Terri Robinowitz, center, holds a framed photo of her granddaughter Alyssa Alhadeff who was killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with Alyssa’s parents, Lori Alhadeff and Ilan Alhadeff, right, as lawmakers and gun control activists gather at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2018, a day before the March for Our Lives rally Saturday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 
Ilan Alhadeff, joined at left by his wife Lori Alhadeff, holds a photograph of their daughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, who was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., during a rally by lawmakers and student activists in support of gun control at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2018, a day before the March for Our Lives event. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 
Robert Edwards, center, a student from Washington, speaks alongside lawmakers and gun control activists at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2018, a day before the March for Our Lives movement rally in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. From left are Ilan Alhadeff who holds a photograph of his daughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, who was killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 
Demitri Hoth, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., joined at left by Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., who represents Parkland, join lawmakers and student activists in support of gun control at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2018, a day before the March for Our Lives rally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON | Thousands of protesters are gathering in Washington for what organizers hope will be a massive rally in support of stronger gun-control legislation.
The demonstrators will assemble Saturday for a several-hour rally near the U.S. Capitol building that they predict will draw a half million people — many of them high school students.
In the wake of the February shootings in Parkland, Florida, a youth-led movement claims America has reached an emotional tipping point on the issue of stronger gun control measures. A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 69 percent of respondents and half of Republicans favor stronger gun control laws.
Young participants are also emphasizing voter registration with an eye on making gun control a core issue in congressional elections this fall.