Summoned to action by student survivors of the US school shooting in Florida, hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters rallied in the nation's capital and cities across America to press for gun control in one of the biggest youth protests since the Vietnam era.

Organisers of the March for Our Lives rally in Washington hoped their protest would match in numbers and spirit last year's women's march, one of the biggest protests in the capital since the Vietnam era and one that far exceeded predictions of 300,000 demonstrators.

The police presence was heavy as more than 20,000 people filled a park near the Florida school, chanting slogans such as "Enough is enough'' and carrying signs that read "Why do your guns matter more than our lives?'' and "Our ballots will stop bullets.''

Source: Stuff.co