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Speaking Out Against Gun Violence at March for Our Lives; Deutch Went Face to Face with Trump over Guns; Message from MLK's Granddaughter Harkens Back to Civil Rights Marches. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 24, 2018 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:00] DARREN LEVINE, TEACHER: As a teacher, like I said, it is all that we can hope for the see the young people make a difference.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you are going to be marching with some of the students to the National Education building here in Washington, D.C. When you get back the Florida after spring break, does it continue?

LEVINE: Oh, yes. One-hundred percent, it continues. It continues until we see real change. This is not going to stop. I think that it is evident from these kids. They're not going to stop.

GALLAGHER: Thank you so much, Mr. Levine. I appreciate your time.

Brooke, you can see behind me that the people are leaving and sort of coming out in droves. It illustrates how many people are up here packed into the area. We watched the people who came in and they took the pictures with the celebrities, and they took pictures with the students though. That is sort of the interesting thing that I found from this angle here. That when some of the students came on, and when little Niomy (ph) came on stage to speak, she got a same reception, maybe even greater than Vic Mansa, as Ariana Grande or Miley Cyrus did. So it seems to be really something many of the people attending this believe in. It is not come see celebrities and get a free concert. They wanted to be here, because they believe in the cause.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. No, I mean, Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much.

I was sitting here talking to Dr. Martin Luther King's son who said that he could not remember the last time that so many young people galvanized in this sort of movement, in the 1960s, and all of the high schoolers in Birmingham, Alabama. That is the last time that he could remember.

It is powerful. It is a powerful day here for this March for Our Lives.

We have a number of people we're going to be talking to coming up this next hour.

But I want to go up to New York and my colleague, Jason Carroll, who is there in the thick of things as well -- Jason? JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Still marching along,

Brooke. You talked about the young people, and that is really very much what this day has been about.

And speaking of the young people, I want to introduce you the two of them. This is Qnattiell (ph) and Lucy Ann (ph). Both come from the Bronx. One is 18, one is 13. I bet you can guess which is which.

We were talking earlier about why you guys decided to come out to the march today. Why was this important?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: It is very important to show support to those who have been very dedicated to the cause, and I wanted to show my support in every way possible and being out here is a big part of it, and marching here with my sister is important to bring her in to show that I do truly stand with what I believe in and that we should, and our lives are at risk and that we should stand up so that we will be protected in the future.

CARROLL: And, Lucie Ann, at 13 years old and still, you wanted to be out here at such a young age to be out here and have your voice shown.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Yes, I wanted to show respect to 17 lives lost and I would not want that to be happening to my school can or my friends that I personally know. So I wanted to come out here to show my respect, and to chant about how I want this thing to end and no more violence.

CARROLL: Do you guys really think that change can happen at a federal level? I mean, I know that we have seen it at the state levels but do you any that the change can happen?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: If we are vocal about it, anything can happen. We have the power as people to speak up for what we believe in and it is not just saying things that we believe that should happen, but it is putting the body where the politics are.

CARROLL: I want to thank both of you for coming out, and thank you to the parents, who are shy.

UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: We're from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

CARROLL: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. I will make sure -- well, we have gotten that out for.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Thank you. You are welcome.

CARROLL: Thank you very much.

Brooke, we have been out here today, and we have heard so many stories. We've heard from survivors, whether it is from Parkland or Sandy Hook or Las Vegas. Some of them are personal, some are political, but the one common denominator that we have heard over and over again is that the march cannot stop here. It has to continue tomorrow and the day after, and the day after that, if there is going to be any change going forward -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: That is exactly right. Talking with a student the other day from Parkland and she said, listen, we realize that the change is not necessarily immediate, but it is slow. But one of the biggest pushes -- and you heard it -- the end of this program here in Washington is to get out and vote in November, get out and vote.

Let's go from New York to Boston. Alex Marquardt has been walking along as well and in the throngs of people who have shown up there in Massachusetts.

Alex, tell me who you been meeting.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Brooke. We are at the edge of Boston Common, and as you can see here, it is completely full. This is where the march ended up a short time ago. It was a huge march. We don't have crowd estimates. We spoke with the Boston P.D. and they said it is large. That is an absolute understatement. The numbers were absolutely staggering.

