- April 18, 2024
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People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ormond Beach residents Emma Ridge and her mother Nikki Ridge hold signs in the air during the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ponce Inlet residents Dawn White and Joyce Heitkamp hold their signs during the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Both are retired school teachers. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
A woman holds up an anti-NRA sign at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People line the East ISB bridge during the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
South Daytona resident Patti Quigley holds her sign up at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Monique Fischer, Nicki Junkins and Nancy Vaughn from the League of Women Voters of Volusia County hold their banner at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ormond Beach residents Marilyn Ahern and Cathleen Mylotte hold their signs up during the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Students await a moment of silence for the Parkland shooting victims at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People await a moment of silence for the Parkland shooting victims at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Seabreeze High School student Jonathan Weinrich reads a name of one of the Parkland shooting victims at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People await a moment of silence for the Parkland shooting victims at the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Michelle Main of the Ormond Beach action group shouts chants as people march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ormond Beach resident Stewart Spar marches on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
People march on the East ISB bridge in Daytona Beach for the March For Our Lives event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Risa Ross, Lee Dunkel and Rita Press stand beside the March for our lives banner at the event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ormond Beach residents Carol Hoga, Pat Lobdell, Pat Kemper, Rita Lincoln, Kathy Brehm and Anna Charla stand in front of the March for our lives banner at the event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Julian Lombart, Peter Brehm and Tony McMahon stand in front of the March for our lives banner at the event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Students and teachers from Seabreeze High School, Silver Sands Middle, Pinellas Park and Creekside Middle stand with Risa Ross in front of the March for our lives banner at the event on Saturday March 24. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
An enormous crowd of at least 1,000 people held signs high in the air as they marched on the East International Boulevard bridge in Daytona Beach in solidarity with the other March For Our Lives events across the country protesting gun violence on Saturday, March 24.
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting on Valentine's Day, this year's March For Our Lives presented an opportunity for locals to advocate for banning assault weapons, place stricter gun laws and stand against arming teachers in schools. In the crowd were retired teachers, students from nearby schools and members from political organizations. The event was organized by three Ormond Beach women: Rita Press, Risa Ross and Lee Dunkel.
The Parkland shooting came very close to impacting Press and her family in a negative way, as her daughter's nephew Sid Fischer attends Parkland and was hiding in one of the classrooms shot at through the window by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz. Two of his classmates died in front of him.
When Press visited her family a few weeks ago, they expressed that they couldn't believe Parkland would be forever remembered as the place where the tragedy happened.
“And I said no," Press said. "You’ll be the place that made things happen.”
Dunkel said Parkland was like the "straw that broke the camel's back" in terms of recent gun violence. Locally, she said it opened people's eyes due to the similarities between Parkland and Ormond Beach, which have comparable demographics.
“All of the sudden it’s like, it can happen here," Dunkel said.
In attendance at the march was 14-year-old Jonathan Weinrich, who is a freshman at Seabreeze High School. He feels that state representatives are doing the opposite of what the majority of people want, and that while young voices can make an impact, it's frustrating as well because there aren't many things they can participate in right now.
“These protests and the walkouts make the biggest difference because it shows that students do have an opinion about this, and we feel strongly that what they’re doing is completely wrong," Weinrich said.
Russell Zimmer is a retired special education teacher from Ft. Lauderdale. He said this event was important to him.
"It's wonderful to see this in Daytona Beach," Zimmer said. "I never would've expected this."
But Ross said the march isn't just about having one successful day, but that the purpose is to educate, register and eventually vote for change. She said people need to realize their votes matter.
“This isn’t like, hold your signs and complain and be finished," Ross said. "This is the start. This is a long road. It’s a start of a long conversation.”
