Protestors in Los Angles, March 24th (Photo: AFP)

 Organizers of the March for Our Lives rally in D.C. were hoping to draw 500,000 protesters to march against shootings and gun violence in schools.

More than 800 sister marches had been planned in cities across America and dozens of locations overseas to be held at roughly the same time.

The rally comes in the wake of the February14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The protesters, many of them high school students, claim that the youth leadership of the initiative is what will set it apart from previous attempts to enact stronger gun-control legislation.