U of C Student from Parkland, Florida among hundreds rallying for gun control

Hundreds of Calgarians marched along Macleod Trail on Saturday, starting at the United States Consulate and then walking in front of city hall and looping back.

Chants for “No more NRA” and “Books not guns” could be heard along the street.

Matthew Greenfield is a student at the University of Calgary who grew up in Parkland, Florida and attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a shooter killed 17 people last month.

Greenfield said he found out about the shooting through Twitter and just thought that was sad, but as the day went on what happened sank in.

“Reading some of the text messages that some of my friends’ little brothers were sending them was heartbreaking, and devastating, and really put it into perspective,” Greenfield said.

He said that while none of those siblings were hurt physically, they are having a hard time mentally because it started out as a regular school day that was completely changed when someone came in and killed 17 of their friends.

Greenfield said that when he went to Stoneman Douglas High School someone showing up with a gun wasn’t something he was worried about.

“It happens all the time in cities like downtown Chicago, it was a part of their lives but Parkland was one of the safest communities, that we didn’t have to deal with it. Now that it hit them and hit us, it makes it more real that it could happen to anyone.”

He said that he would like to see assault rifles taken off the market, and believes this is something the U.S. government can achieve.

“Stricter background checks and security checks for people who want to purchase a gun, so you can’t just purchase one because down there it is easier to get a gun than it is to rent a car.”

Greenfield added that what is amazing is out of the tragedy that hit his hometown, people around the world are coming together saying while this isn’t a problem where we live, we support you and want change.