What we are looking at here, what we're seeing here is the rally, which has become part party and part protest, some music, some very powerful speeches. Brooke, the first people to speak were three young women from Parkland, Florida, two of them who had attended Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, including Leonore Muniz, who is a senior there. And she said, "My trauma is not going away, and neither are we."

[15:05:14] Of course, the emphasis has been on young people. The march was led by young people, and then their parents and older folks fell in behind them. This area here, this is only for people who are under 25 years old. The speakers on stage are all students, all young people, except for a handful of teachers. They want the message to go out to young people.

And actually, one of the young people who I met was Julian, who is a freshman at Boston University.

MARQUARDT: So, this is a tragedy that happened in Parkland, Florida, and what resonated with you and what made you want to come out today?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I mean, I'm in a community where everybody is talking about it, and I'm the actor so I am amongst a lot of artists who were really inspired to do something with this and so a bunch of us came from my school to come out the support anyway we could.

MARQUARDT: And what do you do going forward to make sure that the movement is a movement and not a moment.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I -- by calling legislators and I signed up for the text thing, and I get vote actually and go out to do something, and keep talking about it, and don't let it die.

MARQUARDT: Do you plan the to vote in the fall, because you are 19, and the first time you can vote.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I just turned 18, and I will do an absentee ballot from Pennsylvania, where I am from.

MARQUARDT: Thank you so much.

And, Brooke, that is a taste of the energy that we have been feeling. What we were just hearing from Jason up in New York is that people want to make sure that it does not end today. They want it to keep going. And we have seen a range of emotions today, people upbeat, but people who are sad. It is an intense day. When you walk around and speak to people. And what you are seeing is that children who are crying in their parents' arms', people holding up the signs saying they were victims or they saw gun violence, whether it is in their schools or elsewhere. People on stage who have been breaking down in tears. So this has been a very intense and very emotional day for all involved here -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Alex, thank you.

There is an incredible number in the "Washington Post" where they were adding basically since Columbine in 1999, all of the different students I this country, somehow touched or exposed to gun violence at school and the number was something like 187,000 in the span of those 20 years.

Alex, thank you.

Let's go out west. It is noon there. This rally in Los Angeles, I am sure, it is just getting going.

Miguel Marquez is in the middle of that crowd.

I can only imagine that the speakers and the scene there. Miguel, tell me what to look for.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is an enormous crowd here. Many, many thousands of people have turned out, which is difficult to do in Los Angeles are on a good day. But I can show you all of the way back here to the City Hall Park the many of thousands of people who have turned out. The signs here run the gamut. People are upset at politics in general, and certainly, at the NRA and at the Republican Party, but even Democrats. The idea of money in politics is a very big theme here today and people are talking about trying to get the money out of politics. Lots of young people, and people across the spectrum in Los Angeles, but lots of high school students.

And this is Laila (ph), who is 15 years old.

And you go to Harvard Wesley. You are backed up by your crew here. I want to show your shirt here. It says, "Never again." And on the backside, "Enough is enough."

And so, Laila (ph), why come out here and why so important?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Because we don't feel safe at our schools anymore and that is unacceptable, and we practice the lockdown drills and we shouldn't have to be worried at schools. MARQUEZ: You go to Harvard Wesley, and that is a private school in

Los Angeles, and you are telling me that you don't feel safe even there.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Yes, we are so lucky to have amazing security guards and a lot offal schools don't have that, but it is not enough. We just, there should not be schools in our society.

MARQUEZ: You won't be voting in this next election, but how important and how much do you want to vote? What is this today? Why are you out here?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: The second I turn 16, I will be registering to the vote, and I am so excited to be able to make a change. Politicians aren't listening to us, but I hope that they realize that they, if they don't listen, we will find someone who will.

MARQUEZ: And out here with your friends as well, and the Harvard Westlake contingent is supporting us.

Very nice to meet you. Thank you very much.

I also had the pleasure to meet a young man, who is now 36 years old. He was at Columbine High School, in Colorado, when he was 17 years old, and 13 people were killed there, and 24 injured. He was one of those injured. Eight bullets that he took to his body. He is in a wheelchair today. And while you think that he would be angry, the movement that is happening now only makes him more hopeful.

