Thousands of people marched in Washington, D.C., on Saturday in a rally for gun control. The demonstrators included a group of residents from Newtown, Conn., site of the December shooting rampage that killed 27 people.

Lauri Wright: “I’ve watched the news on other tragedies, and shame on me for just sitting there and being upset and not deciding it was time to change. I’ve always said, 'Oh, it's so horrible that they weren’t able to get to that individual and help them before that seemed like the answer to their pain, to go out and tear apart a community.’ And now it happened in my backyard. It’s time. It’s got to change.”

Jacqueline Jrolf: “My sister was killed by a bullet to her heart 20 years ago, and so all of the things that have been happening have really resonated with me. And it really makes me happy to know that finally there’s movement on gun control, because everyone has been so apathetic for so long. It really seems like an important time for us all to stand together and keep moving forward on it, so that’s what brought me out.”

Senate Democrats formally unveiled their bid to reimpose the assault weapons ban last week. The bill’s chief sponsor, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, says she has received assurances it will come up for a vote, though it remains to be seen whether it has enough support to pass.