Dallas Marches for Gun Sense

On Saturday, 24 March, I went to downtown Dallas to march with our young people and their families to demand action against gun violence and for stronger gun control. It was a beautiful day for such an action: sunny and in the 80s, but not too hot.

There were people of all ages and races, and the crowd was huge and friendly. Because it was on the move for the first hour or so, it was  hard to get a handle on the size of the crowd, but I am confident there were many hundreds on the move in downtown Dallas that day.

And signs! Lots of signs; here’s a tiny sample: “Students Demand Action,” “Moms Demand Action,” “Books Not Bullets,” “I’ve Seen Smarter Cabinets at Ikea Stores,” and my favorite, “Give Teachers a Raise, NOT Guns.”

There was lots of spontaneous group chanting as well. One favorite subject of the chants told the National Rifle Association to get out of the way. Another demanded, “Tell me what democracy looks like!” The shouted reply from the marchers was “This is what democracy looks like!”

The march was huge but it did not go a long distance — just a few long blocks from City Hall and then back. The march lasted a little over an hour and then there were speeches.

Because I had somewhere else to be, I couldn’t stay for the speeches, so I can’t say how long the crowd stood on City Hall plaza listening. Regardless, the march was a success in my estimation. If you live in the Dallas area and you weren’t there, you missed a great opportunity to support the Metroplex’s young people and stronger gun control. I hope it made an impact on our elected officials.