Virtually all of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who lived through their own school shooting on Valentine's Day this year were in middle school on December 14, 2012, when 26 lives were lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But the memories of learning about that horrific event, their own survival experiences when their Florida high school came under attack, and the countless lives lost or shattered by gun violence in between and since have transformed many of those angry and frustrated students' emotions into collective activism that diffused through attendees during a rally at Fairfield Hills on August 12, the conclusion of the 20-state Road to Change Tour.

The tour, with its several dozen Parkland survivors and parents who lost children in the February 14 rampage, mounted the Road to Change/March for Our Lives trek with a couple of primary goals in mind: to register young people to vote, and to talk about how these newest voters can join their older peers standing up to anyone that is a blockade to gun safety - including the NRA and elected officials who might be influenced by the powerful gun rights group's lobbyists and supporters.

Newtown Police were expecting as many as 2,000 to turn out for the event. And as the crowd began to filter out of a huge tent set up on the campus soccer field around 4:30 pm, officers on site were estimating as many as 1,500 had come to welcome the young activists and their support team who had arrived in two large motor coach buses just after the rally's 2 pm start.

While a group of orange-shirted event volunteers created a path, the Road to Change participants exited their buses and moved quickly across the field into a huge tent that was packed with cheering supporters, some who waited for hours to cheer on the young activists. As a band wrapped up its set, the Parkland visitors mixed with peers from Hartford, Newtown, and elsewhere behind the stage.

As the speaking program commenced, Jaclyn Corin and Matt Deitch headed for the microphone.

"We are from Parkland, Florida," Ms Corin said to a burst of cheers. "The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred exactly 179 days ago - 179 days since 17 families were forever destroyed, 179 days since my community was ripped apart. And it's been 2,068 days since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That's 2,068 days since 26 students' and teachers' lives were stolen at the pull of a trigger; 2,068 days since my friend Natalie [Barden] has had to look into her little brother's room to find an empty bed.

"There are too many empty beds in this nation," Ms Corin continued. "Both Parkland and Newtown never expected this level of violence to touch our communities. And we are both cities that forced our nation to come together when violence unexpectedly moved in. Two ordinary and isolated towns that never had to cross paths. We were brought together, however, not only because we experienced the same horrible pain, but also because of the same monumental strength that arose from the victims and survivors who arose in the aftermath of those tragedies."

A 'Greater Cause'

Mr Deitch took over, acknowledging there is no way to erase the excessive suffering Parkland and Newtown experienced.

"But there is a way to erase this from happening again," he said."On this tour, we have seen the context of a modern America through a lens our leaders lack."

The Parkland survivor said through the entire tour, its participants met individuals who agreed and disagreed with their mission and positions, but who shared "two key connections - pain and a hunger for a better, safer tomorrow."

Mr Deitch said the foundation of the Road to Change movement was laid long ago as the labor movement and "freedom rides that saw young people traveling across the country for a greater cause."

"We came together to combat the corrupt system that perpetuates violence in the name of profit - a system that is working perfectly to divide us," he said.

Concluding their remarks, Ms Corin reminded attendees that the Road to Change started out as an idea in someone's living room, and it has amassed thousands of supporters and registered more young voters than any activity of its kind.

"Now, we end our summer in an area too much like our own home," she said. "With a new family that spreads from coast to coast sharing the same message: the young people will win, and we will end the violence that continues to destroy families and innocence every single day."

Following the Parkland students, Natalie Barden and her father Mark, who is co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, came to the stage to perform a Tim McGraw song called "Humble and Kind."

"I'd like you all to listen to the lyrics of this song," Natalie Barden said. "Because it speaks to things we all need to keep in mind - no matter what our beliefs are on this issue, let's remember to treat each other with respect, tolerance, and love. It also reminds us of my little brother, Daniel, who lived his life with so much compassion."

As the Bardens exited to another round of thunderous applause, Jackson Mittleman and Tommy Murray headed to center stage to speak on behalf of the Junior Newtown Action Alliance.

"For the last five years, many of us have traveled to DC to beg Congress to take action to prevent similar tragedies in other communities and to end everyday gun violence in America," Mr Murray said. He criticized the many elected leaders who "lack the political courage to say no to the NRA."

"The March for Our Lives students knew instantly we must change Congress for real change. They organized the greatest and largest gun prevention march in our history, they called on the youth to take action, and they spent their entire summer registering voters and keeping this issue front and center," he continued. "Five years ago, many of us were too young to fully understand what happened at Sandy Hook, but when you stood up and demanded to be heard, you inspired us to do more," he said, specifically addressing the Parkland survivors.

"You taught us that young voices matter, and most importantly, you taught us our votes matter," he concluded. "So make your voices heard with your votes. Vote because our lives depend on it."

Mr Murray then asked everyone to raise their right hand and pledge to vote, and he was answered with hundreds of hands extended into the air above the hundreds of individuals who had crowded into the tent to hear remarks.

Fighting For Change

Mr Mittleman said he and many of his friends have spent the last five years fighting for change.

"Change can sometimes be a very slow, painful, and sometimes seemingly impossible task," he said. "But one thing is guaranteed - a government full of NRA employees will never value the safety of American lives over a check in their bank accounts."

Mr Mittleman noted that with young Connecticut voters' roles increasing by 200 percent since last Election Day, "We, not only as students and young people, but society as a whole, have a responsibility to show up to the polls and tell Washington that the NRA cannot run the United States of America. When we finally vote out gun lobby-favoring politicians, real action can start on a federal level to save American lives - red or blue."

Parkland activist Cameron Kasky said getting youth to register to vote is easy, but "getting them to actually bother to vote is hard, and I think the young people in this country had a rude awakening this year and might just be showing up in some record numbers," he said.

Later, rally-goers roared when Yolanda Renee King, Martin Luther King, Jr's, 9-year-old granddaughter, led them in a chant that included the words, "We are going to be a great generation."

While the activities under the tent drew the most focus, kiosks staffed by Sandy Hook Promise, Newtown Action Alliance, and Moms Against Gun Violence saw a steady stream of visitors interested in learning more about the organizations, while volunteers from the Danbury region's League of Women Voters helped the few attendees who were not already registered voters to get signed up.

Police said they saw few counter protesters, and those who arrived either departed or were escorted to designated areas outside the main staging area for the welcome rally. The weather also cooperated - although humidity was intense, no significant rain fell during the event to dampen the spirits of the more than 1,500 who turned out.

content by Clarice Silber was used in this report.Connecticut Mirror