I'm so proud of our new generation. They are more morally tuned than our generation.
I'm so hopeful that they'll bring changes to this world that we have failed to deliver.
Let's not stand in their way. Instead, let's help them.
3
Today it suddenly dawned on me that the vision of a hundred hundred white supremacists in Charlottesville can be erased by the vision of tens of thousands of wonderful teenagers all over the US. I feel optimistic again. See you at the ralley on March 24. See you as we work to get people out to vote. I already brought it up in my classes.
3
i live in Canada and even a good 50 students up here myself included walked out
4
Wouldn't it be lovely if there was similar dedication to having the riskiest drivers on the road put down their cell phones and stop texting? As horrible as the shootings are, far more are killed/injured by these dedicated youngsters than are victims of gun violence.
I miss the 70's - I was not even born in that decade.
Proud of this next generation of young people. Protest and bring about change.
2
Well, American high schoolers don’t study much anyway, or do they?
This is such an insanely emotional time. I find myself feeling such intense emotions over what's going on in the world, from snow in March to ignored slavery in Libya, to Parkland, the list goes on. So much to be frustrated about; so much to feel helpless about; so much to feel silenced about because the bruises left by all of these events, even the small ones, start as tiny bruises and end up as wounds. But the walkout, the voices of young people all over the country coming together to take a stand, in a time when all we hear about is how apathetic, selfish, violent and depressed they are, is a reminder that young people can make a difference. In history, young people all over the world, from Soweto to Tiananmen Square have indeed made a difference, lest we forget. As an educator and as a mother of three, I am inspired by those who came before and by those who are in the trenches now. You inspire me to keep my eyes on the Prize. Push on, young people. Push on.
2
Last time we saw such protestation by our youth was Viet Nam.
So we do need a wall! Not on the border but one in Washington, right next to the Capitol building, with the names of all those innocent victims slaughtered in mass shootings in our "free" country.
Make these cowardly lawmakers who are afraid of the NRA walk past this "Wall of Grief" every day.
2
I think it's a silver lining that our youth have responded to tragedy this way. Gun violence at school was something I never had to think about during my years at a public school. My top fears were 1. missing the bus 2. forgetting my lunch/homework/gym clothes 3. not being ready for the quiz/test 4. being properly attired - clothes, hairstyle 5. that stupid term paper or essay that's due 6. being unprepared for interscholastic competition 7. social issues like whether my friend is avoiding me, should I run for student council, etc. In short, violence wasn't on my radar. I'd like to see the return to a time when kids are preoccupied with school activities and socialization, not violence.
3
Yes, Thank the Students for their involvement, The Republican Establishment has much to fear as these students will be of voting age come 2020.
1
Gun owners should be in the vanguard for gun control!! If you're a responsible gun owner, as most gun owners claim, then you should not want guns so easily available to just anyone. I'm a gun owner, and I support much much more rigid regulations around gun ownership, maybe similar to what they do in Japan.
2
Please take note that there are many places where children would have been punished with suspension, even expulsion, in the very red states. I was shocked to see a facebook friend share the threat to her child of expulsion. I saw another teacher who scheduled an impromptu test for which every student that missed would receive an F. I guess that is one way to take away first amendment rights to guarantee run away second amendment rights as they see them.
2
The NRA and gun advocates reaction to all of this reminds me of the reaction that addicts have when you say that you are going to take away their drugs.
Hurling insults, stomping feet, gnashing teeth, basically just throwing a temper tantrum. Is it possible that a significant portion of the country is simply addicted to firearms?
And Trumps video game violence conference, what a joke. I'm surprised that the NRA's slippery slope argument doesn't reach so far as to "banning firearms in video games is an assault on the second amendment rights of video game players," or the equally as absurd "banning guns in video games will be more effective than banning guns in real life."
1
Thank God for these young people!
1
By now, instead of reporting "thousands" of students walked out, surely we can get more accurate numbers. Was it 3,000 or 23,000?
For many of these students, this was the first time that they did something outside the box in terms of regulations and expectations. No. there were fears of attack & various rumors to overcome. These young people deserve coverage that's substantial. Not generalities.
I remember preparing to go to my first anti-Vietnam War March in Washington under the Nixon Administration. it was scary!
These kids deserve credit for taking action..
No doubt they would like the numbers, also.
2
How about these students advocating that themselves and their peers start acting like responsible young adults who condemn members of their generation for acting like 3 year olds throwing tantrums for attention by shooting up schools? You know condemn the same self-centered celebrity hunting selfish personality types that are now bullhorn preaching like holier than thou democrats about how much they "care", and how law abiding (racist) citizens ought to give up rights so they can "feel safe" while indulging in juvenile fantasies until they are 21?
1
Ok children..GREAT JOB! Ha;) Punished for walking out?
Like..being cut to pieces with an assault rifle? That's just too much..
Look kiddies..keep pushing. Ignore ALL the adults, especially your parents..
We have shown you that we just do not care about your lives.
Want to live?
Look out for yourselves..
The life you save..will be YOURS!
Do not trust us. Not me. Not your school, not your parents.
Trust yourselves:)
Never go back..
3
Surely this event could be described as hundreds of thousands or millions marched. It was not just thousands. Saying thousands marched minimizes what really happened yesterday.
6
Honor those murdered in Florida by a mental patient OR anti gun march organized by the left?
1
"Thousands" of students doesn't seem like an accurate quantification of the scale of what transpired on March 14 School Walkout Day. I live in Boulder, CO and we had thousands here in our city, but across the country I can imagine it added up to hundreds of thousands or even millions. Why has no news outlet improved the quantification of the scale of crowds in their reporting?
6
Walkout? or Protest?
On February 14th, this tragic shooting happened and when I heard about this my first thoughts were, AGAIN. School shootings have happened way too much and needs to stop. In the article a student stated, "you see different types of violence going on," "we all want a good community and we all want to make a change." This statement means a lot to this student who's brother was killed in the Florida shooting. This statement has been said a lot but since then nothing has been done or changed to fix this problem.
We had our walkout yesterday and I did not participate in it. When I heard we were doing one and all we do is go out and stand for 17 minutes for each member that passed away I was excited. I really wanted everyone to go out and come together as one school. Yesterday morning I found out that instead of doing that we were going to have a chaotic protest. I and some others decided to stay back and watch from upstairs. As the group got together many stood on our large bench. All holding posters and megaphones. As soon as 10 a.m rolled around they started chanting, "Enough is Enough." This yelling and chanting lasted the whole 17 minutes. We all watched as if a magician was doing a trick. Then the thought of, I thought we were gonna be silent for 17 minutes, came to my mind. I was very disappointed in the way this turned out.
My prayers went out to everyone and their families. I hope that something will be changed so that this stuff will stop.
Just an update to correct potentially incorrect assumptions based on the map of student protests by state that accompanies this article. The map shows no student protests in Texas -- but as the grandmother of 3 Texas students -- aged 14, 12 and 9 -- in a district southwest of Houston, I know their school district -- and perhaps all of Texas schools -- are out on a spring break. My daughter assures me that she and many of her friends would have joined in the national protest for safer schools and gun control if school had been in session.
7
Yes, Austin area schools are also on spring break, and the high school kids I know also said they would have participated, had school been in session.
2
NRA=GOP=DEATH
3
Add them up - from the first shooting to the present day and make it the headline on every newspaper every day until the hooligans in congress are shamed into doing something about it. Every day . . . until this ends.
4
Tomorrow's leaders today! Keep it up, young people!!!
7
I can't believe this is not a lead story. Its buried on the bottom left. This is more important than Easter Island.
5
It will likely do no good. The NRA controls Congress. The latest bill getting support up there isn’t going to limit any guns. It’s just another attempt by a dysfunctional congress to shut down the protests, make the public forget about it, and give the NRA what they want done — which is nothing.
4
Schools are for learning, not for promoting political agendas. I doubt the NYTs would do much as even acknowledge a student walkout in support of an unborn child’s right to life (or insert any conservative position you don’t like here instead). I’d rather see schools teach our children to have in-depth discussions on hot social topics in a class room setting than see them encourage kids to break the rules, disrupt schools, and walk out on their staff and teachers. Of course, a story with that spin would sell less papers and garner fewer online clicks.
2
Governor Cuomo has called for all schools who punished kids, teachers and faculty for participating in the Walk Out to rescind the punishments. Governor Cuomo is on the right side of history. Thank you Governor Cuomo!
https://www.timesunion.com/7day-state/article/Cuomo-calls-on-state-Ed-De...
6
Teenager students of the United States of America....
The time for you to RISE has come.
RISE!!!
5
What a good group of honorable students they are to stand against the NRA and weak republicans who have become blind to the wishes of the majority of Americans for gun control .
5
How many of these kids feel so strongly about this to give up ANY time over Spring Break to protest? A couple dozen. Let's be honest, this was a chance to miss some school. Most really don't care especially those far away.
You are incorrect. I suggest that critics talk to students who were involved and watch videos of student speakers to understand their aims. Most students walked out for only 17 minutes of school, but they put in plenty of their own time to organize events, learn about issues, and prepare for future action. I have no doubt they will continue to use their own time for positive change. Why not join them.
1
Good for all the young Americans who stood up to the establishment, including their school administrators and local officials in some cases, to express their views on this all-important issue. Keep protesting, speaking up, speaking out, marching and refusing to accept the status quo! Gun violence has reached epidemic levels in our society. I welcome the leadership of these young Americans -- my fellow citizens.
8
These young people are amazing. They are our future leaders and they give me great hope!! STAY STRONG!!!
4
Nice march. But why wait for a long and protracted federal-level answer to this issue? Or waste time with a bad idea like arming teachers? Right now, each community and local school board could decide whether or not to hire security personnel for its schools. Add the cost to local property taxes. Forget the big picture; the answer is right where you live. It's the only actionable solution.
These courageous, clear thinking young people renew my faith, and so I renew this proposal.
Replace Congress with 535 randomly selected members of high school student body councils assigned randomly to the seats in the House and Senate.
If we don't want to or can't do it for real, do it as a test. Let the two congresses meet simultaneously, even for just one session, and see how they do.
The youngsters will accomplish miracles. You watch!
4
If we are ever going to have sane and sensible gun laws, it would have to be through sustained efforts of our young people. Thrills me to my bones to see their energy, enthusiasm, and idealism. They, we all, owe it to our kids, who have been mowed down in schools, to wage this war to the very end. Time has come to push NRA to its place and put out of jobs all those members who act as its paid mercenaries in our state and federal legislatures.
Yes, Enough Is Enough.
4
I'm so proud of this movement. When the collective will of the people is greater than the NRA's stranglehold on OUR elected officials, the American people will enjoy a safer public realm, free from this scourge of mass shootings.
2
Have read that the House passed a bill, sending it to the Senate, re: how to identify and notify others of possible shooters in schools. BUT is it true that a provision was inserted that allows concealed carry across state lines????
A friend and I simply could not stand to stay home and watch these strong, courageous, smart young people stand up for their lives and common sense so we went to a local "minority" school in our area and stood with them. There were probably 100 or so students there, and a sprinkling of adults who were there to support them, as the young woman who organized the walk-out read the names of the people killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school. The press was there, talking to the students.
It felt good to support their effort. It feels good to know there is a new batch of civilly conscious young people getting ready to lead OUR United States of America out of the darkness that has pervaded us.
WE THE PEOPLE must support each other as we fight like hell to preserve/restore true democracy in OUR United States of America. Social and Economic equity for ALL Americans.
20
A national high school protest movement is unprecedented. Going back to the 1950s when I was in high school, I don't remember anything like this from our high schools. Some high school students participated in the Viet Nam was protests, but those were organized by college students. There are many high school students who participate in the annual Roe v. Wade anti-abortion protests, but those are organized by the Catholic Church, and many Catholic schools just empty into buses to come to Washington for the march to the Capitol building. I hope these kids keep it up, because nothing else has worked to reduce the proliferation of guns or to reduce gun violence. Maybe our Congress will respond to pleas from our children.
8
If my children were still in school, they would have both my permission and my blessing to leave school for a peaceful protest. As both a parent and former teacher, I am extremely proud of these young people. Those of us who grew up in the 60s/70s know how powerful youthful activism can be. And I have nothing but disdain for those criticizing them. I know many 16 year-olds who are more informed and engaged than their parents. In a country where the majority of voting-age Americans don't even bother to vote, I hope this is the beginning of a new wave of activism that will become a lifelong habit for the next generation.
18
Think. Elimentary schools should include gun safety classes in their curriculum. Teachers are there to mold tge character of their students and prepare them fir lufe in a dangerous world. That includes teaching them how to bear arms safely … and identifying character flaws that could lead them to bare arms recklessly. Gun safety education has saved many lives by teaching youth how to handle guns safely. Keep our rights but prepare our kids to exercise those rights safely. Think. That’s the solution to school safety.
Kids were injured yesterday by a trained cop and gun safety "expert" during a gun safety class when the gun went off. No thanks. Get rid of the guns instead.
3
Nobody needs a military style assault weapon unless he is planning a massacre. The AR15 is not for deer hunting. It’s for slaughtering humans in seconds.
4
maybe a little more on the coodinators of "the first major coordinated action"...the who, what and why that j-school said we ought to answer for in our reporting.
the drift of the day, rather toward gun control (already blown past rational debate by the adults the kids were addressing) and away from school security (measures that can be taken forthwith even as the bermuda triangle of issues, gun control, mental health and cultural change continues to keep us captive) suggests the need for some parsing...how about it?
Very cool to see the large scale of this walkout. As a high school teacher, school shootings are very rattling. However, I would have liked to see this be more active and less passive - perhaps students could have gone to library and spent the 17 minutes handwriting a letter to their congressperson or break out into groups to identify safety risks they notice in their building. I wanted to actively DO something that could possibly help keep my students safe in the event of a school intruder, so I designed and built a simple device that could help secure the door. Then I filmed a how-to video to show how other teachers can make one for their own room: https://youtu.be/mWWjGne8HIs
2
This grassroot uprising is definitely a sign of health and of optimism! The young are showing the way of common sense and decency. Let them lead the way...
7
Hooray for whatever generation this is! They seem to have their priorities straight.
6
Mostly uniformed, all lacking real world experience, very few offering any kind of workable solutions. Don't walk out and protest and complain about a problem. Stay put, get educated, work within you localities and states and offer reasonable SOLUTIONS to problems. It is like they are walking out "because cancer is bad and kills people, fix it!!"
Some of the best advice I can give anyone for getting things done is to no come with complaints and problems, come with well informed potential solutions to problems.
If you would only listen you would know. We want to bring back the ban on military style assault weapons.
