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Boston-Area Students Travel To Washington, DC For Gun Control March

BOSTON (CBS) - Dozens of Boston-area teenagers traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the "March For Our Lives" and to demand action against gun violence.

Libbah Israel, a student at John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury, was among the demonstrators in the nation's capitol.

"To have a common objective and then everyone just come to do it - it's really cool to see," she told WBZ-TV.

March For Our Lives
Dozens of Boston-area teenagers traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the "March For Our Lives" and to demand action against gun violence. (Courtesy photo)

The 15-year-old Israel was one of 60 students from the Boston area to participate in the march in Washington. She said she felt compelled to speak up after the deadly mass shooting in a school in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead.

"If you can take that step forward and like end gun violence, you won't have to hear, 'Oh, this school was shot up,' or 'Oh, this person died,'" Israel said.

With signs in hand, these young people and their chaperones marched toward Capitol Hill with a strong message for lawmakers.

"We want to see more sensible gun laws passed and if that doesn't happen, then they're going to organize themselves around elections," said Monalisa Smith, founder of Mothers for Justice and Equality.

Their powerful stories and enthusiasm prove that age is really just a number.

"Some would say that a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, an 18-year-old can't do this, but we are demonstrating that we can," Smith said. "So it's just a powerful movement."

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