Amid mass shootings two weekends in a row in Chattanooga, a local anti-gun violence advocate is asking for more sensible gun laws.
Shiloh McCulley, one of the organizers of March for Our Lives - Chattanooga, stressed that the purpose of the march is to protest the violence stemming from the improper use of guns.
"This is an anti-gun violence and pro-peace march," McCulley told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in an interview. "We're very bipartisan with this."
The march is set for noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. It will begin at Miller Park, go down Market Street, turn onto Fifth Avenue, then down Georgia Street and back to Miller Park.
The event will feature Tennessee state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem; writer, editor and candidate for the Tennessee House Allison Gorman; civil rights activist Marie Mott; Democrat congressional candidate Meg Gorman; and speaker Blake Kitterman.
(READ MORE: 3 dead, 17 victims total after shooting on McCallie Avenue in Chattanooga)
March for our Lives - Chattanooga
When: June 11.Where: Miller Park.How to get involved: bit.ly/MFOLchatt.Time: Noon to 2 p.m.
McCulley was gearing up to attend the March for Our Lives event in Nashville on Saturday. After the May 28 mass shooting in downtown Chttanooga, however, he saw the need for Chattanooga to have its own march.
"Everyone is kind of feeling this rage, this energy, with what's going on right now," McCulley said. "After the shooting happened, we're like, something has to be done here. It's happening in our own backyards."
McCulley, who works in logistics, retired earlier this year from the U.S. Army Reserves and said his passion to educate people and promote gun safety comes from his military training.
"I have six years of military experience in the Reserves," McCulley said. "If I had to qualify for the military for my weapon, every year, multiple times a year, we should be expecting more from our citizens. So that's kind of where it started."
McCulley also stressed the importance of having programs and resources to engage children and teens as a means of diversion.
"People are dropping off their kids downtown, (so) we definitely need to be finding resources to do things," McCulley said. "Whether that means volunteering, helping the elderly or special needs something we need to bridge after-school programs that really focus on training, educating and building our youth."
Chattanooga police reported those involved in the May 28 shooting near 100 Walnut St. were between the ages of 13 and 15. A 15-year-old has been arrested.
McCulley said that while military personnel are intensely trained to use and care for their weapons and are constantly tested to ensure those weapons are used properly, the same is not true for private citizens.
Since the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, there have been more than 10 mass shootings across the United States, including another early Sunday in Chattanooga that involved 17 victims. Fourteen of those were shot, and three more were hit by vehicles. Two of the shooting victims and one who was hit by a vehicle died.
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a report in which it said firearms have become the leading cause of death among people between 1 and 19 years of age.
Since announcing the Chattanooga event, McCulley said he's received great feedback through the event's social media accounts as well as donations for those who show up to participate. He also said that while he has reached out to Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly's office, he hasn't heard back from anyone yet.
"A ton of response, actually, people who are wanting to volunteer. We actually have received over 500 water bottles for our marchers," McCulley said. "We get a lot of response on our Facebook page, on Twitter. I've been communicating with some representatives back and forth on Twitter. So their response is getting great."
McCulley also said that while the event has received positive feedback from the community and organizers have already signed up some volunteers, they welcome more people to join them Saturday.
"People can get involved. They can find us on Facebook on our March for Our Lives - Chattanooga page," McCulley said."We're on the March for Our Lives national website as well. If people want to volunteer, we're looking for volunteers."
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.