Student protests against gun violence erupt nationwide
- Students across the nation walked out of school on Wednesday to protest gun violence
- Gun violence is the leading cause of death for American children and teens
- Missouri state rep: "We need common-sense gun legislation, not bleed kits in schools"
Anti-gun demonstrators protest at the Tennessee Capitol for stricter gun laws in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 3, 2023. – Students were encouraged by an anti-gun violence group to walk out of classrooms at 10:13 AM, the same time police say a transgender person entered The Covenant School beginning an attack in which three young children and three adults were killed last week at a private Christian school in Nashville. (Photo by John Amis / AFP) (Photo by JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Thousands of students nationwide, fed up with a lack of action beyond the offering of “thoughts and prayers” after tragedies, are walking out of school on Wednesday to protest gun violence.
Students Demand Action, a group of young activists, has organized a nationwide walkout at schools for students to protest against gun violence and school shootings. The walkout was planned for Wednesday at noon local time.
“It’s #WalkOutWednesday and students across the country are walking out of their schools to protest gun violence. We need to pass common-sense gun legislation, not account for bleed kits in schools,” Missouri state Rep. Donna Baringer tweeted.
Those participating in the walkout are demanding action from lawmakers to make a change to gun laws and to address gun violence.
The CDC has reported that gun violence is the leading cause of death for American children and teens. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 39 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 17 deaths and 30 injuries, according to research data from Everytown.
Everytown reported that the last school year was the deadliest year on record for incidents of gunfire on school grounds.
On Tuesday, students at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, were forced to endure a hard lockdown after reports surfaced of a student with a gun on campus. Just nine months ago to the day, many of those students were running for their lives when a gunman opened fire during a Fourth of July parade in the northern suburb of Chicago, killing six.
Last week, three students and three adults were killed when a gunman sprayed bullets at a private elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
The shooting at The Covenant School sparked student protests in the Tennessee Capitol on Thursday, where students flooded the Tennessee State Capitol to demand change. Inside the Senate Chamber, chanting could be heard through the door, while state troopers tried to control the crowd.
“Angry,” is how Linda McFadyen-Ketchum, Tennessee chapter leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, described the feeling during the protest. “There’s a time for tears. I don’t have any more tears. I’m angry, and a lot of people there were angry. I didn’t see much emotion. It was, ‘Fix this, there are things that we can do. Fix this.’”
This year, Republicans have been moving to loosen gun laws in Tennessee. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, Tennessee has the 10th highest rate of gun deaths.
Democratic state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson faced possible expulsion for taking to the front of the House and chanting back and forth with gun control supporters who packed the gallery.
The student protests in Nashville continued on Monday.
Organizers called for students to walk out of their classes Monday at 10:13 a.m. and head to the Capitol for action on gun violence in Tennessee.
March for Our Lives, a nonprofit group advocating for action on gun violence formed after the 2018 Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, called for Nashville students to walk out of their classrooms to “demand gun safety” of their legislators.
After the walkout, students, parents, and other supporters gathered at the Tennessee Capitol to protest.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced new funding for school security Monday, including $140 million for public schools to hire school resource officers and highly trained guards, a new grant fund for both public and nonpublic schools and increased mental health funding. It marked the first live public comments for the governor since the private elementary school shooting.
One thing the governor did not mention specifically was any kind of gun control. Instead, the governor said there was a “serious conversation need about school safety.”
When asked if he would support a gun control measure known as a “red flag” law, Lee said one thing everyone could probably agree on was that “a person who is a threat to themselves or a threat to others should not have access to weapons,” but said he wanted to find a way to accomplish that without infringing on constitutional rights.
But as students protested against gun violence in Nashville, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday allowing Floridians to be able to carry concealed guns without a permit.
The governor’s only immediate public comment was, “Constitutional Carry is in the books,” which he said in a three-paragraph news release.
The arguments over the legislation were divided along political lines, with Republicans saying law-abiding citizens have a right to carry guns and protect themselves.
However, Democrats and gun safety advocates — pointing to mass shootings in Florida like the massacre at the 2016 Pulse nightclub in Orlando and the deadly 2018 shooting in Parkland — say the new law will only make the state more dangerous.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WKRN contributed to this report.