4
Being shot at, having friends murdered in front of your face, at school, is a very real world experience.
30,000 kids dead since Sandy Hook. Open you eyes to the real world these kids live in.
3
Re: "In the one-school rural community of Potosi, Wis. ... one student, a female freshman, left the building alone."
We find heroes everywhere.
16
The passions of youth are always impressive. But so is the quick burnout. I'm entirely on the side of these kids and their crusade, but as a practical political matter, they will need to have these marches relentlessly for YEARS--just like MLK--to change the politics of guns in America. Frankly, I don't think they have it in them. And neither does the patient, geezerly NRA, which is just laughing at them now as a pathetic flash in the pan. We shall see.
2
Two things.
1) GOOD FOR THESE STUDENTS! They should voice their displeasure with the corrupt system they are inheriting. Protesting is perhaps the last MEANINGFUL right we as citizens have to counter the unjust powerful .
2) TAKE A STAND! We, as citizens, MUST stand up for our right to be heard. We must take a stand against the ignorance in our nation that has swallowed the divisive tripe that the right-wing leadership has been feeding our media. They have distorted the constitution to make it fit into an agenda that is clearly spearheaded by the the hard right NRA.
3) Educate yourselves (without delusion) to the reality of what is happening in our nation today. The people are no longer in control once they have surrendered the sometimes daunting task of deciphering the oftentimes narrow views of select news outlets. READ AND EDUCATE YOURSELVES! Clear your minds of preconceptions and read left and right wing news both nationally and internationally. Get a balanced view before reacting. This is an era where vigilance is a must.
2
This is the wrong medium. Walking out of your school may seem symbolic or somehow make kids feel that they are supporting what happened in FL, it really just gives approval from educators and administrators to say 'hey, you don't like something, just walk out.' And worse, some students (e.g. HS in TN, and others) used this as an opportunity to destroy property and attack authority (e.g. police).
Is that what we're trying to teach our kids?! This is more than unacceptable, it was organized and pushed by WomensMarch.com. Unreal. And does nothing to stop gun violence, bullying, or mental illness. Nothing.
1
If it were not for civil disobedience we would still live in a segregated society where women can’t vote (like when the second amendment was written). A “walk out” has nothing to do with walking away from problems, and everything to do with facing them head on.
I applaud all these brave young people and feel disgusted to my core by anyone who dares to try and put them down.
3
In case you haven’t heard, the massacre in Florida was the result of multiple failures by Federal, State and Local Governments.
The schools failed, the local police failed, the Florida state bureaucracy failed, the officer on duty failed, the FBI failed. The government's first duty is protecting citizens. They failed. Ultimately, citizens have to defend themselves. Yet the same government officials who failed to protect us are saying we don't have a right to do that.
How is gun control working out in Chicago? How about Mexico?
2
Nobody needs a military style assault weapon unless he is planning a massacre.
4
Empty gesture - walking out. What am I supposed to think? Yet another false flag event generated by the Russians?
These teens lack the money and the voting power to influence legislatures to make changes. Saying - we will register and vote when we are 18, yeah right. Just try to pull yourselves away from your phone apps, on-line games and porn...
You will see the greatest wave of activism is history from these fearless young men and woman.
2
Give these young people some credit. They have witnessed the slaughter of 17 friends in their classroom. Oh yes. The iPhone. These young people texted their parents to say “I love you “ for the last time.
3
If you are in high school, listen up! When you get to voting age, vote! And vote the scoundrels who won't do anything about guns, the ones who take big campaign dollars from the NRA, vote them out! And when you become adults, run for office. Do something dramatic about the heinous policies of the government administrations you might not have been aware of while you were growing up: Stop deporting immigrants who have lived most of their lives in the U.S., and have contributed to our economy. They are your brothers and sisters. Stop discrimination against minority groups, LGBTAs, and transgenders. They are your brothers and sisters. Stop the underfunding of education. Stop making it harder to get out of poverty. Stop homelessness. Institute regulations that allow for dirty air, dirty water, dirty manufacturing. It's going to be your world. Take control of it. Make it a glorious one. We started to, then Donald happened. Don't let this degradation of your world happen again.
8
Brave young women and men, hang on, your courage and perseverance may pay off, as you have in front of you sold-out politicians, cowards and hypocrites that must be forced into a straightjacket of 'prudence' (doing what's right in spite of the N.R.A.'s 'criminal' behavior, control and greed). The first amendment must take precedence over the second.
4
The Republicans appear to value their NRA more than they value the safety of their children.
7
This ol’ anti-war codger is glad to see that Yet Another Generation of you young people have decided to act like adults- waking up your parents to the danger of their silence.
Keep it in your hearts and heads that this is your country, and as soon as you get the vote, start putting it back together.
Don’t EVER do what too many of my fellow Boomers didBoomers did: shut up and sell out - ignore those in pain and devote lives to getting rich. There are many things more important than personal finance.
Once again a big Right On, now show us the way home!
4
I am so proud of these kids! Watch our NRA, the future is coming up right behind you...
5
I read about an idiot stewardess that forced a passenger to place their puppy in the overhead bin during a flight. The puppy died. Needless to say, I'd be heartbroken, too, if it was my puppy. And, of course, animals should be protected. So, the outcome, immediately on this news another idiot, a politician, decided to bring a bill before Congress to protect animals. Thousands of people, children, men and women, have died due to gun violence. Don't you believe that a bill to protect our children and citizens from gun violence should have been presented to Congress before the bill to protect animals on airplanes? What gives. I guess the mothers in this country will have to form a political support group, MAGs, Mothers Against Guns, and shame the politicians into getting off their sorry behinds and finally show some interest in eliminating gun violence. What a sorry state we're in when the politicians who we vote for won't, or don't want to, protect the citizens.
4
NRA why have you paid Congress to stop CDC from studying gun violence. Afraid of the science? You are not alone Trump is too... on any subject.
Every single generation has betrayed their children by voting for politicians in the pay of the NRA's funders... the gun-and-murder industry. Time to stop. Whiny Millennials who were too busy tweeting to vote against Trump, guns r you.
NRA #nolivesmatter
3
I applaud each & every student who walked out yesterday but know that their job is not done. They must keep up the pressure if they truly seek change. They must be joined by their parents, neighbors, teachers, in other words concerned adults. I remember that the youth in my generation participated in Freedom Rides, Lunch Counter Sit ins & Voter Registration. We did affect change. Hopefully this fight will be won & someday when confronted by a law enforcement officer for passively resisting an arbitrary injustice they will hear "Hey lady this isn't 2018"
8
Students don't organize nationwide protests. If they did, think what issues they would protest about.
Competition in elite schools by international students.
Disruptive students in their learning environment.
Poorly performing teachers and administrators.
Diversion of academic money to sports.
Mandatory irrelevant tests.
Maybe you can think of other issues.
But you don't see any nationwide protests on these or any subjects.
Magically though, students organized on the issue of gun control and almost all of the students agreed and it was truly nationwide. First swing and it was a grand slam homerun.
Maybe it wasn't students who led these protests.
5
This is the way you think ...not the way students think ..methinks.
3
You point being what, exactly? That students think testing is on a par with getting shot? That who organizes a protest determines the merit of the cause? Or are you insinuating that the students are mindless tools of others? Any of these would be lame and insulting. Treating guns as more important than people's lives is worth protesting, by whoever organizes and participates.
7
It was actually organized by the Women’s March, Planned Parenthood, and moveon.org. That’s how it became about gun control.
A more “presidential” occupant of the Oval Office might have said something like, “While I disagree with the premise that more gun control would change things, I admire the spunk and commitment of our youth. I wish them well as they move into adulthood.”
5
The NYT says they are protesting gun violence, not guns.
It is really disheartening to see so many children allow themselves to be used as political pawns for a policy that will surely lead to more death, more rape and more crime. I'm quite certain most just wanted an excuse to get out of class. However, I still can't imagine the amount of indoctrination necessary to destroy the critical thinking necessary to identify the irony in asking for more government control of firearms, when it's gun control that leaves these schools defenseless in the first place, and it was government failure top to bottom, left to right, that facilitated the tragedy in Parkland, even as it unfolded. Children know inherently that it's not right to punish innocent people for the actions of the guilty, yet here they are demanding just that.
3
Nobody needs a military style assault weapon unless he is planning a massacre. Because that is the sole purpose of the AR15. Slaughter. These young people think their lives are more important than your precious AR15.
3
Raising taxes on guns and ammo just because they are guns and ammo would be an "infringement". Moreover, to deny a U.S. citizen who has reached the age of consent (See 26th Amendment) their natural right to life and to its protection thereof is unconstitutional via Heller v. District of Columbia (2008) 554 U.S. 570.
1
You don’t need a military style assault weapon to protect yourself. When will children’s lives become more important than your AR15?
2
Many more thousands -- the majority, actually -- didn't leave their classes. Where is their story?
4
There is no story in the flat terrain of the docile. Majorities do not lead.
3
My husband is a teacher and he asked some of his students why they participated in the walk out. Not one of them knew it had anything to do with gun control. They all thought the walk out was to honor the students who died. I'm willing to bet at least a third of the students across the country, probably more, had no clue what they were doing! It would have been far more productive if students had taken 17 minutes to write a letter to their senator. At least then they would have known what they were fighting for/against.
3
Students from my school marched yesterday and it wasn’t for gun control. The whole point was to simply honor the deaths of the 17 victims. We had no intention on making a gun control statement.
3
That female freshman who walked out alone in Potosi, Wisconsin, is one courageous individual. I think she is my newest hero!
15
Your map is missing protests across Montana, including over a quarter of the student body at a couple of Billings high schools, right in the middle of gun country.
7
Thank you for calling out Montana - and let's add many middle and elementary schools to the list too...it's horrific that civic consciousness, and a keen sense of tenuous mortality, are so widespread among our children because gun companies and their pocketed politicians promote and sell weapons that murder children (I don't even call the NRA out separately on that list-they ARE gun company salespeople.)
5
These are the future voters and leaders of our nation and if the GOP and NRA don't listen to them, then both of them will be out of business very shortly.
5
And the Democrats have proposed what?
They have at least proposed gun legislation like we have in Massachusetts, but even that needs to go further.
1
Some Democrats want to bring back the ban on military style assault weapons.
1
I heard a caller to C-Span's Washington Journal this morning actually say teachers were threatening to lower students' grades if they didn't march! Where do these people get their "facts?" C-Span's moderators have the patience of Job!
Thank you, children of America, for leading us.
6
Sorry, kids. Most of what you learn about ethics, fall out the window in the real world outside school. For example, NRA has the money, thus the power, and grown ups worried about their political career&livelihoods, have their hands pretty much tied. Grownup voters without any money power have already tried, but failed to gain enough emotional pull to worry the politicians. So you kids are the ones left to have to stand up and try to give the politicos another reason besides the NRA money to care about their careers. Make the most of it.
Oh I don't know. Perhaps these kids represent an "unstoppable force" that will render the NRA and their congressional lackeys "movable."
6
Will the upcoming protests be focused on how incompetent school administrators and school boards have been in protecting their students since Columbine? I mean 20 years is a long time to "study the matter of school safety."
3
Just a few short years ago a gunman went to Fort Hood Texas military camp and shot up the place and soldiers terribly. At about the same time A gunman shot two cops in a restaurant in the state of Washington who were very armed at the time.
3
The NRA lobbyists have prohibited research on gun violence.
2
"These kids today.." Love 'em! A new generation of political activists and voters.
6
I just saw where one news outlet (not the NYTimes) said the students were far from voting age. Huh? 75 % are old enough to vote in the next Presidential election. Thank you, Republicans, for giving the Democrats this huge boost in voters.
12
This wasn’t a real protest. All of the school admin promoted the kids to walk out
Personal security varies with age and situation.
The students are correct in demanding that the best can be done, but that best involves a very nuanced handling of mental health and a hardening of the school itself coupled with immediate and creditable counter force.
The mental health failure - students knew Cruz was making strange threats but did no push for action, the police had been called about him but had no way to channel him into treatment, the school knew he had behavior issues, expelled him, and there was no way to make him remain in treatment after he passed 18 - needs to be fixed so the goal is to help the person get their act together.
Building access needs limited to be limited and managed. Counter force needs to be immediately available to stop attackers. Staff must be able to react as the event unfolds, and police need to follow the Columbine Protocol - go in immediately with what you have while shots are being heard.
Students - demand a sophisticated and complete solution. Don't demand people not responsible for the security issue to lose the Constitutional Rights that should come to you at 18.
I have personal security needs that are just as low possibility with catastrophic possibilities as you have at 70. My solution is carrying a 9mm handgun 24/365 on the street, and could easily require an AR to protect my home. When you leave school and home the needs change.
4
So you need an assault rifle to protect your home? What third world country do you live in? That's what we are rapidly becoming. People hunkering down with their guns because they have been brainwashed into mistrusting the government and they see everyday citizens as a threat to their well being. All I can say is I am fearful whenever I drive my car. I am afraid some gun carrying macho man will shoot me for a traffic slight. I am a white woman and can only imagine what a black man must feel as he goes out into this world of anger and guns.
12
This is nonsense. Your fears are delusional, I think, and you are completely mistaken that the issue is a school issue.
Schools will be safe only when churches, theaters, night clubs, outdoor concerts, business holiday parties, workers in Fort Hood, airport lobbies, street corners, restaurants are all safe.
Every shooting involves a gun.
It’s the guns.
Everyone with mental health problems can’t be identified or locked up.
Every public place cannot have armed guards and be hardened.
You need your household AR15 only because you fear that someone will attack you with one of them. This is only a rational fear if you are a mafioso bigwig.
Please turn off your TV for a few days and walk around your city parks.
The world is only scary if everyone else is carrying a weapon.
It’s the guns.
15
" Don't demand people not responsible for the security issue to lose the Constitutional Rights that should come to you at 18."
That's quite a stretch. It's already illegal to own a machine gun. Banning AR-15s and high capacity magazines with 30+ rounds is just a logical extension of that, NOT a dismissal of the Second Amendment. Do you have a right to other military style weapons too?
5
I AM SO MOVED by this generation - the future has to bright with these young people at the helm.
2
You know, I'm all for these student protests and hope they succeed. But let's face it, "thousands" is not a very impressive estimate for a supposedly national protest.
1
It has to start somewhere. Rosa Parks was one person that refused to give up her seat and a movement began. These kids have the enthusiasm of youth. I pray they will keep it and inspire adults to follow their lead.
3
So proud of all of those kids who stood up to those who would silence them. This is what Democracy looks like, and the Kids Are Alright!
