March for Our Lives Event Draws Crowd in Sandy

SANDY, Utah – Survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting took their tour of town-hall discussions to Sandy Saturday evening.

The “Road to Change” event, also organized by members of March for Our Lives Salt Lake City, drew a crowd of about 1,000 people to the Mountain America Expo Center. For an hour and a half, the panelists took questions about gun violence issues. They talked about legislative changes they would like to see, including universal background checks and longer waiting periods. They said they support responsible gun-ownership and were not asking people to give up their guns.

Many students lined up to ask questions. One asked how she could make a difference in her community when she was too young to vote. Panelists answered that they should educate their peers and encourage people who were of legal age to head to the voting booth. They also discussed the importance of eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health.

There were also voices from gun advocates in the crowd. Several people supporting Utah Gun Exchange were in the audience and participated in the question and answer session. Members of both groups said they respected each other and emphasized there was no hate directed either way. One member asked the panel if they would support someone using a gun in self-defense. Panelists said they would.

As the event wrapped up, participants said they hoped the dialogue would continue.

“Salt Lake City actually shows up to events like this. We were really questioning who would come, what their motives would be, but I could just see that people were standing up, clapping, cheering, and it shows that Salt Lake City, although it has such pro-2A rules, we really want to see change and we don’t want to see violence in our streets, and we really want to work toward that,” said Saida Hadid, a high school student and one of the organizers of March for Our Lives Salt Lake City.

“I’m hoping that we can continue to engage in a civil fashion. I’m hoping that we can actually have a round-table in the future, start to exchange ideas. I think there’s a lot more in common between the two groups than many people realize,” said Utah Gun Exchange co-owner Sam Robinson.

“At the end of the day, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. If either party could have solved it, they would have, but they haven’t. The reason is because they aren’t able to work together as what they are, Americans,” said March for Our Lives member and Parkland shooting survivor David Hog