Patricia D. Brown
Contributing writer
By the time speakers began addressing demonstrators in Blacksburg Saturday, snow was sticking to the nearby lawn and on the garments of those who came to add their voices and signs to the local March for Our Lives event.
Blacksburg’s Coalition for Justice, headed by Margaret Breslau, and NRV Indivisible, represented Saturday by co-chair Alexa Casey, joined to plan the local event to coincide with the main march in Washington, D.C. that was led by survivors of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Breslau said she had received news that a group in Switzerland sent their support for the Blacksburg demonstration. Middle school student Christopher Moyer said he was there with a sign in hopes, “that there are no loopholes in the new gun laws they are making.”
Angela Sill, a Blacksburg long-term substitute teacher, wore one bracelet for Black Lives Matter and another for “kids in school. I am thinking about them,” she said.
In spite of the cold and snow, chants went up.
“What do we want?” a single voice rang out.
“Safe schools,” the crowd replied.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho, the NRA has got to go,” was another chant the crowd took up.
When people began arriving, they were encouraged to take their signs (or extra signs made by organizers) and move to the edge of North Main Street (near the Lyric Theater), where they displayed slogans like, “Protect Kids, Not Guns.” They got encouraging honks from many passing drivers.
Blacksburg police cars formed a barrier between the demonstrators and Main Street traffic. College St. was blocked off at Draper Road.
“We gotta get Morgan Griffith out of office,” Casey said. “Enough is enough.”
Griffith, a republican, is 9th District Congressman and a staunch defender of second amendment activists.
Organizers invited democratic candidates Anthony Flaccavento and Justin Santopietro to address the crowd. Each of them hopes to unseat Griffith.
Flaccavento hails from Abbingdon. Santopietro attended Blacksburg High School.
Also present was Chris Hurst, Virginia representative from the 12th district. Hurst ran for office after the loss of a loved one in a gun-related incident.
To hear speakers, the crowd moved to the center of College Avenue and spilled onto Henderson Lawn.
A supporter of Sen. Tim Kaine circulated in the crowd handing out notices that the senator will sponsor a community discussion on “Reducing Gun Violence” next week (Wed. April 4) at Lyric Theatre at 3 p.m.
Organizers urged those in attendance to vote for change that insures protection to children and schools and offered information on registering to vote.
“We would have had double the turn-out if it hadn’t been for the weather,” Casey said.
“People asked me why I chose Virginia Tech,” Brianna Sclafani said. “I told them it was because I could tell it was a community of resilience.”
