The “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., had a long list of speakers and performers, but not a single one of them was an elected official.
The rally, which was organized by the student survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 people dead, featured mainly student speakers throughout the day.
While a number of politicians were spotted marching among the crowd on Saturday in D.C., not one took the stage. Some lawmakers, including civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), took the stage at marches in their districts.
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During the event, Parkland student Emma González emphasized the short period of time it took for the shooter at Stoneman Douglas to kill 17 people. Eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler stressed that the students, no matter how young, are not being used by adults and are speaking out because they understand the issue of gun violence.
Performers, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, also sang at the rally.
Many politicians — mainly Democrats — expressed their support for the march on social media and some participated in rallies held in their districts.
Organizers of the D.C. march estimate that at least 800,000 people turned out for the rally. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has yet to release its own estimates.