To honor the 17 classmates and faculty members killed by an armed former student just last month. The survivors have one very loud, very clear message on gun violence. Never again. Their frustrations gaining National Momentum and driving the conversation on the polarizing gun control debate. Those students are leading the march on washington right now but they dont stand alone. Star power is backing them up here in the nations capital. Ariana grande, miley cyrus, Linmanuel Miranda are a few of the names taking part today. Youre looking at the main stage right there on pennsylvania avenue, hundreds of marches in fact scheduled across the country today. Cnn has Team Coverage with reporters spread out across the country. Cnns Diane Gallagher is with a group of students from parkland, florida right here in the nations capital. Diane. Reporter were not too far from where you are, about a mile, and thats because this group of Marjory Stoneman douglas alumni, teachers, students, parents, theyre about to be leaving this breakfast they had this morning. I want to see if i can pan the room. Theyre waiting. Theyre going to be marching roughly that mile to the area together as a show of force and solidarity. They want people to know that msd showed up, they came, they as a family are here supporting what these students are doing, supporting the idea of safer schools. Some of them are proponents of gun control. Others are focused on mental health. Were seeing a bit of diversity of ideas in this many review. Again, this is msd people here. There should be any time coming up these escalators we can see they are starting to come at this point. Theyre passing out buttons and pens. There are plenty of signs. Again, this is something this entire community kind of got involved in. When this happened at the school, its a close knit area in parkland, florida. They banded together. We have alumni from the 90s, the 2000s. I talked to one alumni who went to ucf and she said that she rode a bus all night, got to washington d. C. At 6 00 a. M. So she could be here and march with those students. Were going to start going with them, walking down to where you are, so we can be there as they support their fellow students on stage. Were about to leave now and im going to send it back to you so we can get out the door. Diane gallagher, thank you so much. As so many kids from parkland, florida assemble there before they make their way to pennsylvania avenue, just in the shadow of the capitol. Kaylee hartung is in parkland, florida where it all began, where the mourning continues for the 17 killed and the focus is sharpening there. Kaylee. Reporter fred, the program here just beginning in enthusiastic fashion. You can hear the chants behind me. As one parent just reminded me, this community is still clooe grieving. That parent told me shes filled with pride to see her daughter turn that grief into passion. This crowd gathering behind me, evidence of the impact that the passion that the Stoneman Douglas students have had on so many. Weve seen these pictures of hundreds of Stoneman Douglas students making the trip to d. C. To make their voices heard. Remember, theyre a high school of about 3300 kids, so many of them wanted to be here. As one student organizer told me, this is where she felt she needed to be today, not in d. C. But here in other Home Community to make their voice heard. She also said its absolutely incredible for them to see the support that they have generaj d generated, as you see behind me here but also across the country. Here where we are in pine trails park, this park where these kids grew up playing soccer, having sports banquets and award ceremonies. This park became a memorial where people came to pay their respects to the 17 victims and shed tears for that loss of life. Today this park takes on a new meaning for the change that they hope to see. This march will leave pine trails park in about two hours. They will march towards the high school. Theyre then told to march in silence past the high school and to keep marching as this signal is a sign of the determination that they want to keep this conversation moving forward. Fred, this program just about to get under way with a host of speakers. We anticipate it to be a very powerful and moving morning here in the parkland area. Kaylee hartung, thank you so much, out of parkland, florida. You see the crowds there. There are crowds developing in new york city as well and thats where we find our Jason Carroll in the thick of it. Jason. Reporter let me tell you, there are so many people who are already here and the event hasnt even officially started yet. Were here at 61st street. Let me show you whats happening up here. People are Standing Shoulder to shoulder, going up Central Park West all the way up to 72nd street, keeping them in pens along the way. Already spoken to a number of survivors here, people from sandy hook, a librarian who sheltered 19 fourth graders in place in the library. I also spoke to a survivor from las vegas who was here as well. In talking to a number of the people here who are about to take the stage very soon, fredrica, theyve been talking about what they want to see going forward. As you know, the state of new york has some of the toughest Gun Legislation in the country. That was passed after sandy hook. When i spoke to one of the survivors here today, i asked her what is it specifically that youre going to be looking for like so many people here who are coming out to protest, to stand their