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USATSI

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has lent the Patriots plane to the families of the 17 victims and other injured students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting so they can travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the "March for Our Lives" rally against gun violence on Saturday, per a team spokesman.

Since the shooting, students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been extremely outspoken while pushing for stricter gun laws. According to Patriots' spokeswoman Stacey James, Kraft gave the plane up after being contacted by former Arizona rep Gabrielle Giffords (who was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in 2011) and her husband Mark Kelly, per The Boston Globe.

"Not only did their friends and teachers get shot and killed, other friends shot and injured . . . most of them, they had bullets flying over their heads," Kelly said, via The Washington Post. "This is not fair that they have to deal with something like this at their age. They wanted to go to Washington and be heard, and so I felt it was our obligation to help them."

According to James, the plane departed from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday with the 17 deceased victims' families and some of the injured students on board.

The Patriots became the first team to purchase their own aircraft in 2017, debuting the gaudy 767 last year.