Thousands 'March For Our Lives' In Parkland And Miami Beach

PARKLAND, FL — If you listened carefully, you could hear their voices — not only in Parkland anymore but in Miami Beach, where spring breakers and locals gladly gave up a beach day to shout "enough is enough," and in every U.S state. Seventeen souls seemed to be everywhere. Nicholas would have turned 18 on Saturday. There was Aaron, Jaime, Alyssa, Scott, Meadow, Christopher, Luke, Carmen, Gina, Alex, Peter, Alaina, Martin, Helena, Joaquin and Cara — all speaking through Stoneman Douglas survivors, parents and people they never knew in life.

This is why they march — not hundreds anymore, or even thousands — hundreds of thousands.

In Parkland, where it all began 38 days earlier, 17 Parkland students took turns at a podium equipped with crates to raise up some of the younger speakers. One by one they announced which of the 17 Parkland angels they had come to speak for.

"My name is Rachel Maddis and I'm marching for the amazing dancer Jaime Guttenberg." There was applause and hoots as each name was spoken. At times, it took on the feel of a graduation.

This is why they march.

People dressed in white in Miami Beach and proudly wore their Stoneman Douglas colors in Parkland.

Emotions were still raw in the affluent Broward suburb. Some were still having nightmares from the little more than six minutes that the gunman indiscriminately opened fire with his AR-15 military assault rifle. All of the bullets landed in Building 12, which was primarily home to the youngest students at Stoneman Douglas.

Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old Alex Schachter, who was killed in the horrific Valentine's Day massacre, described a meeting he called between the 17 families who lost loved ones and the Stoneman Douglas students who inspired Saturday's March For Our Lives event in Washington, D.C. There were also hundreds of local events in Parkland, Miami Beach and elsewhere.

"All the children were there. It was just a beautiful thing to watch all the families congratulate them — tell them that we love them, tell them that they are fighting for all of us and we all have their backs and we support them a hundred percent," Schachter recalled in his remarks at the Parkland rally.

He met with the students again on Thursday in Washington, D.C. as they prepared for the massive event in the nation's capital, which drew varying crowd estimates of between 200,000 to 800,000.

"The one thing that they told me was that the progress that we have made so far is because of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas kids," Schachter said. "It is because the 17 families have spoken with one voice. And we can change the world."

This is why they march.

Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter, Gina, was gunned down in the tragedy, remembered her on Saturday as a smart kid with a kind heart.

"We felt she was destined to change the world," he told the crowd. "Through this movement, she may do just that. We call on more states to follow Florida's lead and create meaningful legislation to make all schools safer. This time must be different."

This is why they march.

"We knew we had to do this," insisted 17-year-old Olivia Prochilo, who told Patch that she and her Stoneman Douglas classmates weren't at all surprised by the large crowds. "I think that our voices are being heard."

This is why they march.

"On Feb. 14th tragedy struck my home, and it seemed as though time stood still," observed Johnny Greenberg, a survivor of the tragedy and one of the event organizers. "Although this unimaginable event shattered each of our hearts, it revealed a strength in myself and my community, which has driven this movement forward. It is time to work as one unified force to break the barriers dividing our nation in order to make our schools safe again.

"It is time to prevent these weapons of war from falling into the hands of the mentally ill. It is time to expand funding into mental health to solve these violent issues which are all too common in our society today," Greenberg asserted. "It is time to vote out representatives who ignore the cries of the very people they are supposed to protect and it is time to march for every victim of gun violence worldwide to assure that this pain is felt in no other community ever again."

This is why they march.

Photo Gallery by Paul Scicchitano