Brooke, back to you.

[15:10:15] BALDWIN: And speaking of earlier, where people were saying, it is not a moment, it's a movement, and the difference is sacrifice.

Miguel Marquez, in Los Angeles, thank you so much.

I'm Brooke Baldwin, here in Washington, D.C. We will take you to so many more cities this afternoon. You will hear more stories and we will show you more crowds. You will hear from Paul McCartney and Amy Schumer and some students from Parkland.

You are watching CNN's special live coverage on this Saturday afternoon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: What do you hope can be accomplished?

[15:15:00] PAUL MCCARTNEY, SINGER, SONGWRITER, MUSICIAN: Stop gun violence.

CARROLL: Do you think that happen at the legislative level, because we have seen it happen at the state level in places like Florida and here.

MCCARTNEY: You know, I'm like everyone, I don't know. But this is what we can do, and so I am here to do it. One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here. So it is important to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Paul McCartney with Jason Carroll there, referencing the murder of his Beatles' band mate, John Lennon, and talking about wanting to end gun violence in this country.

Thank you for being with me on this Saturday afternoon. Special live coverage here from Washington, D.C., and across the country. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

You have all of these people speaking out about gun reform.

And with me, Stoneman Douglas High School teacher, Melissa Perquoski (ph) (ph). She hid 19 students in a closet during the shooting last month in Parkland. And also with me is Rebecca Schneid (ph), one of her students and a junior at MSD.

Ladies, thank you for being with me.

REBECCA SCHNEID (ph), STUDENT: LIZA PERQUOSKI (ph), TEACHER: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: I mean, you are leading this. You are the reason that your classmates and you are the reason why all of the people are here.

SCHNEID (ph): It has been most surreal feeling of anything that I think that I have ever felt. You know, they show, and I did not see, because I was in the student section and then on the big screen they showed the amount of people out there in the crowd and it is mind blowing.

BALDWIN: Everybody holding up the signs.

SCHNEID (ph): Yes, it is insane.

BALDWIN: What did you think?

MELISSA PERQUOSKI (ph), TEACHER: It is amazing. I mean, they said that they would have a march and, somehow, they pulled it off, and look at all of these people that are here.

(CHEERING)

BALDWIN: So you have been teaching at MSD for 14 years. You -- I mean, the young people who you hid in a closet and helped to save their lives are here as part of this effort for change in the country. I am just wondering, you know, what is life like back in Parkland?

PERQUOSKI (ph): I mean, I think that we are sort of in this weird adjustment period where we are trying to get back to normal, but we are not sure what normal is. But we are as a community, as a school community, we are really proud of the students and everything that they are trying to achieve.

BALDWIN: Why do you think it is the young people? I have been covering this for years, and everyone said that after sandy hook and you had first graders killed, how could nothing come of that. Why do you think that it is Rebecca and her friends?

PERQUOSKI (ph): I think that they are so articulate. I think that people were surprised that they could even have positions on these issues. But for us at a Stoneman, we are not surprised, because we taught them. I taught Cameron and Jackie. So I am not surprised that they can articulate their positions on important issue. I think the world is surprised. People think of teenagers and kids immersed in the phones and the social media.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: And social media, I was talking to one of your classmates that social media is a big difference.

PERQUOSKI (ph): They took it and a harnessed it. And they are so impressed with them. The message resonates with the adults. But the adults cannot pull it together, so the students are lighting the fire not only under other students, but adults in America to take action, and that is how they got here today.

BALDWIN: What struck me is when Emma stood there in silence, and I had a feeling that she would stand there for six minutes to illustrate how long, you know, that the shooting went on. You were standing there watching.

SCHNEID (ph): Yes.

BALDWIN: What did it feel like to be in the crowd?

SCHNEID (ph): This sense of unity, I think. I mean, you know, minutes before that we sang "Happy Birthday" to Nicolas and I just broke down and all of us were in this moment of understanding that we have all gone through this traumatic experience together. And yet, we are still here in Washington, D.C., marching for our lives. It is the Douglas community and also all of the communities that have been affected by gun violence coming together and it is understanding and pain at the same time, but instead of, you know, breaking down by it, we are empowering ourselves and empowered the world.

