News Photos by Jordan Spence A couple hundred people attended the March For Our Lives event in Alpena Saturday. The march began at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Heritage Center, and marchers ended at Culligan Plaza to listen to several speakers.

ALPENA — It was teenagers who led the crowds of people during the March For Our Lives event, Saturday.

“We are here to support these people. Support the kids who were killed and the kids who are organizing to try to stop this killing that’s taking place in the schools. We will have the students march out first and to simply have their back,” Jim Schaffer.

There were about 200 people in attendance of the march. After beginning at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Heritage Center, people made there way to Chisolm Street and walked to Culligan Plaza.

One of the march organizers, Christina Getachew, said they were there to support the national March For Your Lives message.

“There’s a groundswell happening right now and it’s finally one in which we’re seeing some baby steps in legislation and we want to amplify that message and we don’t want it to stop here. We want to see things that make a difference, that mass shootings don’t become the norm the way they have,” she said.

After the crowd marched they met at Culligan Plaza. About a dozen pro-Second Amendment people attended and carried signs, including Gerald Bishop.

“If you lose the Second Amendment you’re going to lose the First, because they will shut you up,” Bishop said.

Also set up in the plaza was a station where people could sign postcards to legislators to support gun control measures.

A few people spoke at the plaza including teens Isabel Luther and Ivan Brown.

“Fear should not live in schools. Something needs to be done now, 18th century laws do not work for 21st century guns. Only by working together can we change the conversation and move forward. That is why we march today so no one else has to die today for the government to see there is a problem,” Luther said.

Brown first listed off different mass shootings and the numbers of people killed. He said the people who were killed lived full lives and didn’t deserve to lose them.

“It all got taken away in seconds. How long is going to take for people to realize that, that no one else needs to die for people to finally see that this is a problem?” Brown said.

Jordan Spence can be reached via email at jspence@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.

News Photos by Jordan Spence
A couple hundred people attended the March For Our Lives event in Alpena Saturday. The march began at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Heritage Center, and marchers ended at Culligan Plaza to listen to several speakers.