets out for the day.
On April 21, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., will be a letter writing event at the Port Angeles Library, where people will be encouraged to write to lawmakers and register to vote.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
