"The bottom line is that we all deserve to feel safe where we study and where we work. There's a lot more we could be doing and a lot more we should be doing," said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous.
Standing in front of the state house in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, dozens of Great Mills high school students and a survivor of the Capital Gazette shooting spoke out against gun violence.
(WTOP/Melissa Howell)
WTOP/Melissa Howell
“I want to make our elected officials more transparent and more accessible,” Jaxon O’Mara, upcoming senior at Great Mills High School and leader of the rally, said.
(WTOP/Melissa Howell)
WTOP/Melissa Howell
“The bottom line is that we all deserve to feel safe where we study and where we work. There’s a lot more we could be doing and a lot more we should be doing,” said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous.
(WTOP/Melissa Howell)
WTOP/Melissa Howell
Capital Gazette reporter Selene San Felice, who survived the June 28 newsroom attack, said, “we need a government that stands up for us.”
(WTOP/Melissa Howell)
WTOP/Melissa Howell
Organizers of the rally met with Maryland Sen. Will Smith to listen to him discuss gun legislation in the state after the rally.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WTOP/Kate Ryan
In this photo, Jaxon O’Mara is seen at the after-rally meeting with Maryland Sen. Will Smith.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WTOP/Kate Ryan
Andy Douglass, 10, and Charlie Douglass, 7, are the children of Jessica Douglass, who is running for state senate. They are seen listening to Sen. Will Smith discuss gun legislation at the post-rally meeting.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WTOP/Kate Ryan
Mollie Davis and Naomi Caplan, graduates from Great Mills High School, listened to the discussion on gun legislation at the post-rally meeting with Sen. Will Smith. Caplan, seen in the background, helped organize the rally.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WTOP/Kate Ryan
O’Mara chatted with Nate Tinbite, a junior from John F. Kennedy High School, inside the Maryland Senate office after the rally.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Standing in front of the state house in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, dozens of Great Mills High School students and a survivor of the Capital Gazette shooting spoke out against gun violence.
Jaxon O’Mara, 17, led the rally and stood before a group of mostly high school students.
“I want to make our elected officials more transparent and more accessible,” she said.
O’Mara is a rising senior at Great Mills High School, where Jaelynn Willey was fatally shot by a classmate in March. She and her classmates are hoping to see more gun control.
“You have to speak up and speak out about it, especially when all these tragedies are preventable,” said Nate Tinbite, a junior at John F. Kennedy High School.
Tinbite said he has friends who attend Great Mills, and he was just one of the many students in attendance, who are calling on Gov. Larry Hogan and state legislators to implement tighter gun laws.
Ben Jealous, Democratic gubernatorial nominee, was in attendance and encouraged the students to keep pushing for change.
“The bottom line is that we all deserve to feel safe where we study and where we work. There’s a lot more we could be doing and a lot more we should be doing,” said Jealous.
Capital Gazette reporter Selene San Felice, who survived the June 28 newsroom attack, said, “We need a government that stands up for us.”
Following the rally, students and activists were invited to a meeting with Maryland Sen. Will Smith to discuss gun legislation.
O’Mara’s message for the day was simple: “Pressure is progress, and we can and will be heard. No one can silence us.”
