High school students led thousands of protesters in Seattle and other Northwest cities demanding tighter gun regulations following recent high-profile school shootings.
Marches to protest gun violence kicked off across America Saturday, with more than a half-million people participating in the main "March For Our Lives" event in Washington D.C., organized by students after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Hundreds of similar events were held around the country, including several in Western Washington.
In Seattle, tens of thousands assembled at Cal Anderson Park for pre-march rallies on Capitol Hill. The youthful demonstrators and their supporters filled the streets as they marched through downtown on 4th Avenue to Seattle Center, where they held another rally afterwards.
Students held signs that read "Not One More" and chanted "Right now, right here, we refuse to live in fear." Teachers protested President Donald Trump's proposal to arm some of them to protect students from potential attackers.
Much of the protest was directed at the National Rifle Association.
"I think more action taken by Congress to put more control on guns and to ban assault weapons will really help stop (school) shootings," said participant 14-year-old Ashley Adrien, who attends Inglewood Middle School.
"To stop gun violence, it would take everyone to speak up, speak out and spread the word so that everybody can vote against gun violence," said 9-year-old Taejas Subramanian, who attends Thoreau Elementary School in Kirkland.
Photos: DC March For Our Lives Rally
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson spoke to the crowd at Cal Anderson Park.
“There are states across the country (that) have banned the sale of assault weapons. Washington is not one of them,” Ferguson said. “I have a question: Does that make any sense to you?"
Governor Jay Inslee rallied the crowd at the Seattle Center, comparing their fight to the civil rights movement.
“You are marching in the shoes of Martin Luther King, you are marching in the shoes of John Lewis, and you are marching in the shoes of Barack Obama who started as an organizer in his community," said Inslee.
Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy joined Inslee, saying he believes a shift is underway.
“It’s not the end, but it’s beginning of the end of the stranglehold the NRA has had on our politics," said Malloy.
Olympia
In Olympia, the Washington State Patrol said approximately 5,000 people attended the Olympia March For Our Lives, more than twice what organizers expected.
Student speakers encouraged lawmakers to pass laws restricting the sale of semi-automatic weapons.
"Listen up lawmakers," said Black Hills High School's Elle Hirotaka during her comments from the podium. "I'm coming for your job."
"It's just great to see it turn out like this," said Madelyn Olson, one of the organizers.
Olson, 18, is a senior at North Thurston High School in Lacey. In 2015 a fellow student fired two shots in the school's commons area.
In her speech on the capitol steps, she recalled calling her mother after she heard the gunshots.
"I'll never forget the sound of my mom's voice," said Olson, holding back tears.
Her father, Brady Olson, a teacher at the school, tackled the shooter before anyone was hurt.
"I'm just beaming with pride," said Brady Olson. "These kids are angry, these kids are scared, these kids are frustrated. We always say 'Look to adults for guidance.' And they're done with that."
Tacoma
March for our Lives Tacoma was held at People’s Park on the Hilltop, where roughly 1,400 people gathered to rally against gun violence.
"Our children have the right to go to school every single day and feel safe and it’s up to us to make sure that that happens," said Mayor Victoria Woodard. "I want to tell you young people that I am so proud of you, but I want to remind you of a couple things....It can't stop after today. Social change takes time."
“Being a father of an African American daughter and a teacher here in this city, we just wanted to bring light to lives that are often forgotten, which are black children and black youth that are forgotten when we have black rallies like this," said marcher Lee Barker.
KING 5's Jenna Hanchard, Liza Javier, Drew Mikkelsen, Taylor Mirfedereski and Amy Moreno and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
