The March for Our Lives protest drew hundreds of thousands of students calling for gun control

Following a massacre at a Florida high school, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in major U.S. cities and across the world to protest gun violence and call for political action from Congressional leaders.

The March for Our Lives protest brought out thousands of teenagers and young children across the country, marking an extraordinary moment in U.S. history: It was likely the largest political rally organized by people not old enough to vote.

Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Protestors gathered across almost every major U.S. city, according to organizers. Washington, the site of the main rally, prepared for up to 500,000 people, while New York saw over 150,000, according to Mayor Bill DiBlasio.

The students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were gunned down last month by a shooter with a high-powered rifle, have become key figures in the latest movement for gun control.

Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In particular, Stoneman student Emma Gonzalez, who has become the face of her generation’s anger toward political indecisiveness, stunned the massive gathering in Washington, D.C., as she read out the names of those who were killed at her school.

She went silent for a few minutes as the crowd, assembled within sight of the Capitol rotunda, watched.

She then spoke: “Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting, and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest. Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”

But the protest is also notable for its size and its proliferation across the U.S. Here, for example, is a Snapchat map showing the rallies along the East Coast:

And here are some pictures from Saturday’s rallies:

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Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney showed up at the New York protest, which ran along Central Park.

“One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here so it’s important to me,” he said. Fellow Beatle John Lennon was gunned down at his residence, the Dakota, which faces Central Park West, in 1980.

Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In London:

Alex Cavendish/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In Paris:

Owen Franken - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

In Brussels:

Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Washington, D.C.:

Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

New York:

Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Berlin:

Sean Gallup / Getty

Common performing at the rally in Washington, D.C.:

Noam Galai/WireImage

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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