Valley teen attends D.C. ‘March for Our Lives’ rally

It was a day filled with calls to action in Washington D.C. and along with the songs and speeches, it may have been the sound of silence that best captured the moment.

Palm Desert High School student Paige Labayog traveled to the nation’s capital to attend the rally. She says she felt united with everyone there.

“I’m not alone with how I feel with these gun control laws and how we should have more and how I feel about going to school afraid,” Labayob said.

The rally in D.C. was notable for the speech by Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Stoneman Douglas High School and one of the most recognized faces of the movement, and the celebrity support.

“My personal favorite was Miley Cyrus. She really got the audience wild up and she was really cool,” Labayob said.

After the Stoneman Douglas shooting, the call for tougher guns laws has been voiced by thousands of students demanding change.

“I want more people to be aware about what is happening around us, how people have access to semi and not semi-automatic weapons,” Labayob said. “I think there should be more gun control so that a gun does not end up in the hands of the wrong person.”

“I just really hope they heard what we had to say and that this is just the beginning of where we are going to go with this and we won’t stop fighting until something happens,” Labayob added.

Organizers have already planned their next protest, another nationwide school walk-out on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.