BALDWIN: And you know, the president put out a statement, the White House did, for applauding you all to for your enthusiasm and out here to exercise the First Amendment right, and wanting that ban on bump stocks, and pushing Congress to fix NICS, the background checks.

And I saw a letter from former President Obama to you all. Did you see that he sent to Parkland students?

PERQUOSKI (ph): Yes, I printed it out.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Will you tell me about that letter from President Obama?

PERQUOSKI (ph): Well, it is a letter of support to the student, and he tweeted a week or so after that he was behind the students, and that they were change. I mean, I just think it is amazing to have that.

(CHEERING)

[15:20:09] SCHNEID (ph): And until a couple of hours ago -- I also actually saw it earlier -- and in support of us again. And so it is the fact that he is behind us and that we have the powerful politicians that want us to keep fighting, and they are not threatened by us. That is the people who are threatened by us, are the ones that know that they are doing something wrong. And so when we have politicians behind us and actually pushing us as young people to change and propose this movement is inspiring and empowering and humbling.

BALDWIN: You are a junior and not old enough to vote.

SCHNEID (ph): Not yet. Soon. Soon.

BALDWIN: Thank you, ladies, so very much. We appreciate it.

PERQUOSKI (ph): Thank you.

BALDWIN: And we will take you live to more cities today. Plus, we'll speak with the Florida congressman who went face-to-face with President Trump.

And we will hear from Amy Schumer and the 9-year-old granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King. Many, many more.

Stay with me. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:25:34] AMY SCHUMER, COMEDIAN: It is these moments that define us, what we do in the struggle, what we do when things are hard and messy and involve doing what is right. And not what is wrong. Clearly wrong like taking money from the NRA to the uphold these laws outdated by hundreds of years.

(CHEERING)

SCHUMER: They allow for repeated killings of children.

Thank you, students, and everyone here for standing up to say no more. Because we know it is hard and we know that they will twist our words and laugh at us and lie and lie and lie and lie and lie. How do they sleep at night? You are killing children.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: That is Amy Schumer, there in Los Angeles today, part of the March for Our Lives movement here across the country. It is one of the movie showings of her movie, "Train Wreck," in Louisiana, when a gunman barged into the movie theater and opened fire. She has been outspoken of ending gun violence in this country.

I'm Brooke Baldwin, in Washington, D.C.

I have Congressman Ted Deutch with me now. Parkland is in his home district.

Congressman, you have gotten to know a lot of the students in the last few weeks around. The last time that you and I spoke, we were standing in front of Douglas High School the day after the shooting. It was a pretty emotional moment. And I just, between that day, Congressman, and now, and standing here at this rally, what do you -- what are you thinking?

REP. TED DEUTCH, (D), FLORIDA: Well, Brooke, remember in the days after this terrible shooting, these student survivors really got together and rose up and they said that they wanted to start a movement. They said that nobody should have to experience what they have experienced. They said that no student should have to go to school in fear. And over the past weeks, what we have seen is that these students have come together, and not just the Stoneman Douglas students and the kids from south Florida, but they have come together with students from Chicago and Los Angeles and Washington and Baltimore and Newtown. And they have built a movement, a movement that is on full display here with the massive crowds here and across the country. They have found their voice, and they have found the defining issue, and they are demanding change, and America will have no choice but to listen to them.

BALDWIN: You know, I think of you also, of course, as part of the CNN the debate, the town hall that week where it was raw and emotional and, you know, that was just the week after the shooting. And you talk about these young voices, and I agree with you, that it is the biggest difference, and that is the change that they hope and seek. But what do you believe is the biggest difference since that night of the debate and that moment here in Washington?

