As the Parkland community mourns the loss of 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Highschool, local residents and activists are planning a gathering of their own.
On Saturday, a range of groups, including the Women's March of St. Pete/Pinellas, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Fired Up Pinellas and Indivisible FL-13 are holding a vigil and rally in St. Petersburg's Williams Park.
The purpose of the event is in part to mourn the victims and show solidarity with those affected, but the overarching message will likely be one advocating for more regulations of guns.
After all, given how loose gun laws are in Florida, a massacre like the one that unfolded in Parkland Wednesday could have just as easily happened at a school in St. Pete or Tampa.
Many local leaders want that to change so that Florida families don't have to worry about this happening again.
St. Petersburg City Councilwoman Darden Rice and Pinellas County School Board Chair Renee Flowers will offer welcoming remarks ahead of the vigil at around 5:15.
Religious leaders from multiple faiths will open the vigil with a reading of the names of the victims; "community sounds of mourning" and lighting of the candles will follow.
The speaker roster for the rally "demanding change" on state and federal gun policy include Julie Kessel, president of League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg City Council Chair and Jen Neuberger of the gun safety advocacy group Moms Demand Action.
This article appears in Feb 15-22, 2018.