5
Those students understand what the adult politicians (especially conservatives and Republicans getting their money from the NRA) do not understand. "Thought and prayer" will do nothing to solve the problem of gun violence in schools.
6
Perhaps this is there Viet Nam? Something has to give. Parents, listen to and support your children. They will vote someday and they will determine who takes care of you in your old age.
5
It would have been impressive if they had demonstrated on a Saturday. They don't even realize they're being used by the left.
2
It was a school walkout so follows it’s done when school is in session during the week. The National March For Our Lives is on the Saturday March 24.
9
Just like the Republicans are being used by the NRA.
9
Yeah. Because kids don’t mind being gunned down in school. Too bad the left can’t tolerate the slaughter of our children in schools the way Republicans can. And so easily.
2
You go, kids! The future is yours
7
I was in school in the 60's when the art of student protest was perfected. Its encouraging to see young people who are in a normal state of transition finding a voice on a meaningful issue. It's interesting that the GOP which has pretty much condemned this movement in concessions to the NRA and its alt-right base, seems to have forgotten that these young people will be voting within a year or two.
14
Recent years had darkened my outlook; I’d wondered whether our marches made any difference. But when I see these kids stand up, and the wave of promising young politicians winning office, my faith and optimism in our future are renewed - let us give them a world , still intact, in which they can build their dreams !
10
Young People - There are many, many of us oldsters who are very proud of you and have great faith that you will vote when you can and change all our futures. We thank you for your passion and energy.
16
While I am in awe of the ability of these "kids" to organize, it is right that they lead this fight. I wish they didn't have to, but kids are always doing the fighting to change the status quo. My generation tried to end the Vietnam War and bring racial and gender equality (and that fight is not over). When I saw the marches and commemorations from across the country, I saw the same laser focus on an issue, now mobilized through social media. I will be marching with them in DC on March 24 because I trust the kids to lead the way. If we are to survive, we all have to trust the kids.
10
These are incredible times! Watching news coverage of stoked students speaking out for their lives at the Wisconsin school I attended 30 years ago embodies the sobering timelessness of this moment. Now 2000 miles away, I can still feel the Arctic breeze on those March days... but look at those students, standing up amongst the rest, with youthful vigour yet confronted with blighted hopes to go even to school in peace and safety.
But this is time is different, keep on youth! You are the change, NOW!
Arab Spring, Tianan men, and scores of defining moments in history are led by youths not distracted by previous disappointments, fuelled with enduring ideas to build resilience, and now like Arab Spring, armed with Social Media to collectively shape change. For sure, they will need guidance from NPOs, change leaders, promoters in this campaign. The coolest thing is there is so much these 'adult' organizations can glean from youths, their energy and freshness are infectious. From the news coverage today, it looks like my old high school has not changed. But I can see myself there standing on the frozen tundra, in the cold, holding hands with students, empowered to make Gun Violence History.
5
I suggest, and would fully support, that students do this every month, until there are meaningful changes
8
Sure - because they really don't need an education. What ever happened to Occupy Wall Street?
1
Whatever happened to intelligent discussion where two sides come together for the common good?
3
What they need is to feel safe in school. My granddaughter in Spain is not afraid of getting gunned down in school.
1
"Indeed, several protests were canceled because of threats of the same kind of violence the students were demonstrating against."
Yesterday at my high school, police carried out an investigation after being alerted to a threat circulating on social media. Luckily, the "threat" turned out to be a misinterpreted statement, and our protest was held as scheduled. I am, however, saddened by the fact that my generation has learned to be hyperaware of (and not surprised by) possibly gun violence. I hope we can inspire and make positive change so that gun violence becomes an anomaly.
7
We can see that local protests and demonstrations quickly reveal the values and attitudes of not just students but their parents who place pressure on the local school boards and the school principal.
Its short sighted to rely only on journalists and elected officials to express moral authority on issues like gun control. It's more effective to encourage organized public demonstrations by both young and not young to express their wishes for their country.
For the future, it will be preferable to conduct demonstrations outside school hours to avoid placing school administrators in the awkward position of judge and jury!
2
There's not a lot of discussion on the ones who destroyed the American flag during their "demonstrations".
This was a free day out of school for the kids and teachers. I bet if the school districts said they would have to come in on Saturday to make up the day most of the students would not be there.
2
Don't know why you think it was a free day. My sister's school missed less than an hour of the days schedule and that seems to be the case across the country.
Your assumption is based on nothing other than perhaps negativity.
2
I bet you are wrong
3
I guess you'll find out on Saturday March 24, March for Our Lives.
2
Interesting it would be perfectly ok for some principals to give early dismissal for kids to walk in a homecoming parade and worship the local athletic department, but not give kids the right to voice their opinion of being scared to death - literally of guns in their schools.
If adults would do something to prevent these kids from being afraid of guns in schools, they wouldn’t have to march.
How many of us adults would be content worrying about losing our lives or our friends for simply going to school?
Principals, superintendents, parents, city administrators - everyone - if you can’t be willing to give young people a voice, you need to do some deep thought reasoning why or why not.
Perhaps “this problem” is about adults way more than it is our youth!
9
Hopefully when they reach the age to vote, they will put their energy to electing legislators who will enact reasonable and effective gun control legislation. I certainly oppose the ability of any citizen to buy an assault weapon.
5
Note; a protest where no one can see you is not a protest but keeping blinders on ones eyes. Of course there were kids on their phones and texting but that is how they may be communicating with those who could not go. Having fun at a rally happens all the time but that is the nature of things. Talking and having fun with friends only can solidify their protest it is called communicating.
3
This morning I was listening to a psychologist/psychiatrist on the radio, and he voiced concern for those students who are not on the side of the political issue underlying the walk-outs. He said in one private school, all the students were instructed to participate.
But on the other hand, what about students who wanted to participate, but their schools said 'no'?
I am not sure students should take part in organized activism during the school day; there is ample time before school and after school.
And of course, there is the troubling issue of manipulating students. Do the supporters of the walk-outs support them because of the politics, or, the support comes from supporting speech? Are the non-supporters of the walk-outs in that position because they do not support the underlying politics, or, they are not in support of student activism during the school day?
1
@Steve Brown: And then there is the troubling issue of school districts attempting to limit their students' right to assemble in peaceful protest. I was in Missouri last week when the highly conservative school district in a highly conservative area sent out a notice to parents that any walkouts would not be tolerated.
My liberal sister-in-law was furious that the school district would attempt to intimidate and punish students for exercising their first amendment rights to assemble in peaceful protest.
Apparently, other conservative-leaning school districts across the country attempted to interfere in the same way. It's disgusting that the adult pawns of the gun industry and the NRA think it is just fine to abrogate other people's right to protest in favor of regulating the gun industry and banning many of its products.
But these days making money clearly trumps everyone's right to live unafraid of being shot by a gun-toting fool. The right-wing's behavior is unconscionable, and those school administrators should be ashamed of themselves.
2
Allison: Thanks for taking the time to read and to respond to my post.
The issue with districts that did not allow students to march is part of the reason why I do not support the walk-outs during school time. It is not clear to me if these no-walk-out districts are "no's" because of the politics, but would have supported walk-outs, if the politics were the "right" kind?
And for those districts that supported the walk-outs, would they have supported the walk-outs, if the politics were the "wrong" kind?
No matter where one comes down here, I think it is exploiting students, if the walk-out is supported during the school day.
While I applaud the students for their initiative, their argument is far too simplistic and one-sided. Our Constitution guarantees the right of a citizen of the United States to own a gun (bear arms). Period. I genuinely don't believe that the 2nd Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, is going to ever be repealed nor should it be. They lack a uniform solution to the problem that addresses both a citizens right to own a gun vs safety. The attention is great but the furor will die down and it will go back to business as usual by summer.
3
It could just as easily be said that the pro-gun side argument is "far too simplistic and one-sided"
4
I'm perfectly in favor of you having the right to own a gun. But only if there's an enforced requirement that your gun be locked in a regulated armory, where you can go at any time and practice shooting. The gun stays there.
It's the guns that make us unsafe, all of us. Your gun does not make you safe. But your gun makes all of us more unsafe.
Your nuanced viewpoint fall to pieces when there are kids bleeding to death, in front of other kids, in a classroom. It falls to pieces in the concert venue in Las Vegas, where everyone is trying to find cover from clouds of second amendment rights raining down on them from above. From a guy who would not have been caught in a mental health net, of a background check net, to the best of our knowledge at this time.
1
Nope. Automatic rifles are guns. There are no automatic rifles manufactured or imported into the U.S. Existing automatic riles are tightly regulated. There is a structural difference between a semi and full-auto rifle, but functionally they are similar. Legal grounds for banning the manufacture and sale of all military-grade weapons, and registration of all existing weapons, is rock solid.
2
At the 950-student middle/high school where I work, about 40 students met at the flagpole for 17 minutes and prayed for protection and positive action. Our school allowed it, then watched them peacefully return to class. Though there was no media coverage, kids felt empowered; learning continued; forward we go.
5
While student dissent certainly holds a noble spot in our history, we need to keep in mind that a disturbing number of school shooters come from their own ranks. Something to reflect on after the news cycle shifts.
2
There will always be kids with problems that want to lash out. In the past they slashed tires or threw eggs. Now they can purchase an assault rifle and get even quickly, with little thought to consequences.
1
My rep. To the Senate, Mitch McConnell has stated that money is speech. He has helped to convince the Supreme Court that this lie is true. The consequence of this self fulfilling prophecy is evident when thousands of young people gather before their "representatives" to beg for their lives, but Mitch and his cronies can only hear the "speech" of the NRA.
4
This is not a grass roots movement led by students but a nationally sponsored movement by the Progressive Wing of Democratic Party and other parties who don't believe individuals have the right to protect themselves against criminals or out of control government.
Urging or giving aid to underage students leaving school is definitely illegal. At a minimum it is endangering the welfare of a minor.
Any adult who can be shown to have encouraged these students should be charged. Any school employee or government worker who encouraged these students should be fired.
2
This sounds like an official GOP response. So much for free speech.
3
Have you ever tried to get a teenager to do anything? I doubt the Dems hold any sway over these students. They are just tired of the fear and anxiety they experience at school because our nation is awash in guns.
The laws need to be changed. What we have today is definitely not a "well regulated militia".
3
Well, I think I'm part of the progressive wing of the Democratic party. If there really was such an organization, it would have been flooding my inbox with opportunities to donate to this cause.
While my inbox was flooded with Democratic donation opportunities yesterday (and every day) not a single one has mentioned this "movement."
You sir, are misled or mistaken.
And it's probably a mistake to think that Democrats can actually "organize" much of anything. It's not our strong suit.
1
Don't worry, some NRA lobbyist said to another yesterday, this anger won't last as long as our money. And, sadly, he or she is probably right.
As long as the media is unwilling to publish the horrifying photographs of the aftermath of these mass killings at churches, schools, and public places, the anger won't last.
I know that in newsrooms across this country, the issue has been discussed, and dismissed for whatever reasons prevail, but if it were me or my child, it would be hard, but the world needs to see the carnage caused by the NRA and the politicians whose votes it has purchased with campaign contributions.
6
The most important weapon these students have is not the mass demonstrations, rather it's their vote. Many may be able to vote as soon as this November's election. It's the duty of the Democratic party to encourage and organize these young voters as the only way to loosen the NRA grip' on our current elected officials is through the ballot box.
4
My middle schooler came home and told me he walked out today because he hates guns - he said his friend who left science class with him didn't know anything about gun laws, though. "he said he just doesn't want to get shot."
It's not somewhere else anymore.
There are 300 million guns in this country and the NRA and GOP are trying to sell more and more -
by twisting the minds of potential buyers with hatred and paranoia to create demand. They've been making our country unrecognizable.
Today, hearing about the students' actions, it felt a little more recognizable - a little more sane living here. Because these students showed they know the difference between right and wrong. The politicians with their NRA straight A report cards need to listen to those who know better.
7
The US military and the NRA are funding JROTC in schools. They are hardly innocent in the culture of war, the development of a belief in military actions over non-violence, and the actual provision of guns in schools. Can we protest that as well, or will reverence for the military keep everyone silent?
7
What a wonderful and powerful expression of passionate politics by our young people. Our Senate, Congress and President have let them down aggregiously in the name of power, greed and selfishness. I pray this is just the beginning of a sustained movement.
6
I'm so proud of you all for walking out and for making a statement, for letting this administration know that you want change. These are the best years of your life and you should not have to be afraid to go to school. All 18 year olds should register to vote the law makers who don't care about you out of their jobs.
7
please check your numbers and change your headline. Nearly 1000 students walked out at our local high school in the Quad cities. Earning thousands walked out here. The number must be close to 100,000 nation wide if not pushing 1 million. “Thousands” is a low number, and downplays the effort. Surely the times can get a better number and a headline that reflects the true number against guns.
4
It is good to hear of these anti-gun protests. Let’s not lose steam! Our very lives depend on abolishing the NRA that is holding us at gun point.
We absolutely must get these weapons of war off the streets and out of the hands of every man, woman and child. There is not and never has been any reason for assault rifles to be in the hands of the citizenry. We have the police and military. These weapons are their Arsenal. They are our militia.
7
...And my generation thought duck and roll was against the threat of nuclear war. Never did we think it would be for something more threatening and conventional.
2
The students are right, but the truth is that gun control of any type is impossible to implement, so long as the GOP controls Congress. They will stall and lie, and nothing will change. The NRA is the Republican Party .
5
Let's test your assertion in November.
1
kids shouldn't have to leave their classrooms to protest for their lives. Yet I'm glad they did. It's the best civic lesson possible.
7
Heartfelt thanks to students.
4
The people who organized these teenage protests were adults with an association to the Woman's March. This was largely a left-wing gathering attended by those from the Democrat party. This event was funded by liberals as part of their progressive agenda. At times, it appeared to be like a large block party. It will be interesting to see what results come from their efforts. I wonder what Conor Lamb, the Democrat winner of PA, feels about these protests? He is a staunch supporter of gun rights.
At some parochial schools across the country, the students attended prayer services for the victims. This was a respectful tribute to those who died in the recent Florida massacre. These students wanted to show their sorrow In a peaceful way. It was dignified and a lovely display of solidarity among the participants. They should be proud of their behavior.
It's not "sorrow." It's anger, quite justifiable in light of the fact that the "grownups" failed to protect them.
5
More "thoughts and Prayers"? "Respecting" the memory in nice,
1
All of these anti-Republican comments prove the partisan nature of the walkouts. You opened the door to numerous student walkouts on issues you will not appreciate. Better not complain about the content of the message. Free speech has to go both ways.
