Demonstrators on both sides of the gun control issue rally at the National headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Fairfax, VA. Dubbed "The March on the NRA" protestors line the streets in fronn the of the NRA headquarters. (Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch) </s> As protesters rallied outside the NRA headquarters in Virginia, gun control advocates in SoCal staged their own demonstrations in Fullerton and Brea. John Fenoglio reports for the KTLA 5 News at 4 on August 4, 2018. </s> Advocates of stricter gun control measures protested outside the National Rifle Association's headquarters in Northern Virginia on Saturday, pushing for, among other things, the revocation of the heavyweight group's tax-exempt status.

The "National March on the NRA" was supported by activists from March for Our Lives and survivors from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The protest was meant to honor and remember victims of gun violence, and serve as a call to action for political leaders to strengthen gun safety regulations. Organizers want universal, comprehensive background checks for all gun sales, and a ban on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.

Gun reform activists march on NRA headquarters in Virginia

March for Our Lives expressed a hope that the rally would honor one of the Parkland victims, Joaquin Oliver, who would have turned 18 Saturday. He was known by his friends as "Guac."

Today is the day! Join us in Fairfax at 12PM to support the youth behind @MarchOnNRA and celebrate Joaquin’s 18th with @ChangeTheRef RSVP if you haven’t already!https://t.co/qckKO2URuB — March For Our Lives (@AMarch4OurLives) August 4, 2018

The NRA earlier this week filed a lawsuit against New York officials earlier this week, alleging they are making it too difficult for the organization to operate and run its finances.

David Hogg, one of the most vocal Parkland students, said the NRA is trying to trick people into believing it isn't a powerhouse.

The NRA is trying to fool us into believing this DO NOT believe it. The NRA is still one of the greatest threats to American lives today. They simply need donations now that Maria Butina and @torshin_ru have been reviled. https://t.co/435OiqYAJx — David Hogg (@davidhogg111) August 4, 2018

March for Our Lives, founded by Parkland students, has been doing a bus tour around the country to rally support and push for stronger gun control measures. </s> COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)- Dozens of activist rallied at the Statehouse on Saturday to call for stricter gun laws.

The ‘March on the NRA’ was led by students in the Midlands with some assistance from the group, Indivisible Midlands.

Speakers at the event called on Federal and State Lawmakers to take action to reduce gun violence and minimize the influence on the NRA.

There was also a “Die-in” protest with tombstones, which organizers say served as a reminder to lawmakers of the grave consequences facing students and teachers in the community.

The rally was similar to other protest planned around the country, including a march on the NRA’s national headquarters in Virginia. </s> Advocates of stricter gun control measures protested outside the National Rifle Association’s headquarters in Northern Virginia on Saturday, pushing for, among other things, the revocation of the heavyweight group’s tax-exempt status.

The “National March on the NRA” was supported by activists from March for Our Lives and survivors from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The protest was meant to honor and remember victims of gun violence, and serve as a call to action for political leaders to strengthen gun safety regulations. Organizers want universal, comprehensive background checks for all gun sales, and a ban on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.

March for Our Lives expressed a hope that the rally would honor one of the Parkland victims, Joaquin Oliver, who would have turned 18 Saturday. He was known by his friends as “Guac.”

The NRA earlier this week filed a lawsuit against New York officials earlier this week, alleging they are making it too difficult for the organization to operate and run its finances.

David Hogg, one of the most vocal Parkland students, said the NRA is trying to trick people into believing it isn’t a powerhouse.

March for Our Lives, founded by Parkland students, has been doing a bus tour around the country to rally support and push for stronger gun control measures. </s> Dozens of protesters rallied outside the National Rifle Association's headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, calling for stricter gun-control measures and a change to the group's tax-exempt status.

The protest is just the latest in months that have targeted the organization, stricter gun control laws and aim to increase voter registration after a string of mass shootings, stemming back to the high school attack in Parkland, Florida.

"Hey, hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go," the crowds chanted while NRA supporters, some armed with weapons, waved President Donald Trump banners and held up signs, including one reading "Tyranny: When you disarm me."

Police officers, along with white and orange barriers separated the protesters from NRA supporters.

"It's not the weapon, it's the mindset," Brian Meehan, an NRA supporter who attended the rally, told NBC Washington. "Until we can come up with a solution to cure or stop somebody's mindset, you're never going to stop these mass killings."

The protest was also held on the birthday of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 who died in the Florida high school shooting on Feb. 14. His father created a mural outside the gun lobby building and the crowd sang happy birthday.

Fred Guttenberg, another father whose daughter was killed in the shooting, spoke before the crowd and urged everyone to vote in the November midterm elections.

"I happen to be a believer in the Second Amendment," Guttenberg said, according to NBC Washington. "To those who are outside of this crowd walking around with AR-15s and other weapons, if you're a lawful gun owner, I hate the fact that you think you have to make a point to those of us who have lost loved ones."

As a part two of their #NeverAgain movement, Parkland students have been on a bus tour aimed at registering voters and ending gun violence.

They are protesting what they consider efforts by the NRA to block gun control laws and bans on assault rifles.

