BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Speakers at the March For Our Lives rally Saturday called for unity, not only with the hundreds gathered before them at the Capitol steps — but also with the armed counter demonstrators across the street.
“When we judge and condemn our neighbors who think differently than we do, we are just as guilty as they are,” said Tara Marie, who is an Idaho resident and a survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. “We need to understand. We need to listen. ... Let’s leave politics and agendas at the door. Let’s go into the family dining room and make this a human-life issue.”
Around 500 people attended the event Saturday afternoon, which was one of many nationwide organized by the youth-led organization March For Our Lives — an organization formed after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The advocacy group is focused on ending gun violence through promoting “civic engagement, education, and direct action by youth,” according to the organization's website.
This weekend's rally and march around the Capitol was held after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 in which 22 people died — 19 elementary school students and two teachers.
In Cecil Andrus Park, around 60 counter-demonstrators also gathered on Saturday. The Idaho Liberty Dogs called the event on Facebook Keep Your Hands Off Our 2A Rights. Many of those gathered were armed and wearing military-like clothing and gear. One person carried a Gadsden Flag and another a sign that read “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
March For Our Lives Idaho Co-Directors, Simon Richardson and Amaia Clayton, are both high school seniors in the Treasure Valley and the organizers of the event on the Capitol steps.
“Every day, when I go to school, I wonder in the back of my mind if Boise High will be the next school on the news,” Richardson said. “I wonder if I will go home to see my family and go on to live another day … but the sad reality is, I am not alone in these fears.”
According to Education Week, which has been tracking school shootings since 2018, there have been 27 shootings at schools this year. The list includes incidents in which a firearm was discharged on a K-12 school property and someone other than the shooter received a bullet wound.
Most of Saturday’s speakers advocated for more restrictions on gun ownership, such as licensing requirements and safe storage standards.
Clayton, one of the organizers, said that as a life-long Idahoan, she respects gun ownership and her family members are avid duck hunters. She said the group is not calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment.
“I understand the importance of owning a gun, and I agree that people should have the right to own guns, but that does not mean that they should have the right to own guns irresponsibly,” Clayton said. “An end to gun violence means safe, responsible gun ownership.”
The organizers of the counter demonstration, according to a description of the gathering, are supporters of the Second Amendment and gathered to stand for their right to bear arms.
“We demand the State and Country to keep their hands off our rights,” the event description says.
At times, the demonstrators across the street began shouting over the speakers, and cars and motorcyclists driving past would honk and wave to the counter-demonstrators.
One speaker, retired teacher Marsha Bravo, said she liked to call them “reluctant learners” as her speech was briefly drowned out by a passing vehicle horn.
Bravo talked about seeing the changes in schools over her 45 years of teaching, and the impact active shooter drills had on her students and herself. She said she was profoundly changed after the shootings at Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary.
After speaking, Bravo said she’s hopeful.
“That’s the best word I can think of, hopeful, when people show they care,” she said in an interview, “and they certainly have a vested interest when it’s their children, all of our children.”
All of the speakers encouraged attendees to vote for candidates who support gun reform and to pressure the officials currently in office to do something now. With the phone numbers of the Idaho Congressional delegation written on large posters for everyone to see, Clayton told the crowd to pull out their phones and call one of the elected officials and demand action.
As she herself took out her phone and dialed, all around the steps people could be heard leaving voicemails, introducing themselves, saying how long they have lived in Idaho for, and urging action.
One person called for courage in defying party politics. One woman said that as a teacher, she deserves to feel safe going to school and so do her students. Another man’s voice broke as he described the fear he’s tired of living with.
The event included a table from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a place to register to vote from the group Babe Vote, a place to write letters that the organizers would send to elected officials, and chalk to create art and messages on the sidewalk.
“When you leave the Capitol today, the responsibility of action is left up to you,” Richardson, an organizer, said before the group began its march around the Statehouse.
The speakers emphasized that to create meaningful change, it will take a large effort from a lot of people.
“We too can create a peaceful country where we have the right to live, to live safely,” said Marie, the mass shooting survivor. “But we need everyone … from this side of the street to that side of the street.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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