Area students head to D.C. to march for gun control

A group of students from the Dayton area left Friday night, headed to Washington, D.C., to march in the nation's capital Saturday in the name of gun control.

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The students have a grueling itinerary, leaving from Englewood by bus Friday night, riding by bus through the night and arriving in Washington around 9 a.m. They’ll return early Sunday after another overnight bus ride.

“We want action and we want prevention,” said Sammy Caruso, an Oakwood High School student who coordinated the trip.

Oakwood students spent their Friday night making signs in preparation for their trip. They’ll join other teens from all over the country in what’s being called the “March for our Lives.”

It’s a push for tougher gun laws in the wake of the most recent mass shooting last month at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

“I think marches are one of the best ways we can get people involved,” said Caruso.

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Students from several schools in the Miami Valley boarded the bus, along with some parents and teachers who also are along for the trip.

Caruso said he lost a friend in the Parkland shooting, so he said this issue is personal for him.

“I really felt like I needed to do something about it, I couldn’t just watch this happen, see something that happened to my friend ... I need to do as much as I can,” he said.

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“We want our congressmen to know that we’re sick of it, and if they’re not going to have any action, we’re going to demand it.”

In Dayton, a March for Our Lives event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Courthouse Square downtown.

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