Veteran gets emotional explaining why he joined gun march with his daughter

A Marine veteran who joined his daughter at the “March for Our Lives” in Los Angeles on Saturday became emotional when he explained his decision to attend the anti-gun violence rally.

The man, Russ Acosta, told BuzzFeed News that his 18-year-old daughter had asked him to join her at the march, one of more than 800 such events taking place across the country on Saturday.

“It’s emotional because I don’t like to see our kids get killed,” he said, before choking up.

{mosads}

“I’m tired of cowards using the Constitution as something to hide behind, because the Constitution is a beautiful thing,” he continued. “We do have amendments, but we do have common sense.”

This veteran dad got emotional talking about coming to the march with his daughter

“I don’t like to see our kids get killed,” choked Russ Acosta-who says the 2nd Amendment is something “people hide behind” and doesn’t believe certain weaponry should be legal after what he’s seen pic.twitter.com/JEU07km9QI

— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) March 24, 2018

Photos posted on Twitter by a BuzzFeed reporter showed Acosta holding a sign reading, “Veterans Against Gun Violence.”

Here’s Russ with his 18-year-old daughter, Samantha, who asked him to come to the march with her. He doesn’t believe America needs assault-style weapons, especially after what he’s seen serving pic.twitter.com/qr15BUsB5M

— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) March 24, 2018

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in cities across the country on Saturday for “March for Our Lives” events, calling for an end to gun violence and pressing legislators to take action. 

The protests were organized following a mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school last month that prompted a renewed debate over the nation’s gun laws. 

Since then, students have largely led the charge for stronger firearms restrictions.