Protesters gathered at the Michigan Hall of Justice, then proceeded to march to the Capitol building. The crowd shouted chants such as “Enough is Enough,” “Vote them Out” and “No More Silence, End Gun Violence,” phrases which would be repeated often throughout the demonstration.

After the march gathered at the Capitol steps, a moment of silence, prayer and a saxophone solo were all held in memoriam of those who died in school shootings and other gun-related incidents.

Several guest speakers addressed the audience, including Michigan Democratic Gubernatorial frontrunner Gretchen Whitmer, State Senators Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, and Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, and politically-involved high schoolers.

Speakers touched on gun legislation, and many zeroed in on a specific target: the National Rifle Association. The pro-Second Amendment group has come under fire in recent weeks for their criticism of student protesters, and many at the Capitol voiced their displeasure.

One of the speakers was Michael Lynn III. Lynn, 18, was the starting quarterback for the Lansing Catholic High School football team when he and three teammates were benched for planning to kneel during the national anthem. He has since transferred to J.W. Sexton High School.

“I hope we don’t have to see schools get shot up any more,” Lynn said. “One of my ex-girlfriends, her older brother got shot at a party. He got shot in the head and everyone just stood around and watched. Nobody knew who did it — I don’t want to have to deal with that. That’s a genuine fear for my father is that I’ll be out somewhere and get hit with a stray bullet, because bullets don’t have names on them. It’s going to hit whoever it’s going to hit.”

The person who planned the Lansing march, introducing speakers and running the show during the rally itself, was Farmington Hills, Michigan, resident Cydney Jenkins.

Jenkins is 14.

“A 14-year-old girl set all of this up. If that doesn’t tell you that our generation is something different, I don’t know what will,” Lynn said of Jenkins. “That girl is special, we’re all special, I’m special.”

The teen said there were difficulties with starting from scratch, such as maintaining speakers, and there were times she was tired after school and didn’t want to follow through. Putting together the march, however, made her realize activism is something she wants to do.

“I want to pursue this field of fighting for what’s right,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins is working on finalizing a non-profit organization, World Generation Advocacy, she said.

“I definitely want a non-profit, just so I can have a platform where I can talk about the issues that I want to have them solved,” Jenkins said.