“They told us: ‘Hands up. Drop anything in your hands.’” Will Gilroy (15), freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, wrote online (see CNN for whole article).

From now on their life will be separated in everything that happened before February 14 and after, wrote his mother in the same article. (Worth reading! Both!)

17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day 2018.

14 of them were between 14 and 18 years old.

Another 15 had to be treated in hospitals.

A 19-years old, expelled from that very high school over disciplinary problems, had gunned them down.

The shooter legally purchased a AR-15, the firearm used in the shooting, at a gun store in Coral Springs, Florida.

These are the facts. All else is pain, and suffering, and rage.

Now, thousands of teenagers who used social media to document the horror, aren’t waiting for adults to make changes to prevent the next school shooting. They’re taking matters into their own hands, advocating for stricter gun-control laws and more mental health resources for treating troubled peers with the March for our Lives.

On March 24, 2018, students will rally in Washington D.C and in local communities across the country to demand action. They are fighting for an America that is free from gun violence.

According to the New York Times, since 2014, 438 people were shot in school shootings, 138 of whom were killed.

438 people in less than 5 years.

In schools.

Since 2014, there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide.

So far, there were 18 school shootings in 2018.

Enough is enough! Those teenagers from Parkland and everywhere else in the country are determined to pressure members of Congress to pass stronger gun-control legislation. This is why they are going to Washington.

The artist Krista Suh took up the idea of the raised hands. She wants her vision of many raised hands wearing wristwarmers or fingerless mitts with embroidered eyes become a reality at the March for our Lives.

All eyes on congress! Evil Eyes, with the power to avert evil!

If you like to knit or crochet fingerless mitts, to wear them yourself or to pass them on to others, the (free) pattern (and all other information) is here.