Student survivors of Florida school massacre demand action from politicians
Student survivors of the Florida school shooting which left 17 people dead on Valentine's day are to march on Washington DC as they demand changes to gun laws in the US.
A number of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have lashed out at politicians they deem to have failed to keep children safe - including president Donald Trump whose election was backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
And celebrities have added their support to the planned demonstration which has been dubbed 'March For Our Lives'.
One of the survivors, Alex Wind, told Good Morning Britain: "Politicians receiving money from the National Rifle Association is absoutely absurd. We believe there needs to be stricter background checks, there needs to be stricter laws, so more children don't die.
"Seventeen children died at my high school this past Valentine's Day and that was 17 too many.
"On March 24th we will go to DC and we will march, and we will demand change, we will demand action."
On Monday, teenagers descended on the White House to protest about the need for stricter gun control laws.
Chanting "shame on you" many lay down in front of the White House and called for a total ban on the sale of assault weapons.
Soon after taking office, President Trump repealed Obama-administration acts designed to make it harder for people with a history of mental health issues to buy guns.
"I remember my mum, 10 years ago, lying down in the streets protesting after the Virginia Tech massacre and that was 10 years ago and now I'm here doing the same thing," one protester told ITV News.
"I want to stay as positive as possible, and hopefully with more protests like this I think we can... I really, really think that there's opportunity for change," another student said.
The students were joined by parents and teachers in their protest.
On Friday the president paid a visit to the hospital where a number of victims were being treated for their injuries.
But Trump has come under attack from a number of students at the school after he accused the FBI of missing the "many signals" sent out by the shooter because they were too busy investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
After more than a day of criticism from the students, the White House said the president would hold a "listening session" with unspecified students on Wednesday and meet on Thursday with state and local security officials.
Another survivor Alphonso Calderon told GMB: "The gun culture in America is honestly unacceptable, because it is causing children to lose their lives. Policy needs to change. This isn't people taking away guns. It is common sense.
"Nikolas Cruz had been reported to the police 39 times since 2010. Thirty-nine times. He had been expelled from school. If that doesn't disqualify someone from owning an assault rifle, an AR-25, a military grade weapon, I don't know what does."
Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from the school, is facing 17 counts of murder.
On Tuesday, some 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will travel to the state's capital to protest over gun laws.
The students plan to hold a rally in Tallahassee on Wednesday, one week on from the massacre, in the hope that it will put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws, something some GOP politicians said on Monday they would consider.
"I really think they are going to hear us out," said Chris Grady, a 19-year-old student who is going on the trip.
He said he hoped the trip would lead to some "commonsense laws like rigorous background checks".
Since Republicans took control of both the governor's office and the Legislature in 1999, Florida politicians have been largely supportive of guns and against the need for stricter controls.
However, the attack and a tour of the school given to some Florida legislators to show them firsthand the damage caused by the massacre are thought to have overcome some of this resistance.