DEUTCH: Well, we are now five and a half weeks after this horrific shooting at Stoneman Douglas. And, Brooke, as we have discussed, as people have talked about, typically what happens historically -- and unfortunately, there is a history of these terrible events. And there's a little bit of publicity and a lot of discussion, and we have moments of silence, and lots of talk and thought thoughts of prayers, and then we move on to the next issue. What these students have done is to refuse to allow us to move on. They have forced this issue into the center of America's political agenda. And that is what is different. That is why we are still talking about it. That is why we are -- after this event, and when they encouraged today, they encouraged everyone here to go out to see their members of Congress over the next two weeks when we are home in our districts. That is very powerful. That is going to set the stage for real change. BALDWIN: You were in that infamous meeting with President Trump some

weeks ago when he was sitting around with the Democrats and, you know, sort of saying yes to ideas that you had as far as gun reform is concerned. And over the course of the following days, had a meeting with the NRA, his tune is changed.

[15:30:00] Now that said, we ended the week in Washington with him ordering the DOJ to have a look and ban these bump stocks, pushing Congress on the NICS database and background checks. What is your impression of the president on this?

DEUTCH: Well, let me clear about something, Brooke, when we sat in the White House, the thing that he expressed interest in doing, the universal background checks, raising the age to buy a gun to 21, ensuring that domestic users cannot buy gun, and those are not -- I need to be clear, those are not Democratic ideas, but they are universally supported by the Democrats and the Republicans alike. The other thing that he said that day is that he looked at my colleagues, and he said, "Do not be afraid of the NRA." So as I tweeted yesterday, the president says that if the president says he's going to ban bump stocks, he should remember that he should not be after of the NRA and he should continue, he should go back where he was in that meeting and demand universal background checks that, after today, it should be easier for him to do it. These students, the power of the voices here today are going to force change. This is one where he ought to get in front of this. Because, if not, these students -- it made very clear that anyone who does not support these issues, they are going to plow through. That is what they are going to do. The president has an opportunity to go back to the where he was, to shut out the NRA, to make it about saving lives, and not about the interests of the gun industry. I hope that he does. Look, I don't think that I am foolish enough to think that he's watching this to say now is the time to do the right thing, but it does not mean that he shouldn't hear this. And I know there were marches back home in south Florida, not far from where he is, and they probably marched by Mar-a- Lago. I hope they were paying attention, because things are changing, the debate is changing. We need to take action, and we need to do it now.

BALDWIN: They did put out the statements. Let me read one line: "We applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights today."

Congressman Ted Deutch, thank you so much. I appreciate your voice here in Washington.

DEUTCH: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, if you missed the moment with Dr. King's 9-year- old daughter on stage, it was a -- she was a surprise guest of one of these Parkland students, you have to see it, and my interview, coming up.

Also, the emotional scene with Parkland student, Emma Gonzalez, closing out all of the speeches here in Washington, D.C.

Quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:37:20] YOLANDA RENEE KING, GRANDDAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: My name is Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King.

(CHEERING)

KING: My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

(CHEERING)

KING: I have a dream that enough is enough!

(CHEERING)

KING: And that this should be a gun-free room, period.

(CHEERING)

KING: Will you please repeat these words after me?

Spread the word!

(SHOUTING)

KING: Have you heard!

(SHOUTING)

KING: All across the nation!

(SHOUTING)

KING: We!

(SHOUTING)

KING: Are going to be!

(SHOUTING)

KING: A great generation!

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I mean, ladies and gentlemen, she is 9 years of age. That was Yolanda King, Dr. King's granddaughter, making that surprise appearance here on the stage in Washington. The message harkens back 55 years ago to the march on Washington for jobs and freedom. More than 200,000 people of all races, ethnicities and ages marched here on the nation's capital to demand a civil rights bill.

So now, joining us is Joe Madison, a veteran of civil rights and human rights activist, and host of "Urban View" on Sirius XM.

Joe Madison, it is so nice to see you.

JOE MADISON, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST & HOST, URBAN VIEW: I knew that child when she was born. And I have seen her at different event, and Martin have been close for a long time.

BALDWIN: And to see her.

MADISON: And she would just sit there nice and quiet. You know, she has two great parents.

BALDWIN: Good blood.

MADISON: She has good blood.

BALDWIN: She has good blood.

MADISON: Yes.

BALDWIN: You came up here and we talked about how you were 14 in 1963 for Dr. King and --

MADISON: I will not lie like a lot of people, saying, oh, I was at that march in Washington. Coretta Scott King once told me, if she had a nickel for everybody who said that they were there on the march on Washington, she would be a millionaire.

