There were already hundreds of people at the State Capital in Phoenix a little more than an hour before the start of the March for Lives rally on March 24. Some 15,000 gathered when the rally started at 10:00 a.m.
Simultaneously, 8,000 marched in Tucson as one of 13 marches across Arizona Saturday, joining hundreds of concurrent marches across the U.S. protesting gun violence in schools and calling for gun-control laws.
The setting at the Capital was a farmers market of progressive political activity with activists, young and old, holding signs promoting life, gun control, and an end to the influence of the National Rifles Association.
There were also vendors representing Democratic and Progressive candidates and causes as well as a rigorous voter registration drive by the Maricopa Democratic Party and Next Gen. The Republican Party committed political malpractice by not even having one table for vendors to visit. It is not like this was a Trump rally where they had to fear for their lives.
Amid chants such as “Vote Them Out,” “We are change,” and “Must be banned,” the speakers, led by students like Jordan Harp offered a passionate appeal to the assembled crowd, calling for everyone to “March today and March Tomorrow” and to register to vote and participate in the process calling for sensible gun control reform.
Speaking with vendors and people in the crowd, all were unanimous in applauding the initiative of these high school students across the country. One person I spoke with, likened it to the rally’s protesting the Vietnam War when she was a child.
If the enthusiasm of rallies like these is an indicator, Democrats and Progressives should do well as long as they hold true to what they promote and sustain the momentum among their supporters.
David Gordon has three degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Phoenix in History, Political Science, and Secondary School Administration. Living in Arizona since his family moved to Tempe from New York in 1982, he is a highly qualified Social Studies instructor and Certified School Principal.
Mr. Gordon owned his own charter school, Grand Canyon College Preparatory Academy from 1997-2016. The school served students in grades 6-12 in the East Valley of Maricopa County. Many of the graduates of GCP earned college credit for free while still attending high school, some completing the first year of college before graduating.
Gordon also participated in the revisions of the Arizona History and Social Studies standards. In January 2017, Mr. Gordon started the political blog Twenty-First Century Progressive Bull Moose. It has a global following and routinely comments on the political events of the day. Mr. Gordon also helps administer the Facebook page Living Blue in Arizona.