More than 250 people and at least 25 organizations gathered at the Texas Capitol on Thursday to advocate for “common sense” gun policies.

The Texas Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, an alliance of organizations promoting gun violence prevention, organized the rally with other organizations such as March For Our Lives and Moms Demand Action.

Nicole Golden, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, said the organizations aren’t advocating for partisan gun policies, rather laws popular among all sides of the aisle in Texas, such as raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and requiring background checks before gun purchases.

“We are the majority,” Golden said. “The majority of Texans (and) the majority of Americans support common sense gun policies, and we need our lawmakers to take that seriously and put them into action.”

The rally began at the United Methodist Church a block away from the Capitol, where demonstrators first gathered. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told participants to urge their lawmakers to pass gun safety legislation.

“We have to stop,” Gutierrez said. “This madness isn’t normal, and that’s why we need you here today across the street, lobbying and advocating for these children and those teachers, the kids in Santa Fe, the kids in El Paso, the kids in Sutherland Springs and everywhere.”

The rally included seven speakers, including opening speaker Jasir Rahman, who is a senior social policy analyst from Rice University. Rahman said he joined organizations like Texas Gun Sense after someone brought a gun to his high school campus.

“Luckily, there were no shots fired that day,” Rahman said. “It really brought that issue directly to the forefront, where I was at risk. That made me realize that, again, if I want the people I love to survive, if I want to be able to feel safe, I need to advocate.”

Demonstrators and organizations hung shirts on clotheslines and sticks to represent victims of gun violence, with their names and times of death written on the clothing items.

“I have a nephew, he’s growing up, and I want to live in a state where I’m not worried for his safety,” UT government sophomore Sara Childs said. “There will come a time where he will have to go through the event of lockdown drills, and I’ll have to explain to him — me and my sister — about gun violence, and it’s not normal.”

After the rally, participants met with lawmakers to advocate for these policies, pushing for legislation they believe will help prevent future gun violence.

“This isn’t normal; you can’t desensitize yourself to this,” UT government sophomore Isabella Carrascal said. “This is happening every single day in every single major city around the country. … It’s ridiculous people keep dying because of the laws that aren’t in place.”