Thousands of Utahns, outraged by recent school shootings, gathered at the state Capitol on Saturday as part of the nationwide March For Our Lives movement. A smaller group of gun rights advocates also made their views known in a counter-protest earlier in the day.
Protesters gathered at West High School in Salt Lake City to begin the march to the Utah Capitol building.
"Participating in these kinds of things, it just shows that we're ready to take that step forward and we're ready...to demand what's needed to make people safe," said 18-year-old Aislin Martnez, who drove down from Orem with two of her friends to march.
Many students wore price tags around their wrists with barcodes and “$0.17” written in bold. Organizers said they calculated all of the money Utah politicians receive from the National Rifle Association and divided it by the number of students in the state.
"Our lives are worth 17 cents and that's not OK," said one student. "Students should be priceless."
Rebecca Utz, a professor at the University of Utah, came with her two young daughters, Carolyn and Elizabeth. She said active shooter drills are her least favorite part of the job.
“[My] young kids also have to go through active shooter drills in kindergarten and fourth grade. That is not what I want," she said.
Pro-Gun March
Earlier Saturday, a group of counter-demonstrators made their way to the Capitol in support of the 2nd Amendment. Many said they felt alienated by the anti-gun message of the March For Our Lives movement.
