Students on Long Island and across the country are preparing to march to call for gun control measures in the wake of the deadly Florida school shooting.

Avalon Fenster is a one of the student founders of March for Our Lives Long Island, a local event stemming from the national gun control movement. She says the issue hits close to home.  

"I had heard from my little brother the day after the school shooting, and he's only 12 years old, that these are things he thinks of on a daily basis. He knows what windows he can jump out of if there's a school shooter," Fenster says.

A national march is planned for Saturday, March 24, to give students the opportunity to be heard on the issue of gun violence. Locally, a rally will be held on that day at Hechscker Park in Huntington.

"The event, first and foremost, of course is to honor the lives lost in Parkland, and school shootings since Columbine. But it's also to call youth to action and let them know that their voices matter and they should be heard," says Fenster.

One of the main goals of the national movement is to ban AR-15 rifles. But Long Island NRA members like James Hoffman believe banning a rifle isn't the answer.

"It's not the gun, it's the person. The gun is just a tool," Hoffman says.

He says he's been safely trained on how to safely handle guns for years, and a lack of people understanding guns is part of the issue.

Fenster says she realizes that the issue is more in depth.

"Overall, we know that school safety is such a multifaceted issue," she says. "It's not just about guns, it's about mental health, it's about school security, it's about the way that teachers are equipped to deal with things, or God forbid, a school shooting."