1
The real issue is guns. Not people. People kill people with GUNS. So let us not make the same mistake as we did with big tobacco. We went half way with tobacco and now they are coming back with vengeance, so many youth and adults are smoking again. We should target the guns and go all the way till we get rid of them, else the hydra's head will emerge again.
3
What the young people and their allies like me are facing is an organization/NRA that uses Fear of having your guns taken away. As long as both sides are literally enslaved by this mindset we need to use the power of persuasion to see that those fears are misplaced. Tell me that the NRA is not a Terrorist Organization that uses fear to draw in their followers. We must disarm the fearmongers perhaps with humor that the fearful emotions of clinging to human killing machines doesn’t make any sense. That emotion is at the heart of the NRAs power and we must dissipate it to get to the rational mind and the empathetic heart.
3
16% of voters aged 18 to 29 voted in the last midterm election. Protests need to be turned into votes.
6
My generation protested war. And failed. Miserably. Here’s hoping that this generation is smarter and remains more genuine than mine was. Scrub guns out of America’s culture in a similar way that smoking has been increasingly marginalized. Start by rejecting it from our gun-saturated entertainment world. Good luck, kids!
3
To my own teenagers and all students in the U.S. - keep this up! Keep protesting, don't give up! And as soon as you can, VOTE!
4
One criticism of your opening paragraph.... When a mass shooting occurs, news services initially report on the dead and wounded. But after a few weeks, the wounded are forgotten. All mention of those whose bodies were forever damaged is dropped. Please don't forget the wounded in your reporting of these incidents.
3
THE REVOLT OF YOUTH Is once again emerging about 50 years after the massive demonstrations in the US against the war in Vietnam and protesting racial discrimination. As Barack Obama observed in his message after the school shootings, he supported the uprising of the youth, as that's how change happens. Now families have a common enemy to rally against: The NRA-ist terrorists, the #1 threat to US Homeland Security, and their trademark gun violence. I had despaired, as a Senior Boomer Child of the Sixties of the lack of resolve of the people to speak out and protest oppression, injustice and violence. But it took yet another slaughter of the innocents--innocents slain by a severely mentally disturbed murderer--to galvanize public resolve. To paraphrase a Spanish refrain, A People United Cannot be Defeated!
3
I was truly overwhelmed watching these teens exercise their Constitutional rights! These young people renewed my faith in humankind and democracy. They are doing what we adults refuse to do: take to the streets and hold our elected officials responsible for prostituting themselves to the NRA to keep their jobs.
These politicians do not care about any of us. Well, unless we have lots of money to give them or these dark money groups! The majority of the NRA's politicians still have the gall to make their ridiculous arguments for not creating a background check system for all firearms sales, or for not banning assault weapons that were engineered to kill people, not squirrels or deer!
The day is very near when NRA politicians will no longer exist. Our children will not stand for it. The NRA & those that do their bidding will forever have blood on their hands for failing our children.
4
I hope these students maintain their passion and energy moving forward. Not since the Civil Rights and AntiWar movements of the 1960's has there been such political enthusiasm. But I warn these "radicals". You have many, many obstacles in your path. If your flame does not get blown out by the winds of apathy, there are many in this country who will try and extinguish it. You saw victory in the legislative halls of Florida. But you also face the cowards in the legislative bodies of Washington DC who have done nothing to protect anyone since Columbine. Nowhere else in the world do so many die while those who could do something only enact laws that exacerbate the problem. So please recognize that each step you take, each syllable you utter, and each tear you shed will seem like it has significance to others in a position to do something when it does not. You must stay the course as the families and friends of the Newtown massacre have done. When it seems to be for naught. You must heed the cry of the mothers of slain children on the streets of Chicago. And not fall to the temptation of complacency. Because there are hundreds of thousands of future victims of gun violence, both at the hands of others and by their own, who need someone, anyone to hear their cries and come to their aid. Do not give up. Trump, the NRA, Ryan, and McConnell are betting you do. PROVE THEM WRONG.
4
You could have held this march on a Saturday without taking away a kids day of learning but Noooo. You had to make it a tax dollar funded day and thereby just opened the door for revisiting the SCHOOL VOUCHER system. Just when I think there might be hope for libs, they act on emotion rather than reason.
1
The protest was an effort to call attention to "school" violence, not Saturday morning cartoons. It was 17 minutes and, in the vast majority of districts, well organized, to the point, respectful, and not the whole day. Using this event, seems to be a sad way to express your own bias against school funding. Please, with the hyperbole.
6
Stick around for next Saturday, Kadun.
And "who," exactly is "you?" Where was this "organized?"
My grandaughter's school did this in response to kids in that school, who were responding to the kids from Parkland. Good for the kids.
If the "libs" had been organizing it, I can guarantee I would have been deluged with requests to "donate." No such deluge occurred.
Open your eyes, and perhaps your heart, to the pain those kids have experienced, and other kids fear--that all of us fear when we gather in church, or baseball stadiums, or wherever we gather.
No action has been taken. Our government has failed in its most basic function--the security of its people.
2
Remember the US murder and the rate for many other crimes has over 50% since 1980 thanks to tougher sentencing laws.
Congratulations to the protestors—young and old. The License to kill that was wrongly granted to the NRA must be cancelled. The weapons of war they have promoted should be collected, bought up for use by the police and the military only.
The rich money mongers of the NRA must retire and the NRA abolished. Freedom is not a gun. Freedom is public safety: attending public gatherings without fear, going to school without fear, walking downtown without fear, and peace of mind!
5
Here in Pennsylvania we stood up we care for those who died guns don't shoot people. people shoot people so make it stop
“Those kids today.” (Are outstanding)
4
Shame on the officials in Lafayette Parish. Of course there was a political motive as there should be when 325 million citizens are being held hostage by a gun club.
5
How about a day without smart phones to register a protest. Connect with reality.
Students supported this protest action as far away as Dunedin, New Zealand...
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/pupils-circle-protest-against-gun-vio...
5
This is not what I want my tax dollars paying for. If these kids want to regurgitate leftist propaganda they can do it on the weekend on their own time. Also, someone with some intelligence need to inform these kids that spreading gross misrepresentations about the guns they want banned and labeling law abiding tax paying citizens murderers and terrorists, they will never be taken seriously and will never acheive their goals. They will only be viewed as ignorant uniformed children whith no credibility.
1
Keep in mind that many of those "children" will be eligible to vote in the 2020 election, and maybe even the 2018 midterms. Their political inclinations represent the rising force that will drive this country in the not so distant future.
3
I'm not concerned when it comes to the second amendment they will still be in the minority and maybe by then will shed their indoctrinated ideas and emotions and learned to think more critically.
Perhaps you can direct your tax dollars to the care of those wounded by gun violence. Perhaps your tax dollars could fund one less soldier in the field protecting our sacred right to other peoples' oil and minerals. Please tell us, what would you prefer your tax dollars to do for these kids, other than work to protect their safety, to urge our Congress to make laws to actually protect all of us from the random violence of guns in the hands of angry people?
1
Oh lord - the New York Times doesn't get it: The narrative has changed and yet the NYT still tentatively reports on the protest. The NRA is no longer in control of the narrative, the GOP is no longer in control of the narrative, the NYT is not in control of the narrative. If you can't report with a bit of passion - perhaps you simply need to GET OUT OF THE WAY! A change is coming . . . or rather the change is upon us.
Children don’t matter it seems. Doesn’t matter to Trump or the GOP.
They totally don’t care and believe that no one but they have power. Anything that occurs even today with teachers with guns they see as collateral damage. Children’s lives don’t matter and you and I don’t matter to them. Money money power payback is their mantra. No humanity, no god, no love, and nothing but pain for America and Americans are marginalized.
The U. S. is seen by the world as led by a mercurial ignorant mad hatter.
2
So they send thousands of kids out into the public where any deranged person can do a mass slaughter? No wonder US students have one of the lowest education rankings in the world - they're lead by idiots. Time for an executive branch decision: School Vouchers!
Oh Kadun, that's what happens every single day at the end of school. We send them out into the cruel dangerous world.
1
When our government leaders act like children, And our children act like
Leaders...you just know real change is comin!!
Rise up!!
4
Tweets like these,
“I’ll control my own guns, thank you. #2A #NRA,”
atop a photo of an AR-15, make it clear that the NRA and its activists support anarchy over the rule of law.
Maurice F. Baggiano, Member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court
5
There is NO individual right to bear military-style weapons under our Constitution, only a collective right to do so by our militias.
The prefatory words of the Second Amendment state,
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, ***"
In the Heller case -- the landmark individual right-to-bear-arms case -- Scalia concluded that these prefatory words were essentially superfluous. As he put it,
"The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause."
But his reasoning went against a primary tenet of statutory/constitutional interpretation: that every word of a law should be given effect if possible. As a consequence, the Heller holding and its implications are overly broad.
In essence, Scalia unhitched the cart -- the prefatory clause -- from the horse -- the operative clause -- and ever since the latter has run wild. Our Founders and the authors of the Constitution were not superfluous. Maybe they knew better than Scalia and the rest of the Court's Majority in the Heller decision and that's why the authors of the Constitution hitched the cart to that horse in the first place . . . .
The holding in Heller can and should be challenged to narrow its scope. It is time to rein in that wild horse.
The purpose of the Second Amendment was to help ensure public safety not destroy it.
Maurice F. Baggiano,
Member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court
9
If the gun murder problem could be mitigated and controlled without gun control the liberals, including the liberal press like the NYT, would fight it. They don’t care about stopping the violence. They want gun control, no matter what. It suits them to have the violence continue until they can force through gun control, and if they got it and the violence continued they wouldn’t care or do what was necessary to stop it.
The NYT isn’t reporting another mass murder by another military man, an Air Force airman, who killed his wife and children and then himself yesterday in Washington state. This follows the military veteran taking hostages and then killing them a few days ago in California. Nikolas Cruz was not in the military but he was in the JROTC and wanted to be in the military, had spoken to a recruiter and was living with a military family. He was obsessed with combat video games and was preoccupied with death and killing.
But the NYT already knows this obvious commmonality with so many mass murders but they don’t want to disrupt the gun control agenda.
I bet they won’t even post my comment.
Hats off to America's future, who deserve to be heard, seen, respected. And for responsible adults to stand with them every step of the way. See you March 24th!
32
These tens of thousands of beautiful children gathered to mourn the child victims of gun violence. Then they imagined a different world of peace and no violence. Adults passing themselves of as leaders shrugged their shoulders and said the NRA has the plan to back.
30
We, the people, must take back our country from all those who want to go ahead with business as usual after so many horrific mass shootings.
23
Security begins with trust. If there is no trust, there is no security. That is a message that most Americans have lost. Armed to the teeth and building walls is a strategy only for a weak people with no trust. The strong don't need those things but cowards do. Guns and walls show fear of each other, other nations and institutions. What kind of freedom do you have when you are locked in your own home with your gun because you are afraid to go outside and face the world? Guns never provide security, it's only an illusion. I hope it is an illusion that American will out grow soon. There were less guns when America "was great" so to be "great again" guns should be put back in the closet where they belong or destroyed. So American which will you choose, guns and fear or no guns and strength?
26
What an awesome set of comments!! Touche!
2
Shame on any schools who punished these kids for doing the right thing. They moved the needle in Florida legislation. They are trying to move it nationally. If the feds don't want to listen, then the kids and all of us should make them with our votes this November. All those on the NRA payroll should be thrown out of office.
29
I participated in my school’s walkout and it felt amazing. I was amazed at the huge turnout despite the principal’s threats of suspension.
He said that walking out made us a target for any crazy with a gun. I understand his fears but l also think the mear fact that we could be in danger for something like that is why we had to do it.
When I told my mother that I was doing the walkout she tried to disuade me for the same reason that administrators did. I love her for caring about me, but I know that what I did was right and I’m glad I did it.
I am 17 but I have already signed up to vote so when my birthday comes around I can do my part. I can only hope that others do the same.
166
Thank you, Bonnie
3
Your citizenship and your spirit are amazing and inspiring! Never let go of BOTH!
We're all counting on you! Don't forget that in democracy, *you* are responsible for the government and the policies, and you must not let anybody deprive you of that responsibility and privilege. You took an important, courageous step today towards making your community and world a better place, and I hope and believe it will be the first of many!
Again, keep it up!
4
Wow. A 17-year-old subscriber to the Times!
These kids, not full adults with much in the way or rights at the moment, are free to give up their own rights all they want, but are not free to take away mine. The fact that the cops cowered behind their cars and behind buildings should bring home to everyone why we are an armed society, and why the Founders framed it that way; because nobody will protect you when the chips are down besides yourself.
Also, many more people have died to defend the right to bear arms than have died in school shootings, so I value that contribution much more.
5
Your active right to carry a weapon should not take precedence over my passive right to not be put in harm’s way. If you want a gun to protect your home, fine. But when you bring a loaded weapon into a public space, my security suddenly and without my choice becomes dependent on your skills, your judgement, your sanity, your meds, your mood, your political views. Your right to protect yourself does not give you the right to force me into your personal “security zone.”
4
When oh when will folks stop listening to the NRA rhetoric and propaganda? Some say that the left is fed propaganda, and while sure, some of what some of the left believes IS alarmist malarkey, wouldn't it stand to reason that the same is likely for the right...that they too are often fed over-the-top alarmist malarkey?
No one wants to 'take away the right' for folks to arm themselves...to protect themselves. But an AR? I'm sorry. Those are decidedly not for 'protection'. A limitless arsenal of weapons and ammo, a la Stephen Paddock? I'm sorry. It is not anyone's 'right' to unlimited, unfettered access to weaponry. What exactly is it that some people think they need protecting from, and in what form...to what degree? And if anyone wants to go back to that 'tyrannical govt' argument, I can assure you that all the civilian 'militia' combined, along with their arsenals of weapons, will be no match for whatever a supposed 'suddenly tyrannical US govt' will be capable of unleashing on you.
No one is proposing taking away your precious second amendment rights. All we want is sensible gun control and an end to military assault weapon ownership. I want to live in this free country, not in a military, armed and feared country.
2
These teens are more responsible and "adult" than the members of Congress and the judiciary. The latter have long since sold out our kids, our laws, and a rational reading of the 2nd Amendment to the NRA and gun lobbies in exchange for their 30 pieces of silver. The teenagers of the US are taking a moment to speak truth to power. There is no higher use of educational time if even one of these kids is saved from dying an unnecessary, violent death.
22
And marching is not enough. I wish someone would post the names of every single elected official who directly or indirectly via PACs accept money from the NRA. We, who say that we went to change the gun laws would be faced with a stark choice: continue to elect and re-elect them or not. And if every last one of them is in the pay of the NRA we find others who are not.