The protest comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the gun organization targeting the state of New York.

In the lawsuit, the NRA claims its in financial ruin and could go broke. It says it may soon have to stop producing its magazines and its video streaming service, NRAtv, because of actions by the state of New York, which the NRA accused of running a "blacklisting campaign."

The campaign the NRA highlighted appears to be part of a national effort, spearheaded by Parkland students, calling for companies to cut ties with the group in the aftermath of several high profile U.S. shootings.

The gun lobbying group claims in its lawsuit, which targets Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Department of Financial Services and Maria Vullo, which heads the department, that the state has caused "irrecoverable loss and irreparable harm" to the organization.

Some critics of the NRA believe the claims could be false or a way to increase membership and donations. </s> Aug. 4 (UPI) -- To honor and remember victims of gun violence and continue a call to action for stricter gun regulations, activists from March for Our Lives rallied Saturday outside the National Rifle Association's headquarters in Northern Virginia.

Organizers of the "National March on the NRA," included survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., a tragedy that led to the deaths of 17 students and faculty members and sparked a nationwide gun violence movement among young people.

Protesters at the rally want a ban on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons, comprehensive background checks for gun sales, tighter restrictions on downloadable weapons and also called on the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the NRA's tax-exempt status.

The event also honored Joaquin Oliver, one of the Parkland victims known as Guac, who would have turned 18 Saturday.

David Hogg, one of the most vocal Parkland students, called for donations in Guac's honor to Change The Ref (CTR), a non-profit organization created by Guac's parents Manuel and Patricia Oliver that gives youth tools needed to be empowered to make changes to critical issues.

Hogg also urged people to vote, tweeting, "People call us snowflakes. What happens when all the snowflakes vote? That's called an avalanche."

During Saturday's rally, demonstrators held signs condemning the NRA and sung an altered version of "America The Beautiful."

The Virginia rally is part of a March for Our Lives nationwide bus tour called "Road for Change," to advocate for gun regulation and get more registered voters ahead of the November midterm elections. The student's next stop will be to Washington D.C. on Sunday. </s> VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will recall lawmakers to the state Capitol in coming weeks to take up a package of gun-control legislation.

Northam told The Associated Press ahead of his Tuesday announcement that he plans to convene a special legislative session later this summer. The Democrat said new laws are urgently needed to prevent killings like Friday’s mass shooting in Virginia Beach.

Police said a Virginia Beach city employee used two semi-automatic handguns, a silencer and extended ammo magazines to kill 12 people. Northam’s proposed legislation would ban silencers and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

The Democratic governor has long been an advocate for stricter gun control. But staunchly pro-gun Republicans who controlled the Virginia General Assembly have rejected previous efforts at limiting gun access. </s> Students gathered on the steps of the old Florida Capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday protesting gun violence. Associated Press/Matt Wallheiser
• Students across the US are rallying for stricter gun-control measures after the shooting in a Florida high school last week that killed 17 people.
• Students planned walkouts and staged protests and rallies in Tallahassee, Florida, and Washington, DC.
• Lawmakers are under pressure to act on gun-control measures, and President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he intended to ban "bump stock" devices for semiautomatic firearms.

Students in Florida and Maryland walked out of their schools en masse Wednesday to protest gun violence in what could be a preview of nationwide demonstrations planned for next month.

Dozens of students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the site of the shooting that left 17 people dead last week, joined hundreds of their peers from across Florida to descend on the state Capitol, enraged that state lawmakers on Tuesday dismissed a bill that would ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

The crowd chanted slogans like "vote them out" and "never again," railing against the Republican-controlled chamber, the Associated Press reported.

"We're what's making the change. We're going to talk to these politicians," Alfonso Calderon, one of the shooting survivors, told CBS News, adding: "We're going to keep pushing until something is done, because people are dying and this can't happen anymore."

Students at the Florida rally wore "We call B.S." T-shirts, according to The Washington Post. The slogans referred to their peer, Emma Gonzalez, who recently used the phrase in an impassioned speech denouncing lawmakers for inaction on gun control.

Gwendolyn Frantz, 17, of Kensington, Maryland, in front of the White House on Wednesday during a student protest advocating gun control. Associated Press/Evan Vucci

Also Wednesday, thousands of high-school students from Maryland marched at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, chanting "NRA, not today," according to The Hill.

"After the Parkland, Florida, shooting, we students can no longer stay silent on the issue of gun violence in the United States," a Maryland student named Daniel Gelillo said in a statement announcing the event. "Far too many innocent lives have been taken in these slaughters, all because of the easy access and availability of guns in general and assault weapons in particular."

Students have planned a national school walkout on March 14 and a "March for Our Lives" protest on March 24.

Lawmakers appear to be under the most pressure in recent memory to enact gun-control measures, and public-opinion polls show American voters are increasingly favoring stricter gun laws.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he had directed the Justice Department to ban bump-stock devices, a rifle attachment used in last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas, and he indicated he'd be open to improving the federal background-check system.
Advocates of stricter gun control measures protest outside the NRA headquarters in Northern Virginia.