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DENVER (KDVR) — On the steps of the amphitheater at Civic Center Park, 16-year-old Rachel Volek pulled out a clipboard and a piece of paper. 

The Golden High School student began to recite a poem, describing the fear she faces walking into class. 

“Our cities and schools are under attack. We’re kids, and we’re fighting back?” she said. “In a space I’m supposed to feel safe, I am not. For there is fear lingering, that I could be shot.”

Volek and a handful of teenagers organized Saturday’s March for Our Lives event, as similar events took place nationwide. 

Hundreds stood in 90-degree heat to hear from speakers like U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette. 

“Columbine happened before any of these young women up here were born,” DeGette said. “We have been failing our kids since before many of the people here were born.”

DeGette called for stricter gun restrictions statewide, as many held signs demanding a ban on so-called assault-style weapons. 

Earlier this week, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette and Superior passed or advanced gun restriction laws, banning assault-style weapons and raising the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21. 

“We’ve had enough, and it needs to stop,” Kathy Fullerton said. “Something has to give.”