Without this, nothing will change. And the answer to the "am I next" question on the placards held by some of our children is "yes, you are."
17
How do we get that list? Let’s post it
2
In Iowa, Russell Reiter, superintendent of the Oskaloosa Community School District...said that “students here are just not interested in what is going on in bigger cities.”
They will be if their school is shot up. This isn't a big city vs. rural town issue. ANY school can become "that school."
18
The first thing that came to my mind when students transformed into instant activists after the Parkland shooting was that, besides it being impressive and brave, it had one "drawback:" It made us, the adults, look stupid, incompetent, and whimpish. And I still think that. They are putting us all to shame with their energy and resolve. But I also feel vindicated.
For years I took teenagers' side when they were belittled by their jaded "elders." Don't adults remember what it's like to be young? This new episode in history should put the endless criticizing and moralizing to rest.
I am so proud of these kids. They are able to do great things, some of which we also should have done.
97
These young people represent the best of America, and will be the generation that finally takes our country back from the forces of greed and self-interest. They will outlive and replace the corporate-crony judges currently on the bench, pass legislation that our current government sees as being at odds with its own vested interests, and, yes, make America great again.
15
Secure the schools properly at all costs. This is a security issue. The gun debate like the mental health debate is a separate discussion. Guns and crazy people aren’t going away so let’s take realistic steps to protect school children.
3
I'm hearing folks say, you should honor those who were killed but not bring up gun regulation. Can you imagine: you should honor the soldiers killed in Vietnam, but don't bring up ending the war.
89
I hate to be asked to "honor soldiers" and be told we should not discuss ending war.
1
Angry young white boys shooting up schools while angry old white men militarize the government, the police & the schools.
Something is very very wrong .
Underneath it all. the issue is bigger than the NRA, the lobbyists, the bought and paid for politicians, the antiquated 2nd Amendment.
We have a mental health problem in the US and these kids are more acutely aware of it than the adults.
14
Supporting Donald Trump and handing $1.5 trillion to multi-millionaires wasn't a big enough stain on the Republican Party?, now some of them are actually attacking students for their activism in trying to prevent mass killings? How can reasonable people continue to support such a party?
18
It was inspiring today to see so many young ladies and men in front of the Capital building today voicing their demand for their inalienable right to life.
The blizzard up North that kept me in Washington DC until late Wednesday evening was good fortune. Although just for the last few speakers, I was able to stand with these good kids, they being of all stripes and colors.
Walking from Union Station towards the Capitol Building, many hundreds had begun to make their way back to their schools or wherever, their homemade handmade signs still visible. Thinking it I had missed everything, I was pleasantly surprised to see probably 500 or so still gathered around the podium with several speakers remaining.
It was an honor to see and hear John Lewis, the last of the speakers. He noted that he was as young as most in attendance when he first met Rosa Parks and later Martin Luther King.
I was as young as they when I was first detained by Miltary Police for protesting the Vietnam War, 8/16/1970. Today, I feel as if I had a little sip from the Fountain of Youth. I’m looking forward to some big gulps down the line.
83
It is an abject embarrassment to our country that children have to step up to lead, because too many adults have lost all sensible perspective on a common sense problem that should not be political.
But, here we are. Go kids - we need you, a majority of us support you, and many of us will be there with you every step of the way.
18
And remember kids...you’re only a couple of years away from voting age.
When your time comes ...GET OUT AND VOTE! Have a zero tolerance for the current level of obfuscation, complacency, lack of engagement , etc.
Keep up your activism!
3
We need to listen to our children. Our children are our future.
Yes, protect kids, not guns!
Abolish the Second Amendment NOW and remove all firearms from our society, We must do this -- that means everyone. No guns for cops nor military. No guns!
Let us make Peace Through Understanding our national mantra and guiding light.
Listen to our children, please, Mr. Trump and Members of Congress!
3
Dear Trump: Crossfire between armed teachers and armed crazies will still kill school kids. CROSSFIRE DOES NOT WORK! Do not arm teachers. Instead, ban assault weapons!
9
I believe it was students that began organizing protests against Vietnam.
With that in mind I would not expect these actions to lose steam or be easily appeased.
To those letter writers criticizing these children,spare us your drivel,you can be sure the early protests fifty years ago were also met with scorn.
9
If you want to protest. Protest after school.
1
You go protest after school. want attention? Make the adults think. Except you sir.
You get a pass.
3
Why? The goal of a protest is to raise awareness. By doing it during school hours they have accomplished this goal.
3
So impressed by the youth of America.
8
Can't wait until these kids can vote!
11
Please don't stop! You young Americans HAVE to do a better job than we old folks did! March on! Demonstrate on!
10
Protesting against the NRA is one thing - to focus it protests should name and shame NRA office bearers and members
4
In our memorial today, two of us lost relatives to school shootings, a colleague was in another and one girl's godparents survived the Vegas shooting. Wake up, America, sooner or later this could affect anyone of you, conservative or liberal.
5
Repeal the 2nd amendment. Monied interests and demented hobbyists have distorted its meaning beyond any reasonable interpretation.
7
In 1995 the NRA squashed Congress investigation into gun violence and since then SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND people in the U.S.A. have died by gun. Do you as a nation put so little value on your citizens lives?
93
We are a sick society. The NRA has bought off the politicians. And the politicians do their bidding. Most people here want gun control. However, the GOP will not allow it. They all have blood on their hands.
We are hoping that 2018 will be a good election for Democrats so that legislation can be passed. Then we only have to hope that our joke of a president signs it.
2
I was wondering when the old anti-Vietnam chant would be adapted for these times.
"Hey, Hey, NRA, how many kids did you kill today?"
It should become the kids' national mantra.
I have lots of new heroes today. I don't know any of their names and I doubt many of them are over the age of 20, but they deserve and have earned my respect and admiration.
97
Today’s protesters, tomorrow’s voters !!
Power to the people !!
American Highschoolers Rock!
9
The Republican Party chooses our children or chooses the NRA and allied firearms enthusiasts. Can't have it both ways.
4
This is great to see. It reminds me of participating in a high school protest and walk-out in 1970 after students at Kent State in Ohio were murdered on campus. After all these years, guns still do not belong on school grounds.
I hope people listen to these kids. They are as smart about guns and violence as we ever were....
7
Releasing balloons is not so smart.
2
Anyone remember the "students" of the 60's? Finally, maybe they found a unifying cause... of great merit... up there with civil rights and the Vietnam War. Hope they have the stamina to see this through.
12
It is very difficult for a man to understand an argument when his lively hood depends on him not understanding it.
How many bought politicians are going to bite the hand that gets them elected?
5
It would be fantastic if our elected officials governed based on the will of the people, and not their desire to get reelected.
7
Today I drooped by my daughters high school, she graduated in 2007, in support of the student walkout. I now have hope for the future. Generation Z and the Millennials, will change the world. This Boomer is happy and very proud of them. Watch out America.. They are not giving up!
12
Children being used by adults for political purposes, nothing to celebrate. Why are the adults ignoring the Broward County Sherrif's office for dropping the ball on the shooter? That is where the fault for this tragedy lives.
4
This is a student-led movement. How do I know? I teach high school. I spend every day with these kids.
7
Wrong. Adults being controlled by gun lobbyists and propaganda arms.
5
I challenge you to confront these students and tell them to their faces they are being used by adults.
3
Children. Wiser than we. Good for them!
8
What percentage of walkout participants knows the indisputable truth that school kids, even in these times, are incredibly safe vis-a-vis school shootings. A school kid is more than 100 times more likely to be killed in other ways, and more than 50 times more likely to be killed in a vehicular accident. Suicide, guns *not* in schools, drugs, drowning, flu, and even sports, *each* kills way more students than school shootings. (See see http://time.com/5168272/how-many-school-shootings/ and https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_04.pdf .)
That said, I am *for* an near-total ban on semi-automatic firearms and support youth's First Amendment and other civil and legal rights. I just think what our kids should be taught the truth. Telling them they are correct in fearing for their lives from lightning-strike-order of rarity is dishonest, as is telling them that their activism is pure and not ensconced in adult politics, where unseemly goings-on are found on both sides of the political spectrum.
3
What is unseemly about the push for sensible gun laws?
3
In other developed nations school children don't have to fear less that they'll die in school shootings than by other means, they don't have to fear it at all. Is that not preferable?
And you mention suicide. Countless studies have shown that having easy access to a gun (one in the home, barely any barriers to purchase) increases the chances of suicide substantially.
I think our kids know exactly what they're talking about.
1
There is nothing unseemly about the push for sensible gun laws. Re-read my post. What is unseemly is (1) the fact that the identified leadership of the lead support organization for the national walkout event comprises -- three out of four of them -- comprises those who identify with the racist, Jew-hating bigot Louis Farrakhan and decline to disavow him or only reluctantly do so; and (2) that a big little lie is being promulgated around this movement, abetted by the media, that kids are rational to fear being victims of a school shooting. They are not; they are more likely to die of the flu.
As an avid hunter and owner of hunting guns, the NRA does not represent me. Most sportsmen I know do not play with military guns as a hobby - this is a different crowd. Google recoil magazine. These are not hunters.
Assault weapons are not designed for hunting. They are designed to kill lots of people - very fast. There is no need for civilians to have them. As an old farmer in our community said over coffee today, “We don’t need those army guns.” All the farmers around the table knocked in agreement.
49
Thank you Gordon
We need gun sensible owners like you to speak out who can differentiate themselves from the irrational propaganda coming from the NRA .
It’s time for politicians to do the right thing .
9
Gordon, thank you. All like-minded
1
Gordon- Nice try. I've hunted all my life. Any rifle can kill you deader than canned tuna in a hot second, and you know that. Doesn't matter if it's a .22 cal target rifle (like the AR-15) or your gran-pappy's 30-06. By the way- that means .30 cal of 1906... an ARMY gun. Now you use it commonly for hunting. Next up.. the .308 Winchester. ALSO a military cartridge. AND you commonly use that for hunting also. Maybe you're gonna say you hunt with a .30-40 Krag. It's older than the old farmers sitting around your table. And... it's ALSO called the .30 Government. Yep... an ARMY gun.
So, Gordon, are you prepared to give up ALL your deer rifles? Or are you going to admit that ALL of the Bill of Rights is worth defending?
God bless these young people. Some words of advice to them: This is your time. Don't trust anyone over 30.
13
Trump's retreat from gun control because of "lacking political support" says that he only cares about politics and not about what is best to help US citizens. Sad.
10
I am tired of my calculus teacher telling my class that he will die for us. Where the hidden key to the closet is. How to break open the window when he's crouched by the door waiting for a gunman so we can run. These are conversations we should never have to have.
The adults in our community belittled our desire for safety on the town social media pages because they prioritize ownership of their assault rifles over our safety. We walked out anyway, in silence and with mourning and anger in our hearts.
195
Right on.
1
Good for you! Stay strong, committed, and keep up the fight against ignorance!
1
Good for you! Don't stop there!!!! This country needs you to lead as we have sorely lost our way.
1
Supporters of the Second Amendment might shrug and say that the occasional mass shooting is the price we need to pay if they are to keep their guns. These people are content as long as it your kids and not their kids paying the price. Which I suspect is the crux of the problem. Unfortunately there are now more guns than children in America.
11
It’s worth noting that, given current NRA policy positions, being a responsible gun owner and supporting the NRA are two mutually exclusive concepts. We need responsible gun owners to stand up to the despicable NRA leaders who are placing gun manufacturers financial interests ahead of our children and Countrymen, not to mention ahead of facts and common sense
20
What do you propose we do to cut the NRA off at the knees? Shame only galvanizes their fury.
One idea:
We need sane, reasonable gun owners like you to take a public stand on gun control, and build a strong coalition of gun proponents who believe that we have a gun epidemic in our country. The louder you speak, the more who will follow.
Gun owners’ silence is deafening. Where are you when our children - our country - cry out for your voices? You need to be heard.
11
Every student who marches needs to demand that their own parents quit the NRA and sell or destroy all their ASSAULT rifles. The parents can keep their other guns and still vote Republican, but they cannot support the corrupt Gun Lobby-dominated NRA and they cannot pretend that private citizen assault rifles would have EVER been OK with our founding fathers. Students, this is how you can make a big difference. Talk to your parents.
15
I’ve never posted to NYTimes but may I just say how very proud I am of the students and of our country. Students across the country were able to let their voices be heard by walking out of classes and demonstrating - they weren’t arrested, beaten or kept from being good citizens. Their parents, schools,and police all worked to ensure that that could do so in relative safety. This was a perfect exhibition of what makes our country strong - first amendment free speech questioning the extent of our embrace of the second amendment, all done peacefully. Kudos to the students, schools, police and our communities, but mostly - kudos to our constitution.
20
I used to think that children were not mature enough to comment on adult issues. How wrong I was - these kids are demonstrating how mature and educated they are and how they grasp the issues that we face today. more than grown adults do. Support and respect for these kids, they know what they want and they deserve to get it. It's their future, not ours. Respect them, they can change the world.
14
Let's see if our leaders take action this time.
8
Isn’t interesting that being the USA an impressive country, always reacts instead of preventing. I assume is the idiosyncrasy this is also visible with health care. How many more children have to be horrendously be killed for politicians to stand against the NRA?
7
Anybody else crying when watching the video? It's inspirational, truly, but so, so sad.
6
All power to the kids. Just be sure to repeat closer to November 6th. Because one thing is sure, the NRA will be around scaring the law makers until Nov 6th. Hopefully the kids will scare them even more.
12
I love Love LOVE these brave children! May they triumph over the forces of darkness that threaten all of them.
17
US should ban guns like every other countries do. I wonder how such horrific incidents could be ignored by money.
5
To the students and the teachers who supported them: Good for you. Keep the momentum going. To the school administrators who threatened disciplinary action against students who participated: Shame on you. What are you trying to teach young people, when you forbid them this opportunity to be active, responsible agents of change? Why deny them the chance to feel a flicker of hope for their own futures? 17 minutes. That's all they wanted.
11
We learned that students from Cobb County in Georgia are going to be punished for participating in the walkout. After so many deaths? Heartless.
14
Perhaps a Bill to reshape the 2nd Amendment should be created, and all Representatives and Senators who have taken money from the NRA should be suspended until the voting is completed and binding.
