The Bowling Green community is holding a 'March for Our Lives' on Saturday in support of the national event organized to push for stricter gun laws after 17 students and teachers were fatally shot in Parkland, Florida in February.
The Bowling Green 'March for Our Lives' is mainly to encourage legislators to pass laws to create safer schools and cut down on gun violence. Many students in Kentucky are on edge after two students were shot to death by a classmate at Marshall County High School in January, followed by the massacre at the Florida high school last month.
The Bowling Green march is being coordinated by the Center for Citizenship and Social Justice at Western Kentucky University. Leah Ashwill is director of the center and says speakers at the community event will take a broad view of gun violence.
“We’ll be talking about the Black Lives Matter, for instance, and racial justice, community police relations. We’ll be talking about victims of domestic violence or members of LGBTQ community that are often subject to gun violence, whether self-inflicted or as a victim.”
Ashwill says the center’s main goals are to encourage good citizenship and get young people engaged in the activities of a democracy.
Senior Murphy Burke works at the center and is doing her part to further its mission.
“I think gun violence is something that can really ravage our communities and tear them apart, especially because it’s such a controversial issue. And so I was really interested in serving as the emcee to sort of usher in this discussion that shows that gun control can be something that we all get on board with," said Burke. "It’s not a controversial thing that people need to take sides on. It’s just about making our community safe.”
The Bowling Green march will begin at Cherry Hall on the campus of Western Kentucky University at 11 a.m. and the group will walk to Fountain Square. Speakers will begin at 11:30.
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