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| NATIONAL SCHOOL WALKOUT TO END GUN VIOLENCE 14 MAR 18/ |
How You Can Join a National Walkout For Parents, Students, and Teachers Sick of Gun Violence
Parents, students, and teachers who have had enough of gun violence in American schools are planning to make a major statement in support of gun safety — by walking out of classrooms across the country. On Feb. 16, the organizers behind the Women's March announced that they are planning a nationwide school walkout to take place on March 14.
The Enough! National School Walkout is scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. across every timezone in America on March 14. In a Facebook announcement, organizers of Women's March Youth EMPOWER say they are "calling for students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and allies to take part in a #NationalSchoolWalkout for 17 minutes . . . to protest Congress' inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods."
The news came just two days after a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, claimed the lives of 17 students and teachers and prompted the students, teachers, and parents who survived the attack to demand lawmakers' attention to an issue. We watched the grieving mother of Alyssa Alhadeff, slain in the shooting, make a heartbreaking plea to President Donald Trump on national TV. We heard survivor and schoolteacher Melissa Falkowski tell a reporter "our government failed us." And student David Hogg went viral for his emotional demand that policymakers "look in the mirror and take some action" to protect the nation's children from being murdered at school.
The Enough! event announcement makes clear that the protest is aimed at putting pressure on elected officials to institute new gun laws. "Congress must take meaningful action to keep us safe and pass federal gun reform legislation that address the public health crisis of gun violence," it reads. "We want Congress to pay attention and take note: many of us will vote this November and many others will join in 2020, and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school."
Nation
‘We want change now’: Students across country stage walkouts to protest gun laws
Nation
Hundreds of students across the country left class Wednesday to protest the nation’s gun laws. It was a show of solidarity with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where last week a gunman shot and killed 17 students using an AR-15 rifle.
The students flooded social media with photos and videos from the demonstrations, along with calls to action for planned walkouts on March 14, the one-month anniversary of the shooting in Parkland, and April 20, the 19th anniversary of the deadly high school shooting in Columbine, Colorado. More than 125,000 students have signed onto a change.org petition for an April 20 walkout.
The message — it’s time for action — was the same at a listening session at the White House, hosted by President Donald Trump, which brought together survivors of the Parkland attack along with parents and community members from the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings. There, the president vowed to be “very strong on background checks” and suggested he would consider concealed carry for some school employees, among other solutions.
Here’s a look at some of the walkouts and protests around the country Wednesday.
Tallahassee, Florida
Hundreds of students flooded the Florida state capitol on Wednesday, led by about 100 survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who made the 400-mile journey by bus.
The students met with Florida lawmakers to discuss gun control legislation.
More than 500 other students from around the state marched to the statehouse steps, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday evening, some of them staged a sit-in in the offices of Republican lawmakers, the AP reported.
Hundreds of students across Tallahassee rally in the wake of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week, asking for gun control legislation. abcn.ws/2Fih0f2
Yesterday, the Florida State House refused to consider a bill that would ban assault rifles, provoking an emotional reaction from Stoneman Douglas students who were in the chamber.
Broward County, Florida
At Cypress Bay High School in Broward County, which also includes Stoneman Douglas High School, 5,000 students walked out in support of the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the “Never Again” movement, according to local news outlets.
Students from other high schools in Broward County formed hearts on football fields.
Students from Coral Glades High in Coral Gables, Florida, marched to Douglas High School.
New Jersey
At schools along the Jersey Shore, students led walkouts in solidarity with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Asbury Park Press reports.
Chicago
Chicago-area high schools also saw walkout protests led by students. At Schaumburg High School and Oak Park and River Forest High School, students led marches out of class. In Oak Park, students rallied in front of the school and some parents also showed up in support.
“We really need to update today’s laws,” Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Connor Hartweg told the Chicago Tribune. “Our government isn’t doing that. If we can’t lean on them to do it, then we’ve got to be that change.”
Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of middle school and high school students from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., flooded the grounds of government buildings Wednesday. Some students from Rockville, Maryland, left school to demonstrate in front of the White House and on Capitol Hill.
Students from McLean High School in Virginia sat and chanted outside the White House.
“Some sort of common sense gun control legislation needs to be passed into law because far too many innocent people have been killed because of the easy and overwhelming access to firearms in this country,” Rockville student Daniel Gelillo told ABC News.
Arlington, Virginia
Several hundred students in Arlington, Virginia, walked out of their classrooms at noon today. Wakefield High School’s administration supported the walkout.
We NEED gum reform NOW #wakefieldwalkout #wakefieldwalksout #StudentWalkout #GunReformNow #NeverAgain
I'm 18 and can vote, says senior James Brady, who walked out of his Virginia high school today alongside his classmates, demanding #GunReformNow #wakefield #StudentWalkout @NewsHour
Pittsburgh
In Pittsburgh, hundreds of students protested gun laws.
#NeverAgain: Hundreds of Pittsburgh students walk out to protest school shootings, demand stronger gun laws dlvr.it/QHHLGQ
Austin and Houston, Texas
A Houston-area superintendent threatened to suspend students who walked out of class to protest gun laws, according to the Houston Chronicle.
LIVE NOW: Students at Clint Small Middle School in SW Austin walk out in protest of gun violence in schools bit.ly/2yNo3en
Minnesota
At least two high schools in the Rochester, Minnesota, public schools system staged protests, according to local media.
Michigan
Across Ann Arbor, high schoolers left class for between 17 minutes and 30 minutes in memory of the students killed at Stoneman Douglas High School, local media reported.
“We had a lot of death in Ann Arbor last year, students-wise. … Each one of those lives affected the entirety of Ann Arbor,” Bree Linton, 17, a senior at Community High School told MLive. “I can’t imagine 17 in a few hours, all from one kid.”
Cleveland
Students in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio, also staged a protest rally in front of the school.
Lakewood High School students protest in Lakewood, Ohio. Photo courtesy: Rebecca Parch
PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins compiled more protests in this Twitter thread.
PBS NewsHour’s Dan Cooney reported for this story.
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