12
I commend these kids for standing up for what is right. How long have we as Americans turned a blind eye to the crimes in the inner cities and have them passed off as 'gang and gang' and do nothing? It is well past time that if we say we care about all people that we mean it. If there is a solution to the violence in schools then surely there must be a solution within the homes and lives of troubled kids everywhere. It is incredible that youth are now doing what adults should have done in this country long ago. Its not simply assault weapons (although they are certainly a major part of it), its a tear in the fabric of our society. When injustice and tragedy involve the death of innocent children none are worse than the other. Hopefully this is a moment when we can start to change many of the things in our society that are remnants of past racism, social bias, and giant lobbyists. It is time to quite turning a blind eye and wake up.
To find and fix the problems in the world you cannot focus on who suffers, but rather who profits.
6
After blocking traffic during the morning commute many of these protesters boarded the MTA bus laughing and joking about how happy they were to get the rest of the day off. I don't know. When it comes to teenagers, where there is an excuse to avoid work, they will take it. It didn't seem to matter to them what they were protesting.
4
Wait until November when these young adults whom you demean turn their laughter into votes; votes that will purge Republicans (and a few NRA-beholden Democrats) from office. If you think they were laughing on the bus, their laughter yet to come will deafen you.
2
So sorry to hear they held up your morning commute, Peter. That must have been very trying for you. I'm sure the families of all those impacted by gun violence pity you deeply.
I don't know what school those kids went to that, according to you, gave them the rest of the day off, but that's the school's business/problem/issue to address. All other things aside, I think most teenagers would very much object to your broad characterization of all of them as lazy good-for-nothings on a constant hunt to get out of work. That wasn't me when I was a teenager, and it wasn't anyone I knew either. However, since I've crossed over into grown-up territory, I've come across a number of adults who seem to have made it their life's work to avoid work. Given the thankless inaction we've seen in Congress lately, it appears some of those adults have taken up residence there, so please spare me your whine about how the kids aren't all right because they held up your MTA bus. (Speaking of buses, you were on one in NYC: this couldn't have been the first morning where it got stuck in some sort of traffic snarl). The kids are more than all right, Peter: they are the adults in the room these days.
8
Shame on you. Teenagers are deployed in combat in our wars every day to save your freedom but you think they are lazy and are not old enough to express their views.
4
While I've tried contacting various march organizers (via social media) to humbly offer some ideas, I'm also going to put them here, in case the right persons see them and consider any useful.
Focus on end goal. What exactly do we hope to accomplish, and how? Simply preaching to choir, while nice, will not have as much impact as taking additional steps:
1) include speakers who are themselves, gun-owners. Ex-military, law enforcement, hunters, gun 'enthusiasts', but who are for reasonable reform. This type of speaker is most likely to be 'heard' by the other side, and their opinions even 'considered'.
2) speeches should focus first on the 'similarities' of the people from both sides of this debate. We are all American. All love this country. And, surely we all want to decrease number of gun deaths. That right there is a start.
3) choice of music should not be downplayed, to create unity vs divisiveness, 'American-ness', peace, moving forward. 'Man in the Mirror', 'A Change is Gonna Come', 'Born in the USA', 'Star Spangled Banner' etc.
4) grassroots approach encouraging folks from both sides to be open to actual speaking to those from the other side, at upcoming rallies. Start by introducing self, ask for their name, where they are from. Don't focus so much on 'changing minds' right out of the gate. We must have first have actual Conversations. It must begin there.
8
God bless these kids. I'm impatient to see them working inside the Capitol instead of protesting outside it.
12
Thank you. You are our country's leaders in this very important struggle. As an older person, I'm ashamed that we couldn't have done more. But you bring new hope. Please don't give up this fight, and we will follow you and back you up.
12
Can anyone answer this question - For a student graduating from high school this year, how many children have been killed by guns in the USA during their lifetime?
5
I found the following: 1998-2015, ages 0-24: over 38,000.
1
Too many.
1
If you going to question the data I researched, at least have the courtesy to post your researched number. At any rate, if it's more than 1 it's too many.
Schools used to be about education. We need a future generation with skills and a knowledge of history. Not, a wandering mob with a political agenda.
7
Well said! Too many people have been taken in by the media and we now have these kids protesting without any knowledge of the constitution and why it was written. Political agendas such as we are seeing today are very dangerous and the long term harm from poorly thought out emotionally charged legislation could very well be the demise of the Constitution. Kids are clueless!
5
Strike “kids” insert “adults” and think about the the recent tax “reform”. Your statement is a predictable template for anything that doesn’t fill in the blank the way you desire. Kids are our future and quite smart. I’m only sorry that they have to be modeling what adults should be doing. They just want to be in school and are tired of being sitting ducks, trapped and waiting with anxiety for more hollow platitudes, or in this case, insults, from people who cannot imagine their reality. Today’s nationwide student led protests? Now we know how they feel. Brilliant. As a parent and teacher I know that only the kids can tell us about their experience. Because we are not them! Kids are empathic and wise. I’m proud of our kids.
4
your knowledge of history is in deficit. we were founded on protest.
3
Don’t listen to the nay sayers. Thing will change, one vote and one mind at a time. Don’t stop speaking out. Vote and compel others to vote. This is a long term struggle. Time and reason are on your side!
8
The so-called educators that threatened to discipline the students aren't true educators. They're just bullies.
13
SO PROUD of our high schoolers.
Don’t give up. You have shown courage most of our reps in Washington lack.
You are the future.
11
Unfortunately, student across the US are deeply misinformed about the insignificance of these crimes in our society. They need to read well past the biased, liberal headlines determined to demonize law abiding gun owners to find real truth.
Being a student is a pretty safe gig. Homicide by firearm affects all age groups, but students to a far lesser degree than others in society.
The total number of mass killing victims per year in the US has been pretty constant for decades- less than 150.
Semi-auto rifles are used in less than 0.5% of homicides by gun. So... they are statistically insignificant.
We cannot become a nation that makes law bases on liberal hyperbole and sensationalized headlines. We need facts.
Children under 15 years old are less than 2% of ALL gun homicide victims, annually, in the US.
Safer schools? Sure.. but banning semi-auto rifles won't get you there.
2
How many shot up class rooms would it take for you to deem it be "significant?"
2
I live in a small town where the gun culture is prevalent. I don't know if the local students demonstrated but in the next largest city to me, Rapid City, they did. This gives me hope that young people can see a way to change our culture of fear. May they persevere as we did in protesting Viet Nam. It is going to take the young people of this country to make a change.
20
Hundreds of schools and thousands of students = tens of students/school.
Are you sure it was that limited.
Your photos suggest significantly larger numbers of students took part.
7
Thank you to these sweet babies for their activism and compassion.
11
We stand with you and will fight for political will to minimize the arrogant and willful ignorance of majority of American citizens.
9
I'm so proud of all these young people participating in todays protest against gun violence. If I were advising them on going forward politically it would be to
research who really runs and funds the NRA. Specifically start calling out the
weapons manufactures as the businesses behind the NRA. Smith and Wesson
for one. These companies cannot make money from shotguns. They need to be
able to sell all the additions they can that turn guns into military style war weapons. Also I couldn't help but notice the snarky comment about Senator Sanders. You said he was screamed at by these students. What I saw was that he was recognized and appreciated by their applause . You know in2020
these kids will be able to vote. And it won't be for some corporate Democrat.
6
National gun sales have gone down since Trump took office. Gun manufacturers need teachers to be armed so they can make up lost revenue.
4
My thought on hearing of the walkout was that if I was a nut with an axe to grind I’d drive by a large school at about 10:02 today.
1
Yeah that was our thought too.
Which is the problem.
2
The “adults in the room” on gun issues are these young people, some grownups, and every other advanced country on earth.
87
I am so very proud of the students that are taking a stand against gun control in this country. I am also so very sad that horrific school shootings have resulted in their need to need to fight for their right to feel safe in school. I’ll never understand the mentality of fighting gun violence with more guns. I just want to say bravo to the students. You are fighting from the heart and you have already achieved more than most “educated” adults.
15
we the adults have failed to safeguard the safety of our children and least we can do is to support the students in every way possible.
17
It's nice for the students, it will make them feel better. Won't actually do anything, but at least they will feel like they are doing some good. It's hard explaining to students that gun accessibility and violence has actually gone down since the 1980s. School shootings are not linked to gun violence, it's the students mental well being. It's only been 20 years since we've gotten so interconnected we hear about what happens the minute it happens. What students should focus on is a much more difficult issue, identifying problem children before they have an outburst. This was done in the Florida school shooter case, but nobody took it seriously enough. If all guns were banned this child would've still gone to that school and killed students. Would he have killed as many, no. But does that make it any better?
3
Too bad facts are inconvenient for proponents of free and unfettered access to weapons of mass killing. The US is the only “modern” country in the world with such an astronomical rate of gun violence. The same societal issues exist in every other similar country. Canada included. Very little differentiates us separated by our artificial border. The facts and statistics are incontrovertible. The difference is that in the US people who are mentally ill or not, have easy access to weapons of mass killing. That is the path of least resistance. The easiest and most deadly path to take for someone who wants to wield power and or kill. There is no buffer to filter someone has mental illness, demented or simply has bad intentions. By all mesure, Trump should not be able to purchase a gun. He has threatened to kill and physically hurt people, and does so every day with his words. But nothing can stop him walking into Walmart and purchasing a gun. That path is not so easy elsewhere. The absence of daily mass killings allows for more space and time to help people in need. Unfortunately innocent people are still murdered and injured, but only a fraction of what does on in the US.
9
If fewer kids were killed becaused deranged killers are less well-armed?
Yes, I'd say that definitely would be better.
2
It is likely that involvement in the protests will inspire them to vote.
1
I think that the main lesson students will derive from this demonstration is that non-violent protest doesn't work against well funded and entrenched opposition. Will they give up and go home as most of us did in the 70s , or will they explore other options?
2
I, too, stand with the students. Faced with the choice of life or death, they choose to put themselves front and center, and say, loudly, never again.
I have waited decades to see the next activist generation ignite. Mine did, in the face of Jim Crow lynchings, the death machine of Viet Nam, the rape of the environment and the burgeoning possibilities of women’s rights.
For a long time it has felt that there was no one willing to grab the baton we’ve longed to pass. Many of the newer generations have chosen to put their focus on less altruistic goals.
But now, in the waning years of my own life, I see the fire of hope, burning bright in the actions of these brave kids. And I say, bravo—and thank you.
It is your world now. Make it better.
18
They gave our kids who walked out for 17 minutes, three day suspensions. It's insane. Some districts have now walked it back, but some are just sticking to stupidity. I wish the media would report on those schools and give them the walk of shame.
38
My heart is at once full of pride watching these young people find their voices to stand up for what is right and full of sadness that they must do so.
12
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'"
Bob Dylan
No one says it better.
32
Perfect response. Maybe the times they are a changin’
1
OK. Any need for discussion? Anybody? Any?
OK. ...
I'm OK..if you already agree with me.
You're OK, if I already agree with you.
The NRA on one side. These KIDS on the other.
The lines are drawn. BOTH SIDES are done with DISCUSSION.
Cause at LEAST ONE SIDE says, WE Will Decide.
And WE are IN this FIGHT to WIN.
OK...School is back in session, tomorrow.
3
At my middle school, my principle threatened anyone who walked out with suspension or worse. I am ashamed to say I caved and decided not to walkout, afraid of the wrath of my parents and my teachers. But the school offered a moment of silenced and things we could send to Parkland. And our state representative came and talked to us. While I did appreciate this opportunity to hear ideas, I wish they would have been nice to hear the real reason why they wouldn't let us out. Words of "safety" were spouted. I just would like someone tell me that they don't like the fact this is about guns too. "My right to feel safe in school is greater than your right to carry a weapon of war. It just is." It's true. I know people will be all, "You're too young", but I listen. I know people want their guns to hunt, and to protect themselves and their family. But do you really need an assault rifle or any semi-automatic weapon to do that? These are weapons of war. Literally! Keep your handguns, and your hunting rifles. All we want is to make sure your are mentally fit to carry those guns. From a personal stance in a school I beg anyone reading this to just try and see my point of view. As an eighth grader with no real say I the world yet, I just want to be able to live long enough until I do. Similar to the towns where tragedy struck, in my town we believe we are detached from the rest of the world and safe. My friends and family are here. Thoughts and prayers won’t protect them. Or me.
44
You have the best principal ever. I'd be ashamed if my students walked out
2
The adults should be ashamed, not you. It's not a choice you should have had to make. Keep up the good work-- sharing your perspective like this is powerful. Remember, even though you're not old enough to vote yet, you're a constituent and your congressional representatives are obligated to act in your best interests too-- don't be afraid to let them know. You're plenty brave and your cowardly administration should be proud of you. Keep your head up.
3
Thank goodness you aren't an educator..And..your principle is a typical adult. They do not care about you kids..duh! Never go back till its fixed!
I was in the walk-out, in the pouring rain and the cold (I forgot my jacket). I was there. And I wasn’t there to encourage congress to do anything, other than find a solution. People who say I, or anyone else, was there to encourage gun restrictions is short-sighted and hasn’t done their research. Or, they are simply sweeping things under the rug for the benefit of their own political agendas. If that’s you, you need to rethink yourself. I was there to pay tribute and to mourn, not to gain political advantage.
10
Thank you Jake. There are many parents and grandparents (me included) who are grateful for your efforts and the same goes for your peers.
Many of you will vote in 2018 and 2020 and those snickering and sneering today will learn a lesson when you become voters.
I am heartened to observe that after protests/marches by Women, we now have protests/marches conducted by Children. We are now, as a country and species, going BEYOND rights and towards the future of humanity.
9
"It is unlikely that officials in Washington will quickly heed the demands of the students."
These young men and women communicate rapidly. Such officials are at peril for their jobs; they better do the right thing.
Bob Dylan's 1964 song sums it up:
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."
4
I was so proud, I cried today! Working in schools for a quarter century, today was the first time in that time, the kids have their heads on straight.
Teenagers as a general rule, have always gotten a bad rap. These kids were organized, articulate, determined and worked in sync with each other, and made one heck of a bold statement.
If this any indication of our future, my fears have been significant eased, and these kids are a force to be reckoned with.
Grown ups and politicians take note. These kids cannot be bought or sold. They simply want to be safe.
Like with any adversary, it’s always the person with the most to lose, that will fight the hardest.
Politicians take note. Parents wipe your tears, smile and hug your child. We all have much to be proud of!
141
The masters of war are fighting hard indeed because they have so much MONEY to lose
1
Indeed: and when these teen agers reach voting age, the adults in their lives must encourage them to register and vote.
1
What is to be proud of? It is easy to walk out, it is easy to complain, it is easy to be 'against' something bad, it is easy to come up with simplistic statements like I see just to the left of me now "Protect Kids, Not Gun." Wow. So profound. Can we next have a walkout because "Cancer is Bad, Fix It."
