Students stage die-in protests on anniversary of Pulse nightclub shooting

People in the United States staged die-in protests on the anniversary of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shootingto honor those lost in the tragedy and advocate for more action on gun control.

Two years ago in Orlando, Florida, a gunman entered Pulse Nightclub and opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring 68 more. Now as gun control is increasingly becoming a focus in the United States, this recent nationwide protest aimed to honor the victims of the various shootings that have taken place while also bringing more awareness to the gun control debate.

The recent protest saw participants drop to the ground for 12-minutes, which is approximately 720 second, one second for every victim of a mass shooting that took place since the Pulse attack.

In West Palm Beach, students from Palm Beach County High Schools and Marjory Stoneman Douglas joined members of anti-gun violence group March for our Lives and Gays Against Guns in the die-in protest that took place across the water from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to the Grio. They wore the color orange to symbolize gun safety.

On the opposite side of the country in San Francisco students gathered at Civic Center Plaza and in Washington D.C. the die-n protest took place in front of the Capitol building. Rallies on Tuesday also occurred in major cities such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Aside from the die-in protests, a memorial was built to honor the victims of the Pulse tragedy took place in Orlando, where many paid their respects at the nightclub location.

Earlier this week, survivors and victims from the Pulse nightclub shooting sued the city of Orlando and a collection of police officers for allegedly failing in their duties in response to the attack. This followed another lawsuit from 16 survivors who sued tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google. They claimed the three companies "aided and abetted" ISIS and were aware ISIS used their sites for recruiting, which apparently violates the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.

See more from the protests below.

[Via: USA Today]