(CROSSTALK)

MADISON: But the reality is that, I know that we are drawing comparisons.

BALDWIN: There are people drawing comparisons, but I wanted to ask you, is that fair?

[15:39:47] MADISON: No, it is not. And I will the tell you why. The reality is that march almost didn't take place. Number two, a lot of people from Washington, D.C., did not go to that march because they were told there would be violence. You have to understand what was going on in '63, particularly in the urban areas. And so the reality is that it was very late in the morning when the crowd started to come. And the young always talks about the -- Andy Young is talking about the fact that he was down there at 9:00 in the morning, and 10:00, and nobody was around. And then, all of the sudden, the crowd started to show up. Here -- I was here at 7:00 this morning and Pennsylvania Avenue was packed.

The other thing, it is different, you know, everybody has talked about the young people, but it is different. There are more gray hairs out here as there are young people. BALDWIN: Yes.

MADISON: And so it is -- it is a diversity of people. Jesse Jackson would be very proud. This is a rainbow of people. It is entirely different than I think that what '63 was like. It's entirely different demonstrations when we tried to help people with aids. It is entirely different -- and I participated in the Vietnam demonstration when there were literally tens of thousands of young people. Different group of people, and mostly young, long-haired, white kids.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MADISON: This was a diverse crowd of people.

BALDWIN: And I read, and we talked to a loft people about this, and the phrase I keep hearing is tipping point. I keep hearing what is tipping point mean, because if are talk about the civil rights movement, that led to change. Is this a moment? Is this a movement? What is the difference?

MADISON: One of my favorite quotes, and I have used it over and over, "The difference between a moment and a movement is sacrifice."

BALDWIN: Why? What do you mean?

MADISON: Well, a moment is, if you are come to this event and you go back home, and you don't do anything, you go back the school and go back to your jobs, and you don't do anything, you just had a moment. A movement means that these young people and their parents are going to have to sacrifice. Every great movement that has brought about sacrifice. Rosa Parks sacrificed. She had never been arrested before. It was a moment, but it turned into the movement. In Greensboro, North Carolina, when five students went to sit at a Woolworth's, and people don't realize this, they were kicked out of school. John Lewis will tell you, the Freedom Riders, he almost lost his life. He almost lost his life at Selma. It is a moment but look at what those individuals sacrificed. And, in the matter of a week or so, the ultimate sacrifice paid by this young lady's grandfather, who gave his life. That is the difference of these individuals -- and I am telling you that they have to understand, they must sustain this. They must sustain this in order for it to be a movement.

BALDWIN: And that is the thing we will be watching for when all of the cameras pack up and leave the cities and these marches and these rallies to see if it does become a movement. I think that the first real sign is going to be what happens in November.

Joe Madison, will you come back on my show?

MADISON: Any time. You know that. I am always watching. You tell my friend, Don --

BALDWIN: Don Lemon.

MADISON: -- to quit messing with you and be good. No, Don knows I love him.

BALDWIN: I have love for Don. I have love for Don.

MADISON: I love him, too.

BALDWIN: Great love.

MADISON: And thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

MADISON: It was great being here.

BALDWIN: We will take you live to cities, in addition to the cities here in Washington, D.C., where the rallies are strong right now. You will also see an emotional moment from Parkland student, Emma Gonzalez, how she closed this out on stage, and the silence that spoke volumes, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:27] BALDWIN: Nearly 19 years later after Columbine, another generation of Colorado students are marching to end gun violence.

Scott McLean is in Denver for us this afternoon with a view of the March for Our Lives there in Colorado.

Scott, tell me, tell me who's there. Tell me what the message is.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, obviously, the state of Colorado is no stranger to gun violence. Back in 1990, there was the Columbine massacre, which is the benchmark that everything else has been measured up against. And there was the Aurora theater shooting. And the list goes on and on.

I want to sort of set the stage for you here. You can see just how many people have turned out for this march, for this rally. They'll be walking through the streets of Cambridge here in a few minutes. You can see the signs as well of people marching for all kinds of different reasons.

I have Nick here.

