Crowd rallies in Fort Lauderdale to demand gun restrictions

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—A large, emotional and loud crowd packed the courtyard at the Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale Saturday to demand action to restrict guns after the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.

The crowd, which organizers said attracted 4,000 to 5,000 participants, cheered calls for restrictions on sales of assault weapons and tougher background checks.

Several speakers condemned the National Rifle Association, blaming its campaign contributions for inaction in the Florida Legislature and Congress.

Seventeen people were killed and many others wounded in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a horrific episode of school violence that ended with the arrest of a former student.

The suspect was identified as Nikolas Cruz, 19, who had been expelled from the school.

Speakers at Saturday’s rally included several Stoneman Douglas students and a teacher.

Coral Springs Commissioner Dan Daley, a Stoneman Douglas graduate, condemned what he described as Florida’s status as the “gunshine state.”

Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told the crowd that “common sense” gun regulation must be enacted.

“We need to turn our anger, our frustration, our rage into action,” Runcie said.

“People don’t need automatic rifles,” he said. “AR-15 is not a recreational item,” he said, referring to the weapon used by the Stoneman Douglas shooter and in other mass shootings.

Runcie also called on people to use what he termed a four-letter word: vote.

“We’ve got to vote. We’ve got to vote. We’ve got to vote,” he said. “If there’s no vote, this is just going to be a bunch of noise.”

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PHOTOS (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): FLA-SCHOOLSHOOTING-RALLY

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