Why three university students rallied to organise a London March for Our Lives

Three of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history have occurred since Stephanie Thompson moved from Denver to London six months ago to study abroad. With an ocean now dividing her from the country she calls home, Thompson says she feels powerless in the face of America's gun violence epidemic.

That's why 24-year-old Thompson and two American classmates at London School of Economics — Stephen Paduano and David Scollan—rallied together to organise the UK's March for Our Lives. On Saturday March 24, Londoners will gather beside the American flag outside the U.S. Embassy in London to show solidarity with students marching on Washington D.C. to demand legislation to stop further shootings.

Thompson's own story is a familiar one. One that's not dissimilar to the stories of countless others taking part in marches in over 730 locations worldwide.

"My home state [Colorado] has been the site of quite a few infamous mass shootings, including the Aurora theatre shooting, and Columbine School shooting," says Thompson. "In both of these attacks, people in my community were directly affected. I had classmates who went to Columbine High School or regularly went to that Aurora Movie Theatre."

Thompson says that "most Americans have similar stories of their communities and lives being affected by this senseless violence." What Thompson still can't comprehend is how people "doing such normal everyday actions" like attending school, or going to the cinema, could be "attacked with individuals with guns." But, she says that what she finds even more infuriating is that these shootings "just keep happening."

"One of the most frustrating things about each attack was how fast it faded from public attention or legislative action," she says. "There would be an outpouring of sympathy but no actual action to attempt to prevent attacks."

But, since moving to London, Thompson's frustration with the lack of gun control legislation has grown. "My frustration with inaction has just increased since being abroad," she says. "Since arriving in London six months ago there have been three mass shootings—Las Vegas, NV, Sutherland Springs, TX, and Parkland, FL." She said she has been feeling "hopeless being far from home and not being able to change anything."

But, since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14., which killed 17 people, Thompson says there's been a "shift in thinking."

"The student survivors have led the way to saying enough is enough," Thompson says. She and her friends have been most inspired by the Parkland survivors' unwillingness to give further airtime to the claim that mass shootings are "unavoidable," Thompson says.

"Much like the roots of the American protest, we wanted to keep it student-based in planning and implementation," she says. But, they've also received help and advice from Amnesty International UK and the organisers of the UK Women's March, as well as Democrats Abroad.

23-year-old New Yorker Stephen Paduano, who's organising the march with LSE classmate Thompson, says he's marching because he finds it "unacceptable" that he no longer feels safe in class, in cinemas, at church, and even at home.

"Today I have good reason to be anxious when a classroom door swings open, or when someone walks into the theatre midway through the movie," says Paduano. "I have good reason to worry about the school and church I went to growing up. I have good reason to feel unsafe when I’m at home."

But, Paduano is no longer willing to accept this as the status quo. "That’s unacceptable. I’m marching because I find that unacceptable," he says. He wants to send a clear message to Washington that "this —and the lax gun legislation that enables it — must change."

Paduano says that there's also a practical reason why London is marching in solidarity with the U.S.. "There are over two and a half million Americans who live abroad and are registered to vote," he says. "If we want gun legislation in the U.S. to change, we need to bring everyone into the conversation— including the London expats."

London's March for Our Lives will take place from 11:50am outside the U.S. Embassy on Nine Elms Lane in London on March 24.