would -- as a parent. and that was especially true today. i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. they had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams, so our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and

brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors, as well. for, as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain. as a country, we have been through this too many times, whether it is an elementary school in newton or a shopping mall in oregon or a temple in wisconsin or a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. and we are going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. this evening, michelle and i will do what i know every parent

in america will do, which is hug our children a little tighter, and we will tell them that we love them, and we will remind each other how deeply we love each other. but there are families in connecticut that cannot do that tonight. and they need all of us right now. in the hard days to come, the community needs us to the best as americans. i will do everything in my power as president to help. while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are there for them, we that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not only in their memories, but ours. also in ours. host: former president obama and

former first lady michelle obama sent handwritten notes to the students of parkland, florida. many of them are here today in washington as we watch people gather for the march. it officially begins at noon eastern time here in washington, d.c. aroundact will be felt the country, and we are talking to you, getting your thoughts about the march for our lives, taking place here in washington. it is expected to draw a half a million people and is also expected to draw millions more in cities and towns across the country and around the world. again, if you're under 25, we would love to hear from you. are you protesting today? do you not want to protest? do you not agree? did you do the student walkout a little while ago, earlier this month? if you are a young person, under 25, you can call (202) 748-8000. all others can call (202) 748-8001. control?nt gun are you concerned about

infringements on the second amendment? we want to hear from you. meanwhile, "boulder weekly" talks about some of the efforts that have taken place there in boulder, colorado, of course that state is where the columbine shooting happened. inspired by the highschooler's from florida who immediately began organizing after tragedy struck their school, students they're connected with other young people from around the state to form never again colorado. in a little over a month, the group has put together an organizational structure, health board elections, and organized the march for our lives on saturday, march 24, at civic center park in boulder. plantone of more than 800 marches in every state around the country and around the world with the main event in washington, d.c. 1000 young people voted over a 15hour period to elect the

never again: board members out of 60 candidates. the youngest member is 12. the oldest is 24. there is a board member of from all seven colorado congressional districts as well as other positions such as directors of high outreach, directors a policy helping to draft gun-control legislation. for now, the focus is the march. the march is our focus today as we talk to you, get in your views. darius is calling in from maryland. what do you think about the march today, those both here in d.c. and around the country? caller: good morning. thank you, c-span. i want to say the last guest that was on, she was very articulate, very intelligent. yes, i do feel as if the march is important. i agree with the young lady that was on. it is important.

i agree with what some of these kids are saying. even if you are an adult and you may not agree with them, i do not think it does you a disservice just to listen. wouldk a lot of callers do themselves a justice if they would just listen. secondly, i want to go ahead and speak on the point that your last guest was talking about where we are not actually talking about gun violence in the communities of color, and in brown and black communities. this has been taking place for 40, 50, 60 years. most of the guns used in those instances are not ar-15's. they understand some of the arguments that are made by the other side, and some of the gun violence is not due to an ar or an assault rifle. if we take the assault rifle in these instances and where they are used and who they are used by, whether it is used by --

unfortunately -- white males. again, i say this in defense of this point. we have to look at why these kids are out here doing this. some of them are bullies -- i am not saying that as an excuse that a bully has the right to go out and take the life of somebody else. all i am saying is we are talking about building of a community of love, a community of understanding. i would definitely say to these kids you guys need to be the first line of defense because you guys are also the ones that interact with the same students. i do not know if that kid was bullied. i do not know what his situation was or what his mental state was. but what i am saying is all of us contribute to this environment. want to hear i from some of the young people who are calling them, including grace, who is on the line from lansdale, pennsylvania. grace, thank you for joining us today. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. host: what do you think about

the protests taking place today, grace? caller: i think they are incredibly important and unimportant show of our power as young people. i think it is incredibly i feel that i am in danger every day when i go to school. i'm in a school of 2500, and someone opened fire in the hallways, they would kill so many people and so little time with weapons that are available to them. host: what would you like to see happen? would you like to see large capacity guns banned? what specifically do you want this march to accomplish? caller: i think, first and foremost, is awareness on what is happening in our schools and on our streets. i personally do not believe that anything that you need to have an ar-15. furthermore, i would like to see

better background checks that include both a history of domestic abuse, a history of animal abuse, or anyone to illness that could put people in danger. those two things are on my list of priorities. host: and, grace, in your school, you mentioned, there are a lot of students and people in the hallway at in given time. what has your school done in terms of safety? have you reached out to your local officials or your school officials to voice the concerns you are sharing with our viewers? caller: we participated in a national walkout on the 14th. administration just had a, well the attempted to drill thatuder unfortunately was canceled due to the nor'easter that came through. we would be wading through six

inches of snow, but we have a meetof where we would all in the event of such a traumatic thing. and we have plans put in place in places where we all need to go in the event of a school shooting. host: we appreciate your call today. callinghave christina in from miami, also under 25. would you think about the marches today? caller: thank you for having me. i am very proud of this generation in this moment they are making. i just wanted to say to the people who feel like we're trying to stamp out the second amendment. protesting, there are severe rules and regulations. a why should not there be wool and regulation -- a rule

and regulation for the second amendment. we are not trying to say you cannot own a gun, but why do you need an ar-15? you are not fighting a war, so why do you have to have that type of ammunition? it is not necessary. you know? and i am happy the are protesting because it starts with the youth. face of the the protest and it needs to stop. host: what do you say to folks who say, look, if somebody is evil or people -- angry or , or deranged, they will find a way to perpetuate violence will matter where they are? caller: that is something that we cannot prevent, somebody who and wants to take out violence on others. however, we can diminish the

for them opportunities to do this. if they can go anywhere and purchase and ar-15, you know, that is not helping them. giving them open opportunities the violence. but with us diminishing that opportunity for them to have an ar-15, or in type of gun for that matter, is diminishing that, you know? host: all right. let's take a look at was senator bill nelson said this week about today's marches, and what legislation could follow. [video clip] >> the students, the parents, the teachers, we have all asked, what do you want? and they say, obviously, we want common sense things. we can start with universal background checks, and the

purchase of a weapon. that would then allow universally, if you have a background check, you cannot go to a gun show where there is not a federally-licensed dealer, and acquire a weapon without having a background check. why is having a background check a common sense thing to do? only pickingre not up someone with a criminal record, you pick up someone who would have a restraining order for whatever reason, could be mental, it could be domestic abuse. you pick up somebody being on the terrorist watch list, or you could pick up someone who had been on the terrorist watch list that was not. killers the case in the in the orlando pulse nightclub shooting. so clearly, that is a common

sense thing to approach this problem. there was another common sense these and that is, get military assault rifles with what i call the banana clips, clips that are shaped like a banana, or even straight ones that hold 30 rounds. you know, there are state laws in the country that if you are game, theret wild is certain restrictions on the number of shells or bullet you can put into your gun. youoodness, why wouldn't would want to say there is a limitation on the number of bullets in a clip, instead of these long clips that have 30 rounds? in the shooting out in arizona that our colleague, congresswoman gaddy giffords --

debbie's giffords was one of the giffords wasbby one of the victims. and it was when the gun was reloading with another clip that he was tackled to the ground. otherwise, there would have been more people that would have been harmed that day. and so, it is another common sense thing that people are asking for, and that these lightts are bringing to as they argue this case that they don't want to be in a school where they had this kind of violence that is threatened. host: joining us now in the studio is lane murdoch, the petition starter for the change that were petition that led to the national school walkout, and she is a student and rich hill high