Be proud when and if any of these kids comes up with some valid solutions to a very, very complex problem and gets them implemented using the framework that we have today in our government. Until then, it is simply a bunch of organized noise.
Last year, in Pennsylvania alone, there were over 100,000 youth and junior hunters out of the classroom and in the woods responsibly using firearms. There were no mass murders. There was no media coverage.
3
Nobody is suggesting a ban on hunting. But you don’t need a military style assault weapon to hunt. The AR15 is solely for the purpose of massacre.
13
And?
Hunters can keep their hunting rifles so long as they register and insure them. There is absolutely no justification for owning an AR 15, a semi-automatic pistol, or any other firearm whose purpose is murder.
11
What’s your point? Do you think that there isn’t a public health problem with gun violence in the US?
7
North Carolina Student, Justin Blackman was the only student at his school to participate. His uploaded video on Twitter has moved the world; He believed
only *six* people might see it- 89,000 have .[https://twitter.com/JustinIBlackman ]
16
We need a better number than “thousands.” A thousand walked out of my school alone. It has to be hundreds of thousands at least. Over a million? Millions? Will the Times try to develop and estimate? It seems like an important part of the story.
15
There will be a bigger turnout on March 24th. It's a Saturday and the schools can't threaten them. Shame on our educators who didn't support today's walkout. They want a nanny state and keep kids on a short controlling leash. That'll teach them youngn's how to behave.
10
We now live in a country where the actions of the adults defies the lessons we try to teach our kids. We have a president whose life is everything we hope our children don't do. We have to explain why the president is being sued by a porn star, why his lawyer paid her off, why he is lying about it while trying to teach our children to have morals and be honest. We teach our children to share and to care for others and be gentle...but the adults of this country live lives based on utter selfishness and lack of empathy for our fellow citizens. The simple reason why gun control is opposed is that lots of people really want their toys (guns) and they do not care who dies as a result as long as they get what they want. It had to come that the children (who are as smart as the rest of us) would see the hypocrisy for what it is as start to act.
Deep down we know what is right and wrong. We were taught as much as children. Its just a lot easier to teach it than to live it and there are a lot of ways to defend selfishness and lack of empathy to avoid too much guilt (say "freedom" don't say - getting what I want no matter the consequences).
21
You live in New York, the Big Apple. No wonder why you believe this, I can see your point though. A lot of people means a lot more crime. Gun Control in NY would actually be necessary, as well as Detroit, Chicago, Miami and other big cities with dense population. But me? I'm a 15 year old living in Central Washington in a town of 8000. My neighbors live around 1000 feet away and we all own 2-75 acres of land. We shoot, build, clean, eat and breathe with guns. Its our lifestyle. Of course we want it. Its OUR LIFESTYLE. Of course I care if someone dies but the way people react to 'oMg gUnS kiLL pEoPLe' kind of makes me... not care as much. I say reinforce restrictions in big cities but let us small town folk get what we want for once. We never get our vote accounted for hardly as the Western side of Washington outnumbers the rest of the state 25:1. The same goes for the country. Eastern US votes outnumber Western votes 50:1. Its hard for us to have our voice heard
1
On the contrary, rural states have disproportionate electoral power, via the Senate.
2
Dear students, one walk out is not enough! Walk out every month or stay out until you are heard and there is change. One walk out gets great media coverage but the administration won't hear you and you will not get action by our NRA owned president and staff. Massive regular protests are a way to be noticed until you can VOTE! You are also the leaders for our young people who can but don't vote. Be the voice!
11
4/20 (Columbine anniversary) there’s one where no one comes back until they’re changed
Yep, sure sounds like there is no "political appetite" for change...
8
The United States Congress leaders who oppose and have opposed universal background checks and raising the age limit to buy a gun; are either OK with mass shootings, or they do not have the courage to do anything to stop innocent kids from being gunned down. The NRA and the cowardly repreasentatives in our congress have for years tried successfully to stop universal background checks and raising the age to buy weapons to age 21. These steps would have prevented the Parkland massacre! These leaders are a disgrace to our history.
14
Please someone explain to me why a total failure of law enforcement at all levels in Parkland FL and Pulse in Orlando means I have to give up my weapons?
4
No one is talking about taking "your" weapons. The 2nd Amendment and Supreme Court decisions clearly indicate that access to guns and the type of guns available may be regulated. Currently gun regulations are done at the state level since nearly all states prohibit counties, cities and towns from locally regulating guns.
Creating hysteria and giving out false information--"total failure of law enforcement"--do not solve any of the problems caused when military grade weapons are easily purchased by untrained civilians.
10
Explain to us why someone below 21 would need a gun in the first place? Will they join any organised militia? Is your country being taken over by a dictator?
1
@ Oscar, unless you have military grade assault weapons
no one is saying you have to give any of your guns up.
Stop hearing what is not being said, thanks
1
Dear young people: Thank you. Sincerely -- old people,
43
How many school kids have promised to stay away from violent video games and violent films? If they remain immersed in a violent culture, their protests are hollow?
Please don't protest to be "cool". Change yourself before you start proselytizing the world on your favorite issue of the day!!
3
You don’t give these brave and articulate and smart young people enough credit. Try listening to what they are saying.
18
Our children are afraid to go to school.
Not only is this a pathetic reflection upon our violent society but how does a young student concentrate and learn if in the back of their minds they're always thinking about a shooter potentially bursting into their classrooms to hunt them down murder them with assault weaponry?
This type of psychological worry is not conducive to education nor our future.
17
The vast majority of kids would use any excuse to get out of class....and act like it is an issue of national importance for doing so......
4
But this is in fact an issue of national importance. I am shocked by the ho-hum attitude of adults toward the continued slaughter of our children in schools.
8
I'm afraid that when you publish photos of schoolchildren Betsy de Vos is examining them to select the most delicious-looking for her next meal.
7
If we had protected those kids properly, they would not march. Because we made them targets, they must march and we must listen.
12
The students had press packets ready for reporters. Hmmm what does that tell you? From an 11 year old, please.
8
So? They want to get the word out and they are learning how. How can you tolerate the gunning down of our children in schools? Why do you think you need a AR15? Why is that gun more important than children?
3
It tells me, the grandmother of a ten- and eleven-year old, that today's kids are smarter than some of our adults.
1
Good work young people. A flicker of hope endures.
16
Good for these protesting kids!
I support them and vow to stand by their goal of controlling what is an insane situation where kids, parishioners, mall shoppers are all subject to life-long injury or murder.
It is simply outrageous how little concern politicians have about this topic, and how much money they greedily take from the NRA.
15
Proud of these kids. They should stay out of school until we have some sensible gun control in this country. Shame on school administrators who threaten disciplinary action against students who protest for their own safety.
9
This is a great way for children to learn how to properly protest!! I think the reasoning behind the walk out is ridiculous but it’s much better than rioting and destroying other people’s property. “Gun Violence” in America is minimal. Not including suicides there is 11,000 deaths a year. Guns protect anywhere from 500,000 to 3 Million people a year. Before you ask that’s according to the CDC. We need to take a good look at the problem and not have a knee jerk reaction. All in all its nice to see these children doing something productive instead of eating tide pods.
3
Mr. Carlos:
The CDC statistics you quote are very sad and that is exactly what needs be changed. Japan is a country with strong gun controls and here are the stats: Japan is a country of more than 127 million people and rarely has more than 10 gun deaths a year, and very few people have guns so gun carrying citizens don't "save" anyone. What kind of country would you like to live in, one in which there are just a few gun deaths and hardly anyone is "saved" by gun carrying citizens or the one you live in now? By the way, CDC stats are: in 2017, excluding suicides, 15,549 people were killed by guns. A total of 38,658 gun deaths in 2016. In 2012, 33,563 gun deaths were reported. Since 2012 the number of guns owned by Americans have increased, and so have gun deaths. Wonder if these number mean anything to you. Is it so hard to grasp that the "constitutional right" to carry guns has made our country violent. 38 thousands people killed by guns in one year!!
9
Your protection figures are way off.
2
Oh. “Mere” 11,000. Tell that to a parent or loved one who has been killed. And why leave out the suicides?
3
I wish we had a U.S. President who acknowledged their concerns - just a few words perhaps - before taking off to yet another fund-raiser
11
Marches to polling stations to vote against candidates NRA supports is more effective than these symbolic marches. Polling stations is where they can challenge the NRA. I will join them. These students need to ask their parents why they voted for candidates NRA supports ?
8
This “walkout” by the youth of America is saying to the people of America that by your inaction on guns you have made the killing of children bearable.
Dan Hodges a British journalist wrote in a post on Twitter referring to the 2012 attack that killed 20 students at the elementary school in Connecticut, "in retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the U.S. gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable it was over."
We the “people” of the United States are allowing our government to do absolutely nothing while the children of this country are being slaughtered.
And as long as we continue to allow them to be slaughtered we have made the killing of children bearable.
13
Next up for students - a voter registration drive for those turning 18 before November!
17
Gun owners should support gun reform. By doing so, we will respect gun owners more because they are qualified and deserve to have guns. Otherwise, we just consider them as some crazy persons or greedy guys respecting money (guns) more than lives.
7
Agreed, if sensible gun laws were the ultimate goal. But since the Reagan/Brady shooting I have been watching, reading and hearing calls for a step by step approach to banning all guns starting with legislation like the expired "assault rifle" ban. These very pages have held such comments. While many have noted that high powered rifles aren't appropriate for hunting, there are others in the gun control movement who would be quite happy if the two were tied together and hunting ended due to broad firearm restrictions.
I'm upset to see children walking out of school. I'm reminded of Mao's use of children to accomplish his Cultural Revolution. Children are idealistic by nature. It's a disgrace how they're being used by adults.
4
Imagine a nation so obsessed with guns it is willing to sacrifice their children (and other humans) to keep them.
17
Well said. We all know it's not about the Right to survival or anything. It's really about a Right to hobby. When was last time a civilian saved his/her/or someone else's life by having a gun? I'm sure it happens but maybe once a decade or less? How many people died by senseless mass shootings over the same decade? Life is more important than any hobby.
6
That the rest of the world does not have this problem is something I have not seen mentioned anywhere in the letters below. I've lived in the UK, in the US and in Canada; Is this to be the new normal?
Wake up,
have brekkie,
go to school and DIE..
Grief and pain and guns go on.
sick.
8
1000's of students? According to the https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372 there's over 50 million students so we can hardly say that these represent a majority.
As far as what should the Districts/Schools do? Discipline them. Rules, are rules, are rules. The Socialists are famous for espousing ignore the rules if you don't like them and make your own. We do not need further reinforcement of that mantra.
I'm sure if there was a very in depth, thorough investigation to this we'd find that Socialist agitators were behind the scenes, all over social media, pushing for this. Just like flash mobs that have, in the past, wreaked havoc.
It's interesting that there is not one mention of protest of societies failure to use existing laws on the books, of which there are many, to stop these horrible acts. Nor is there any mention of these students own failures to stop these.
I am proud of all the students, including many in my own community (a longtime "red" district, GA-06, formerly represented by Tom Price, a district which is looking pretty purple these days), who walked out to protest gun violence and lax gun regulation in the U.S. I agree with them on this issue. I will vote with them too. They are absolutely correct: the politicians in office right now are addicted to NRA money and their lust for power, and American culture is gaga for guns and violence. You cannot be "pro-life" and turn your eyes away from murdered children lying on a classroom floor. You cannot keep chirping "mental health!" like a thoughtless parrot and not offer any adequate funding to support mental health treatment for citizens at risk. I noticed that one high school in my city did not allow the kids to protest, and they knelt in the corridors instead. Keep protesting, marching, speaking out, writing your congressional reps, and when you're eligible, keep voting.
10
School officials, local law enforcement and even the FBI failed to protect the Parkland student. Where is the outrage? The Parkland shooter passed the background check because the law enforcement institutions failed, after receiving multiple red flags about this young man.
The gun was the last stop on a crazy train of institutional failure, but nobody is discussing this. Instead protesters demonize the NRA. Sorry, many good decent people are members of the NRA, including most law enforcement and military personnel - and they don't deserve to be demonized.
4
Good decent people don’t need a military style assault weapon designed for the sole purpose of killing many people in seconds.
7
Many NRA members are for an assault weapon ban. The NRA members are NOT being demonized. The NRA has bribed our Congress and has also threatened our elected officials with so-called NRA report cards and attack ads if they do not obey. Those that run the NRA are bullies.
1
I am so proud of my granddaughter pictured in this group standing up to gun violence.
Politicians have to stop posturing and listen to the voices of these students.
How many more children have to be killed? How many tears have to be shed?
It’s time to throw out all the clueless politicians and let the voices of Americans of all ages to be heard.
I hope this is not a one time event.
There should be a National day for all of us to come together and support these students against gun violence.
6
This is a movement sparked by the targets of gun violence and anyone who disagrees with the wisdom of this might consider how it feels to be hunted.
8
This is Obama’s legacy: The courageous youth fighting for a better America. The courageous youth leading the charge for gun reform. The courageous youth who grew up with a president who was gallant in the pursuit of fairness and truth, and who was persistent in the value of honor and a more just democracy for all.
The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—and all of the students across this great country—are our future. In the face of adversity, they are fighting for what’s right; in the face of adversity, they are fighting for a better America; in the face of adversity, they are poised and inspiring.
Obama’s accomplishments are many, but perhaps none remain more powerful than his remarkable influence on the next generation of young, inspired leaders who, in his footsteps, will push America and the world forward towards a prosperous and moral future that we all as humans so rightly depend.
“The youth will always win.”
#GunReformNow
16
I hope that these students continue to fan their powerful flame into the 2020 election, when most of them will be voting for the first time. 2020!!!
11
Hopefully, and not soon enough, we will value our children more than our criminals. Teachers and kids are and have been sitting ducks. Two of my kids are teachers. I am worried.
Sadly I live in a state of and in fear. Fear of the liberals against protecting our loved ones in a state afraid to allow the responsible to do so. Ironically, and thankfully, it is only a misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon in public so many do (remember the 80's freeway shootings?). I and most responsible record free citizens keep a firearm in our car and homes. We have lived through earthquakes, civil unrest and riots here in LA. To not have on, per my Rabbi, would be irresponsible. With so much crime and misdemeanors for those with no prior record being summarily dismissed, my daughters can rest assured their Dad will not leave them to be sitting ducks in a system living in a rose colored glasses world.
My students came back from the march euphoric! They represented MLK High school and all said that they had never felt so powerful before! Democracy, here come the kids to claim their birthright!
