Site icon Little India: Overseas Indian, NRI, Asian Indian, Indian American

Mumbai Residents Protest Outside U.S. Consulate to Support ‘March For Our Lives’

The March for Our lives protest in Washington D.C.

As the United States saw one of its biggest protests in decades over the gun control laws in the country, a group of people in Mumbai also took out a “March For Our Lives” demonstration to the U.S. consulate on March 25 to express their solidarity with their friends, family and others in America. The solidarity march in Mumbai, however, invited a spate of mixed reactions on the social media.

The “March for Our Lives” is a student-led demonstration, organized by members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland along with a non-profit organization called Everytown for Gun Safety. While a huge congregation participated in the protest in Washington D.C, sister marches were held across the country to push the Trump administration for gun control laws in the wake of frequent mass public shootings.

The march in Mumbai was held to “show people in the United States that they’re not alone,” ANI quoted a protester named Anil Rohira as saying.

“We stand with them united in this mission to end gun violence.This march is awareness. Not only in the United States but throughout the world, every life is precious. This should not happen that an innocent kid going into school to gain knowledge and education does not return home one evening. As citizens of the world, we should make sure this does not happen,” he further said to the news agency.

However, the Mumbai march led to some derision on the social media.

Tweets poured in support of the march as well, even as the organizers of the event changed the settings of their Twitter account — March For Our Lives, Mumbai — to the protected mode.

The solidarity marches also took place in London,Copenhagen, Madrid, Tokyo,Brisbane, Rome, and Paris, CNN reported.

“March For Our Lives” in the United States has also been backed by several Indian American lawmakers. Democrat Senator Kamala Harris joined the march in Los Angeles, while Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal showed off her “F” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), that indicates her lack of support to American gun laws, American Bazaar reported. The pro-gun lobby rates members of Congress depending on their voting record on the right to bear arms.

Invoking her part in 27 legislative actions to bring about gun laws, Jayapal declared that she has never taken money from the NRA. Democratic Congressman Ami Bera of California joined the rally in Sacramento.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi  from Illionois said he will “keep fighting for real gun reform in Congress with the knowledge that today is only a beginning,” the report added. It also quoted Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna of California as saying: “Americans are not divided on the issue of gun safety. The majority stands with all those who are taking to the streets today to March for our Lives. Every time that Congress fails to pass meaningful gun safety legislation, we are failing the American people.”

Exit mobile version