And, Nick, you're a high school student. I wonder, why did you think it is important to come out here?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Well, it important to the raise the awareness for the lives lost to gun violence in America.

MCLEAN: Do you feel safe in your high school?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: To be honest, no, not really.

MCLEAN: What would change that?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Gun laws. More restrictions. Just internal improvements within the government to further push gun change.

MCLEAN: Thanks, Nick.

I also want to talk to Malika.

You have a sign. Can you tell me about?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Absolutely. My mom is an educator. She's been so for over 30 years. So my mom is an educator. And I have three little brothers. One in elementary, one in middle school, and one in high school. I'm studying to be a teacher. This march just resonates with me personally. I want to live in a world and teach in a classroom where my students don't have to worry about their lives being in danger.

MCLEAN: What's the biggest thing that needs to change?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Informed voting. We are able to come together and have collaborative conversation and learn more about what it really means to be an active citizen and vote in the right people and the right policies to make our schools and communities safer.

[15:50:35] MCLEAN: Thank you so much.

And, Brooke, the other point I wanted to add is, you hear this so, so often, even talking to victims or survivors of gun violence, in this state in particular, they say look, if this becomes a partisan issue, nothing is going to get done. There are a lot of gun owners in this state. You need to come together in the middle in order to find a solution.

BALDWIN: Yes. No, I think, talking to a lot of the folks out here, and people who are pushing for change, I think the biggest misnomer they would sit here and say is they don't want -- they don't want to take guns away. They would just say they want commonsense gun laws in the country.

Scott McLean, in Denver, thank you so much.

And if you have missed any part of today, it has been an extraordinary day in Washington and beyond.

Here are some of the highlights, the most emotional moments from the rally here in Washington, D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

EDNA CHAVEZ, STUDENT: I have lived in south L.A. my entire life and have lost many loved ones to gun violence. This is normal. Normal to the point that I have learned to duck from bullets before I learned how to read. It is normal to see candles. It is normal to see posters. Enough is enough.

ALEX WARD, STUDENT: If teachers start packing heat, are they going to arm our pastors, ministers, and rabbis?

(CHEERING)

WARD: Are they going to arm the guys scanning tickets at the movie theater?

(CHEERING)

WARD: Are they going to arm the person wearing the Mickey Mouse costume at Disney? This is what the National Rifle Association wants. And we will not stand for it.

(CHEERING)

To all the politicians out there, if you take money from the NRA, you have chosen death. If you have not expressed to your constituents a public stance on this issue, you have chosen death. If you do not stand with us by saying we need to pass commonsense gun legislation, you have chosen death. And none of the millions of people marching in this country today will stop until they see those against us out of office, because we choose life!

(CHEERING)

ZION KELLY, STUDENT: Please raise your hand if you have been affected by gun violence to honor the ones you have lost.

Today, I raise my hand in honor of my twin brother. My name is Zion Kelly.

(CHEERING)

KELLY: And just like all of you, I have had enough.

(CHEERING)

SAM FUENTES, STUDENT: I am not here for me. I am here for you. So you don't ever have to fear of getting shot in your own classroom. You don't ever have to wonder if you have to see your best friend die next to you. You don't ever have to worry about going into a Holocaust history class to learn about death and then experience it right before your eyes.

RYAN DEITSCH: I know a lot of people, a lot of people are out there saying that we need to make America safe again. And I know that we can't. We cannot make America safe again until we arm our teachers. We need to arm our teachers. We need to arm them with pencils, pens, paper, and the money they need.

(CHEERING)

DEITSCH: They need that money to support their families and to support themselves before they can support the futures in those classrooms.

(CHEERING) EMMA GONZALEZ, STUDENT: Six minutes and about 20 seconds. In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us. Fifteen were injured. And everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered. Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands.

For us, long tearful chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing. No one understood the extent of what had happened. No one could believe there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day. No one knew that the people who were missing had stopped breathing long before any of us had even known that a code red had been called. No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this would go.

For those who still can't comprehend because they refuse to, I'll tell you where it went. Right into the ground, six feet deep.

(SILENCE)

[15:55:37] (CHANTING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:11] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, on this Saturday. You're watching CNN's special live coverage, March for Our Lives.