SAN ANTONIO – The March for Our Lives rally returned to downtown San Antonio Saturday, drawing organizers, volunteers and participants to fight for stricter gun laws.
The march happened from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., beginning at Milam Park and ending at the front of City Hall.
This will be the second March for Our Lives rally that’s taken place in SA and comes after the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, New York. Tens of thousands of people are also expected to take part in the march in the nation’s capital and other surrounding states.
Frank Ruiz, a volunteer and organizer, said he is a father and was compelled to mobilize, organize and empower in the rally.
“I’ve been an organizer for two weeks. I noticed there wasn’t a San Antonio march and I felt strongly that there should be one. I felt strongly that we should have a presence here for the local community, particularly in Uvalde and Sutherland Springs and to let people know we should enact sensible gun reforms,” said Ruiz.
The rally is an effort to put an end to gun violence and Ruiz said coming together as a community has proven to be effective in other states who have dealt with mass shootings, such as Florida.
“That state enacted both Red Flag Laws, a process for citizens to take concern about a person -- a person that’s made threats and has access to deadly weapons. They also increased the age to 21 for access to assault weapons both of those reforms apply directly to the Uvalde incident and could have prevented that from taking place,” said Ruiz.
After the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. in 2018, where 17 students and staff were killed, the March for Our Lives originated.