New Yorkers joined Everytown for Gun Safety’s Recess Rally this afternoon at Foley Square in lower Manhattan in a national rally for federal background checks and Red Flag laws to prevent gun violence.

Over 100 rallies took place across the United States this weekend and Everytown was joined by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action in their plea to the Senate after a long series of deaths due to gun violence nationwide.

In recent years, Foley Square has been the site of major protests like the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Dakota Access Pipeline and the inauguration of Donald Trump. Now, survivors of gun violence took the stage to share their stories.

Marie Delus, New York state survivor lead for Moms Demand Action, was the main speaker of the event and said the deaths of children in the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 prompted her to take action and join the organization. 

“Enough is enough,” said Delus in our private interview. “There’s been killings throughout New York, but it was the Newtown killings of those kids that made me say, ‘Enough for me!’”

Delus’ nephew, Pierre-Paul Jean-Paul Jr. was shot and killed in Queens in 2008 as he spoke to a friend waiting for a bus outside of a McDonald’s. Police never found a motive for the killing and the case was described by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown in 2014 as, “another glaring example of the senseless gun violence that seems to more and more permeate our society.”

Every year, over 30,000 people in America die on average from gun violence according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney attended the rally and delivered a brief speech in which she denounced gun violence and called for protestors to vote out politicians that did not support gun control laws. 

“Remind them that they work for us,” Maloney said. “Vote them out!”

The crowd of nearly 200 people joined in chanting “vote them out” with Maloney multiple times throughout her speech. Maloney specifically targeted Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as an opponent holding back gun control laws in the U.S.

Everytown says that 58% of American adults or someone they care for has experienced gun violence in their lifetime.

The organization says that Red Flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, offer life-saving effects by allowing police or acquaintances to ask a judge to temporarily suspend someone’s gun access if there are signs a person poses a threat.

In one shooting in 2011, the parents of a shooter who killed six people and wounded 13 in Arizona attempted to disable his car and hide his guns after seeing warning signs in his mental health.

The Parkland school shooting in Florida is another case where Red Flag laws could have been a successful preventative measure. It was revealed that law enforcement and school officials refused to take action after repeat indications that the school shooter was dangerous.

As of now, seventeen states and DC have enacted Red Flag laws. New York is one of those states.

ABOVE Olivia Lombardo, group lead for Students Demand Action, stands with a crowd of nearly 200 protestors as Marie Delus, New York state survivor lead for Moms Demand Action, holds a moment of silence for victims of gun violence at the Everytown for Gun Safety’s Recess Rally on Sunday, Aug. 18 in Foley Square.

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) website says that the organization strongly opposes Red Flag laws because they do not protect due process rights.

Olivia Lombardo, group lead for Students Demand Action in Staten Island, said that those who oppose Red Flag laws aren’t interpreting them correctly and that many parents see warning signs but aren’t able to take action.

“If you actually look at what red flags are, they’re protecting people who are a harm to themselves and a harm to others,” said Lombardo, a student at Staten Island Academy. “A lot of shootings that have happened would not have happened if Red Flag was in place.”

There were no known members of the NRA in attendance at the rally, but their site also states that proposed background check laws would not prevent criminals from obtaining firearms because most obtain them illegally. It also says that most mass shooters pass their required background checks to acquire firearms.

Representative Maloney continued to speak out against opponents of gun control throughout her speech.

“I don’t want to hear any more about prayers,” Maloney said. “We need to have action! The inaction of the Republicans is literally killing us!”