Saturday's 'March For Our Lives' expected to bring thousands to Boston

BOSTON — For the second time in recent weeks, young people will march around the country to get the attention of lawmakers.

In Boston, one of largest marches will take place - starting at Malcolm X Blvd and ending with a rally on Boston Common. As of Monday night, 16,000 people say they will be attending and almost 60,000 more are interested in going.

It started with the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Now, students from around the country are planning to march to make a plea to legislators to stop gun violence.

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"This has happened repetitively and no one has seen any legit substantive solutions from legislators or anyone," said student organizer Julian Lopez-Levya.

Lopez-Levya is one of the student organizers for the March For Our Lives in Boston. He's a student at Bunker Hill Community College.

The biggest march in the country is scheduled for Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Boston is expected to be the second largest in the U.S.

"This is such a great opportunity we have right now - where the world is actually listening to the youth," said student organizer Vicki Ana Petit-Homme.

Petit-Homme is another student organizer who attends Boston Latin Academy. She says students organized on Facebook and the movement has become larger than they'd ever imagined - in just a few weeks.

"This is our time to show them that we have something to say. And maybe we can't vote, but we still have a voice," said Petit-Homme.

The march is scheduled to start at Madison Park High School. Participants will then make their way to Boston Common for a rally that starts at 2 p.m.

"This has gone on for too long, and too many people have lost their lives," said Lopez-Levya.

Julian says the hope is that they'll not only be able to get the attention of lawmakers, but also help to stop the cycle of gun violence in schools permanently.

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"With nothing having happened since the other end of my lifetime, since Columbine, can we expect more of this? Because that's something I adamantly refuse to accept," said Lopez-Levya.

Boston Police say they expect large crowds and will have an adequate amount of officers on hand to keep everyone safe.

On Friday, MassDOT announced there will be extra transit service on Saturday to accommodate those attending the march. There will be extra service on the Red, Orange, Green and Blue Lines.

Riders should expect a lot of passengers at downtown stations nad Park Street and/or Boylston Street stations may temporarily close during the rally.

Bus routes operating along the march's route will be detoured starting at 11 a.m., especially bus routes that cross Tremont Street.

On Friday afternoon, students were preparing their signs for the march. "Books not bullets" was just one of many signs we will see tomorrow.

"We are trying to send a message, we want safety, security, we want to know that we can go to school everyday and learn what we have to learn," said Sophia Gaines, a high school sophomore in Dorchester. "It seems we say things here, today, in our community, and it's not always heard. So we are going to the heart of it and going to make our voices heard."

Kids as young as five years old will be joining the march. Students attending the event are saying they just want the education they deserve.

"School is supposed to be a safe space that we are able to express our ideas, and it's becoming that we have to think of other things - our protection and our safety instead of focusing on our grades," said Gaines.

The kids are set to return from DC at 5 a.m on Sunday.

Cox Media Group