--- description: Activists placed 7,000 pairs of shoes on the lawn outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C. to memorialize children killed by gun violence. title: Activists Lay Thousands of Shoes Outside U.S. Capitol image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f6f9425f5d6cf3e/69892abb929fad2fa8beff0e/gettyimages-931443248.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Washington D.C.](/tag/washington-d-c/) ## Washington D.C. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 7,000 Pairs of Shoes Laid on the Capitol Lawn to Represent Children Killed by Gun Violence by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2018 5:37 AM CUT  The lawn outside the U.S. Capitol is covered with 7,000 pairs of shoes to memorialize the 7,000 children killed by gun violence since the Sandy Hook school shooting, in a display organized by the global advocacy group Avaaz, in Washington, DC, on March 13, 2018. The lawn outside the U.S. Capitol is covered with 7,000 pairs of shoes to memorialize the 7,000 children killed by gun violence since the Sandy Hook school shooting, in a display organized by the global advocacy group Avaaz, in Washington, DC, on March 13, 2018.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2018 5:37 AM CUT Activists [placed](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-dc-thousands-of-shoes-capitol-building-represent-children-killed-by-gun-violence/ "undefined") thousands of pairs of shoes on the lawn outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to memorialize children killed by gun violence. The demonstration was planned by international advocacy group Avaaz to represent the number of children killed by guns since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, CBS News reports. The demonstration was based on [research](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/06/15/peds.2016-3486 "undefined") by the American Academy of Pediatrics that found that 1,300 children die from gun shot wounds in the U.S. annually, or about three daily. Thus the display featured 7,000 pairs of shoes. The protestors assembled the empty shoes on the southeast lawn from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in an effort to push Congress for gun reform. The tribute follows nationwide outcry over the [shooting ](http://time.com/5158678/what-to-know-about-the-active-shooter-situation-at-florida-high-school/?xid=homepage "undefined")at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, where former student [Nikolas Cruz](http://time.com/5159134/who-is-the-florida-shooter-parkland-nicolas-cruz/?xid=homepage "undefined"), 19, killed 17 people with an AR-15 assault rifle. The Parkland shooting was the [18th school shooting](http://time.com/5159039/florida-school-shooting-parkland/?xid=homepage "undefined") of the year. “Ahead of the [March for our Lives](https://marchforourlives.com/ "undefined"), this monument is bringing the heartbreak of gun violence directly to Congress’ doorstep,” Avaaz wrote in a statement. > [](https://twitter.com/Avaaz/status/973540306703527936) On Wednesday, a [national school walk out](https://www.womensmarch.com/enough/ "undefined") is planned to raise awareness about issues of school safety and the impact of gun violence O.n March 24, protestors [will march on Washington ](https://marchforourlives.com/ "undefined")for the March For Our Lives rally, [organized](http://time.com/5167102/march-for-our-lives-parkland-school-shooting-protest/ "undefined") by survivors of the Florida shooting. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5198721/capitol-gun-death-protest-shoes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5198721/capitol-gun-death-protest-shoes/"},"headline":"7,000 Pairs of Shoes Laid on the Capitol Lawn to Represent Children Killed by Gun Violence","datePublished":"2018-03-14T05:37:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:38:37.696Z","description":"The display represents the number of children killed by guns since Sandy Hook","url":"https://time.com/5198721/capitol-gun-death-protest-shoes/","keywords":["Washington D.C.","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f6f9425f5d6cf3e/69892abb929fad2fa8beff0e/gettyimages-931443248.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f6f9425f5d6cf3e/69892abb929fad2fa8beff0e/gettyimages-931443248.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-GUNS-SHOES","caption":"US-POLITICS-GUNS-SHOES","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/washington-d-c/","name":"Washington D.C."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5198721/capitol-gun-death-protest-shoes/","name":"7,000 Pairs of Shoes Laid on the Capitol Lawn to Represent Children Killed by Gun Violence"}}]}] ```