ground. She said were looking for politicians to listen to the people and the people will be speaking today. Back to you. All right, Jason Carroll, thank you so much. Lets talk more about the scope of this march and the mission and what might be accomplished. David swerdlick is a cnn political commentator and special editor for the washington post. David, good to see you. Thank you. Its an extraordinary sight. Youve got a lot of young people here from all over the country and you have them with their parents. This is a family event. Their objective is to get the attention of lawmakers here in the shadow of the u. S. Capitol. Is this likely to be effective . I think its the start of something at least. You know, in the wake of the parkland shooting, youve seen a march here today thats led yes, many adults are here but its led and inspired by students in part because i think a lot of students saw with their own eyes for the first time just how slowly the wheels of government turn when they want a problem addressed and this is their response to it, fred. Were getting to that point in the year where congress is about done doing things and they start turning toward campaigning for reelection in the fall. Will this spur them to kind of come back here, act, take action on some of the things the students are demanding like maybe reinstating the assault weapons ban, like perhaps raising the federal age limit to 21 for purchasing all firearms. Its unclear, but i think this is how theyre going to try and get the attention of their representatives. Theyre looking at this and saying, hey, were kids, we think something should be done, why arent adults getting things done. I talked to a lot of kids and their families who have descended here on washington d. C. And so many of them have expressed they are so disappointed that there hasnt been great change on a national front. Then on the eve of this march, the white house makes an announcement that the Trump Administration will have a new rule or at least taking a step toward banning bump stocks. That was a plea being made after the vegas shooting. On the eve of this martha the white hou white house would say it is making a step toward that, is that strictly to appease this audience . President trump is feeling his way, trying to figure out how he can look like hes on the right side of this issue without abandoning or getting crossways with one of his core constituencies, the nra. He enthusiastically accepted their endorsement when he ran for president. In recent weeks hes had more than one closeddoor meeting with leaders of the nra, and he cant afford to lose that core constituency. At the same time, President Trump realizes that theres a lot of agitation, a lot of concern in the country for doing something about gun violence in the country, and people are looking at this and saying after sandy hook, after parkland, after las vegas, why wont government act. President trumps not a traditional conservative, so i dont think hes driven by an idealogical core on this issue as much as he wants to try and keep his base with him, at the same time appeal to a broader audience. There are oneissue voters out there and many of them here whom ive spoken with say this gun control, stricter gun laws issue is the one issue for them. How might it impact midterm elections . Are democrats and republicans particularly conscientious that the oneissue voter could make a difference in midterm . Youre going to have oneissue voters on both sides, fred. Youre going to have folks who have traditionally supported strong gun rights and say im going to go out there and vote as ive done in the past to try and elect people who dont want to change existing gun laws. On the other hand, youve got a lot of teenagers out here today who might be voting for the first time in their lives this november, turning 18 this year, and saying, that look, if legislators arent going to do something, im going to vote for different legislators who might take action on this. Again, if you go back to what the president s doing, he said yesterday as you said that he wants to ban bump stocks, but folks out here today are saying we want you to do more. The florida the parkland kids were able to get their legislature in florida to pass a law that banned bump stocks. It didnt go that much further to do some of the other things they wanted, so i think theyre going to continue to pressure legislators to do more over the course of this year in advance of this election. Quickly, your impressions as you look around, as people are gathering, the official march begins or the rally begins at noon, but already hundreds of thousands appear to be here. Yeah, a Critical Mass is gathering. The fact that its so chilly out here and people are still out here sort of excited and ready to form up here and show their support for this issue signals that this is a movement thats probably not going anywhere any time soon. Maybe not hundreds of thousands. Maybe tens of thousands. Yeah. Its hard for me to see out here and it is early. Its cold but its a nice day. I think youre going to see a lot of people out here. Theyll leave here and march towards the white house later on. David swerdlick, thank you very much. Some of the music now beginning here. Weve met so many families who have made the trip here by plane, train, car. The Bishop Family from parkland, florida says its their mission to advocate legislation in florida and across the country to ensure both the right to bear arms and the right to feel