- Hundreds of people held a rally outside the Tennessee state Capitol
- The protesters called for gun control measures following the deadly Nashville shooting
- The incident resulted in the death of three schoolchildren and three adults
Hundreds of people, many of whom were parents, held a rally in Nashville following the deadly shooting at a Christian school that led to the death of three children and three adults.
The protesters gathered outside the Tennessee state Capitol on Thursday, calling for gun control measures. Starting around 8:00 a.m. local time, the demonstration involved a crowd that held signs and chanted, "What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!"
Nashville Protesters Call for Gun Control Measures
Video footage showed that the protesters began ascending the Capitol steps as choral music played in the background. The rally drew people of all ages, including parents who came with their young children in strollers and students in school uniforms.
One person who attended the event held a sign that read, "My nieces and nephews deserve better," while another had one that wrote, "Do better, Tim." The latter was a reference to Rep. Tim Burchett, who said that officials were not going to "fix" the situation, as per the New York Post.
A third sign urged lawmakers to "Make Murder More Difficult" as a Twitter post noted that some protesters called out, "Where is Marsha?" referring to Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
As the number of people joining the rally grew, protesters began to block the sidewalk and most of the road in front of the Capitol. Less than an hour after the start of the protest, a smaller group was gathered inside the Capitol rotunda, where they sang a rendition of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me."
Later, the crowd also formed a narrow gap that forced House members to walk through before entering the chamber. A Tennessee non-profit dedicated to improving conditions for women and children in the state, AWAKE, was responsible for planning the protest.
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Horrific School Shooting
In the hallways between the state Senate and the House chambers, protesters chanted, "Save our children!" While many others were quiet inside the building, there were some children who held up signs that read, "I'm nine." According to CBS News, this was a reference to the age of the three young kids who were fatally shot in Monday's massacre.
Furthermore, two Democratic lawmakers in the House caused a temporary shutdown after they started yelling, "Power to the people," using a megaphone. Guns have recently become the top cause of death for children and teens in the United States, going beyond even vehicular fatalities and other injuries.
Several groups supported the protest, which Metro Nashville Public Schools Parents spearheaded in coordination with ForwardTN, East Nashtivists, The Equity Alliance, and Third Man Records.
The protest follows the brutal shooting where a 28-year-old former student of The Covenant School in Nashville entered the establishment by shooting out glass doors and opening fire at the people inside. The shooter, identified as Audrey Hale, was later shot and killed by law enforcement, said the Time.
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