safe. Daniel and julia, you were both at Marjory StonemanDouglas School at the time of the shooting but you were in separate buildings. And mom susan, you were at a nearby walmart shopping for lastminute valentines gifts for the entire family. Now more than 30 days later youre here in d. C. For this march for life. So how has all of this changed, impacted the family . This incident has blown a grenade size hole inside of our town, and were all coping with it and trying to come together and use this to tomorrcome togeo make change and to make sure that no community ever has to go through what weve had to go through. Your mom said Something Really powerful there which is coping and changing. How do you prioritize those things for you . I mean, you were in your school. Youve lost your classmates. You have to both cope and now youre on a mission to change. How are you doing that . Well, i think that we know that our classmates that did lose their lives, they would want us to be activists. We did have the time shortly after to grieve and to be upset and we still carry that with us every day. I always think about my classmate, carmen, every single day, but i know that when im fighting for her im making a difference. Its stressful. Im not going to lie. Its been a lot to handle as a student, as a teenager, but i think that coping and change come together, that theyre hand in hand. A week after that shooting and julia, you were on a bus to tallahassee and you had a message for lawmakers. Im going to be speaking to these legislators. I dont care what Political Party they come from. There was legislation passed in the state of florida. We did end up having the age limit raised to 21 and also theres going to be a threeday waiting period. Even though i went to tallahassee and talked to legislators and tried to get my points across, i dont have a vote. I think that its really important for everyone who can vote, 18, 19, 20, 21yearolds, everyone to go out and try to influence the people around them. The u. S. Capitol building, this is the seat of power. Mom susan, when you look at this building knowing what it represents, do you see it differently after the shooting claiming 17 lives . I want these lawmakers who are representing us to understand that we have to make the changes that need to be made to keep the people in this country safe. Im honestly worried that this will just blow over as every other mass shooting has. In vegas, there were almost 60 People Killed and we were sad for a week and we sent our thoughts and prayers and no one did anything about it. Daniel, whats the goal for this march . I think that we have Something Real here. This is real. You know, when we were just another high school, we barely even noticed when the Senate Rejects gun control. We barely even noticed. I mean, now when things get passed, when things dont get passed, the whole community knows. The Bishop Family in huge company here in the nations capitol and across the country because nationwide gun control rallies and protests are growing by the second. Take a look at live pictures right now in miami, florida where crowds are taking over the streets there. A similar scene unfolding in philadelphia. We have reporters fanned out across the country as well. Stay with us. Well take you across the country. Hes a nascar champion whos shes a worldclass swimmer whos stared down the best in her sport. But for both of them, the most challenging opponent was. Pe blood clots in my lung. It was really scary. A dvt in my leg. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. My doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Xarelto® is a latestgeneration blood thinner. Thats proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. In clinical studies, almost 98 of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. 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I want to go to cnns Diane Gallagher who has been with students who have been assembling out of parkland, florida but theyre here in the nations capitol about to make their way. The folks will gather and eventually span a nineblock area from the u. S. Capitol all the way to the white house. Whats the message, what are you finding from kids there and their families . Reporter as predicted, we actually had to stop because the rest of the group had to catch up. Were talking 1300, 1400 people with this group alone. Msd students and teachers and parents and alumni. I have a student with me, a sophomore. What do you guys expect out of today . Do you feel like youre going to gain progress . [inaudible] you guys have been planning this. You guys did make change in florida. Its going to be tougher though nationally. How do you guys plan to go about that beyond this march . Were just going to keep going. We have tons of support here, about 500,000 people showed up this is something right now and i want to apologize because my photographer is walking backwards in a large sea of people right now but this is something that you guys are still experiencing this change. Everybody sees your activism but things have changed at your school since the shooting, not just emotionally but physically. Can you ask the question again. No worries, its so loud out here. Whats it like attending stoneman lodouglas . The vibe is positive because were making change. A lot of things have happened this week alone. This is what we have to do. How do you feel being here with all of these people in the capitol . It feels empowering. Martin luther king walked down the