18
This is complete madness. There is no need to control gun laws, only drug laws.
1
I am proud of these kids. They are doing something about it.
8
I am with students and have discussed and encouraged both my kids to participate and they did. I am so proud of them. They learned an important lesson at this age in their 6th & 8th grade school year, which will help them display opinion in a peaceful way, which is sorely missing in all current occupants of White House.
Forget the PA loss, if GOP doesn't realize that it's time to mark NRA a terrorist organization then they're in for a bigger surprise with this new generation for decades to come.
9
Can you or a loved one survive a bullet from an assault weapon? Realize that it is specifically designed to shred flesh and organs the size of an orange. Doctors report that massive bleeding will take your life usually within minutes. This level of damage is needed to win wars, and is the result of a bullet velocity 3 times that of a handgun combined with a small projectile that tumbles or cavitates on impact.
Adding to the chances of being struck is the rapid firing of this gun - 90 bullets sprayed a minute from 3 magazines or clips. With police rescue often taking at least 7 minutes, there is an eternity for a deranged shooter to move to multiple targets or classrooms and create unspeakable horror.
The American people have sat idly by while the gun makers have profited from the manufacture of 5 to 10 million assault guns. This to appease those who argue this capability is necessary to remain free of a tyrannical government. You deserve to be scared. Too many children have been massacred, and many of us are fighting mad.
12
I, like so many others, are so proud of our young people - intelligent, thoughtful, well spoken, courageous - insisting on being heard, as is their right. Hear their words, America. Heed their words! Perhaps now the carnage can stop.
Christina & Wade
7
It is much too soon to tell if any of this student activism around gun control violence in school matters to legislative, executive and judicial candidates in local and state primary and general elections or to US House and Senate primary and general election candidates. So far the NRA has had all of the partisan politically focused opposition advantage.
2
The question is now whether America can get a message. That 17 minutes also represents more time and effort than Congress has put in to active management in decades.
10
They are all going to be old enough to vote one day. Let's hope they remember this day long enough.
7
If every student that marched simply convinced their parents to give up their firearms as well as committing to never owning guns themselves - then we would have a fraction of the gun culture that we currently 'enjoy'.
You think that is going to happen - actual concrete action?
3
Congratulations, Republicans. You just awakened a nationwide collective voice against your policies. Within 4 years, all of these kids will be of voting age and they will remember how it felt to be left vulnerable by your rush to support the NRA.
Anyone who thinks this won't change the face of politics is missing the point. Experiences we have during our formative years have an outsize influence on who we become later in life. A previously dormant segment of the population has now experienced fear and helplessness which galvanized them to protest against government policies. That experience will define many of them, and their politics, for a lifetime. They won't go away.
12
The walkout was organized by superintendents, administrators, and teachers. Therefore, students were compelled to protest. During the sham protest, I saw students fight, go buy food, or participate just for the fun. The majority cannot articulate why they are there. The whole thing was a sham and will accomplish nothing. The bigger question is: why are government employees using other people's children as pawns in a political game?
2
Yeah, none of that is true.
2
Yeah because who cares how many children are slaughtered in yet another school massacre! We’re used to this and so are the kids! They don’t mind being shot at! They understand that the AR15 is far more valuable than their lives!
2
My 2 high school boys were at Boro Hall today, with the full support of their school. It must have been amazing to be there! How uplifting that the future of this country is involved, energized, and courageous.
As a mother in today's America I have been afraid for my children's future - the incredible response of the country's young adults to the horror of gun violence has me daring to hope!
7
As a child of the 60's, a "radical" hippie, given to protest marches and other forms of rebellion against what I had perceived as governmental injustice, I sincerely and greatly praise these "kids". Furthermore they seem much more focused and rational then we long-haired idealists who were ready to leave America for some foreign land. The hippie movement faded our inability to galvanize "the troops" into and for a cohesive purpose. And,of course, the massive consumption of drugs did not help our endeavor. These "children" are very passionate and are behaving as insightful adults with great purpose and direction. I totally applaud their efforts and stand with their combined viewpoints
as to what is right and what is wrong.
7
OK we are ALL and I mean ALL in agreement that we want to stop our kids and teachers from being slaughtered like fish being shot in a barrel. And I think it's a safe assumption that guns are going nowhere any time soon. It's also a safe bet that EVERYONE wants our kids to receive an education. To date, I have not heard a single practical idea or plan from anyone in authority (politician, teaching administrators / professionals) that details the manner in which we can stop the carnage and continue to educate our kids. I've seen these impractical slogans similar to fire safety slogans like "Stop, Drop & Roll!" For the love of Pete, there is NO PRACTICAL WAY to protect yourself from an active shooter armed with an AR-15 bent on killing as many unarmed kids / teachers in your average school as possible!!!! I applaud the demonstrations, however I see nothing from preventing this carnage from continuing into the future. The new normal.
1
Good for the youth of America! If the schools can't provide you with a massacre-free learning environment, then you should boycott those schools. I hear this thought echoed by others and it makes complete sense that this might be the thing to motivate Congress to finally act on sensible gun legislation. Consider the level of peaceful disruption to American business as usual if school hallways were dark all across the nation. God bless these kids. They inspire me.
6
Have the school officials who threatened to punish kids for protesting gun violence never met a teenager before?
What better way to fuel the fire of student activism than by telling teenagers that they don’t know what they are doing or how the world works.
Teenagers will go to great lengths to prove adults wrong. That’s what they are supposed to do. They are teenagers. They are idealistic and have not yet bought into the system that makes people complacent with the status quo. They are still shocked by terrible things because terrible things are in fact terrible. Shooting kids at school is terrible. You can’t make it not terrible. They are not yet desensitized and accepting of the idea that “it’s just the way it is.”
4
Female freshman in Wisconsin - we are with you, hundreds of thousands of us.
Thank you for your act of courage.
6
Tears in my eyes for the 11 year old organizers at George Mason elementary who had press packets for reporters covering their walk out... there is hope in the future! but let's not wait til then
6
Students protested at Tiananmen Square too, they did not have guns, the government did.
2
It wasn't the guns, but the tanks, that defeated them. Guns wouldn't have done them much good.
3
As a non-gun owning parent, I am perplexed by way to many things that are brought up in this comments area. First is the massive naivety of most of the commentators. Some are trying to make this a Red/Blue party issue. Others are laying blame at the lack of gun control. Still others think it is all NRA caused. I wonder how many of you have actually taken the time to stop listening to both left/right media and do a little research on your own? Gun laws...already in place. Automatic weapons are illegal. The act of modifying a semi-auto weapon to fully auto is illegal. Read and learn the laws and restrictions.
While It is great to see so many come together on such a misinformed issue, the real question is...how many are full participant and not just tag-a-longs to get out of class? As parent, and a former teenager, I would bet that the number of actual participants is a much smaller number vs tag-a-longs. Right now they are just "Cause-Heads" getting a little media attention. The real things they should be protesting is for better mental health care for those that need it. Those that are ignored or forgotten. Parents should be more involved, know if your kid is being bullied, become aware if your kid is the bully. Nothing is worse to an absent parent.
Become fully aware and fully informed, and then teach your kids the same thing. Teach your kids how to be better people, and not how to act like a better victim. This PC country has become a country of victims. Fix that first.
The students are demanding change because they have witnessed 17 of their friends and teachers being murdered in their school. They want to ban military style assault weapons which are designed solely for the purpose of killing many people in seconds. That is the AR15 the weapon of choice for massacres. Stop blaming the victims of this awful tragedy.
4
I agree that some students are asking for change...and most were just looking for an excuse to get out of class. If they wanted a real change then they would put their gun violence video games in the trash, stop watch violent movies, become active participants and not just glory hound onlookers. This generation of kids are taught to be victims (thanks to PC and Safe Spaces), they all think they will become YouTube stars and most all teenagers have the attention span of goldfish.
Give it a week, these "Cause-Heads" will be forgotten, because something else of less importance will happen. Like maybe a Kardashian will get pregnant or have a beauty issue. The media will follow suit.
The only thing this walk-out and media coverage has accomplished is pitting ideologies against each other yet again. this forum proves it..Its all the Republicans fault...the Democrats are to blame for leftist ideas...etc...etc...etc
I wasn't blaming the victims, but I was stating more should be done for mental health in America, to help prevent this in the future. Because even if you ban guns, that will not stop illegal fire arms from still being available.
A girl sobs at the loss of a friend. A real person whose friendship, love, and potential was snuffed out with a powerful rifle that no one needs for any civilian use.
The NRA's response, the slightest bit of empathy for dead kids with bodies and floor soaked in blood and spattered by their body parts? No it's "in your eye with my assault rifle that I will use as I damn well please". The American flag sticker adds just the right touch.
The NRA members who believe the organization is about safety training and hunting for gun owners should resign their memberships and say they will have nothing to do with it or the gun lust it promotes and will not rejoin until it stops accepting money from manufactures or from point of sale purchases of guns.
9
Power to the people! If nobody will listen to adults, then maybe children can turn this around by banding together showing the world and our leaders what is clearly common sense--gun control.
I think it's obvious that, when the U.S. Constitution was written, nobody had a clue what kind of gun technology would be put into the hands of everyone, including people who are hell-bent on harming multitudes at once. This is not arming, this is mass murder on a scale unimagined during our forefather's years! It's apparently clear to children who've lived through years of gun violence and not clear enough to those who push for ownership of automatic weapons not used to shoot a deer.
7
Black Lives Matter deserves kudos for showing these young people how to fight for their civil rights. At least these student protesters will not be harassed by a military armed presence on the street. Students lying in the street, taking a knee, blocking traffic. Just as BLM has been doing since the slaying of Trayvon Martin. Back then, the hoodie (when worn by a black teenager) was viewed as more threatening than a gun. Now we're finally getting around to labeling guns as dangerous. Thank you to these young students and to Black Lives Matter for paving the way.
6
Not a big fan of compulsory education so I'm watching this closing. Good luck kids. I just hope that the lesson plan today did not cover: What in a resume is really important.
1
GOOD. How low we have fallen as a nation that our children have to force our leaders to keep paying attention on this lethal issue until they do something about it that will actually save our children's lives. I applaud all of them, and hope they keep it up. I'll be marching with them at the big upcoming March on the 24th.
7
The Republican administration and Republican Congress, beholden to the NRA, continue to put children's lives at risk by refusing to allow any level of sensible gun control. It is moving to see these young people standing up for themselves and for all of us as well.
6
From the NYT: "Thousands of students, emboldened by a growing protest movement over gun violence, stood up in their classrooms on Wednesday and walked out of their schools in a nationwide demonstration, one month after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Florida."
"a gunman." Um, you mean a former student, one that had been pointed out to the FBI as a possible future mass shooter.
A student who wasn't stopped by sheriff deputies who were outside the school while the rampage was occurring inside.
I don't want our schools to become combat zones where teachers are armed and students must walk through metal detectors. So, here's a thought, howabout we make sure our law enforcement agencies vet their personnel more thoroughly and that they are trained property and have the resources needed so when someone begins stockpiling weapons and ammo, and making threats, law enforcement can assess them and determine if they should be in possession of those weapons, and are in need of psychiatric help.
6
Sure. Let’s do that. And let’s also ban military style assault weapons like we did under Clinton.
4
And have a gun registry, making it obvious who is stockpiling weapons.
1
BTW, obedience training socialization into a workforce that may very well not provide any jobs for them, depending on the cohort they graduate within or state of automation. By the time many of these kids graduate, there may be one or two apps that can do 3/4 of the jobs they were prepared for, and it will have been for nought. Accordingly, let education focus more on education, not obedience training and workforce socialization.
Trained as thoughtful citizens rather than mere "workers" (very possibly to wind up unemployed anyway), they can a dress the school violence problem aid the myriad other gigantic challenges (inequality, global political instability, racism) their predecessors dropped the ball on.
2
So the best way for students to tackle the issue is to deprive themselves of education? Mushy sentimentalism will accomplish nothing but make a few folks feel good about themselves. The lesson here is what? That if you are outraged by company actions, the solution is to get mad and walk off the job; go ahead and try that and let me know how it goes, or go ask the air traffic controllers what Ronald Reagan did when they did so.
1
So, your lesson is: Resistance is futile. Obey. You forget, or never knew, that workers walking off the job is the way we won the eight-hour day and the weekend.
7
Student protests are nice, but what we need is a national strike.
If all the parents of these students and everyone else worried about gun violence walked out of their job we would bring the economy to a halt. It would hurt businesses.
Let's see how quickly the corrupt politicians who are now bribed by the NRA would change their minds if business owners demanded reform.
7
First of all, I'll admit that I'm skeptical of gun control on pragmatic grounds, not moral. Nevertheless, I would also suggest that one can oppose the NRA's stance on Parkland upon pragmatic grounds as well. In view of 2 mass shootings in 5 months, shouldn't America seriously probe its attitude toward guns?; could the Second Amendment not be seen as an anachronism not in concert with 21st century realities? The issue is foremost of all a cultural one, superseding legal and political ones folks. American neighbors, ask yourselves this: why should the greater social good be continually sacrificed to the exaltation of individual liberty?
7
I pray that adults stay out of this and let the young lead - this is their movement and their time! Finally they raise their voice and, if there is to be change, only they alone have the power to make it happen. All other institutions, systems, agencies and, in many respects family as well, have failed the youth of our nation. Sad.
4
Finally, we need our young people to speak up and stand behind a cause. Very proud of them.
5
Anyone know why in some places student groups insisted teachers not join the walkout? This seems cruel and shortsighted, excluding the other major victim group in these shootings.
The media seems to have the story a bit off, as though admin and towns don't want teachers (or students) to walk, like it's the 60s. That's not true generally. The push off is coming from students.
1
Maybe, 1) teachers are on the clock and should be engaged in their assigned duties during the workday; 2) teachers shouldn't be displaying political positions to their charges; 3) any who wakes out would have to be coveted by those who did not.
1
I am high school government teacher. It is utterly bizarre to me that people think being anti-school shooting amounts to "displaying a political position." The only logical conclusion, then, is that the side is pro-school shooting. What about my school's cancer-awareness efforts? Is that a political position? Should we give equal voice to those who are in favor of cancer for who-knows-what reason?
So, yes, it is appropriate and necessary for teachers to be firmly on the progressive side of this issue, both inside and outside of the classroom. I am proud to take the "political" position of supporting gun law reform that we desperately need (and that other nations don't need because no other nation has this disease).
4
I found it notable that the vast majority of the youth in these videos was white. There were equally as many walkouts and marches today in communities of color that were equally if not more passionate than those in the video. The students at my school in Bed-Stuy are all students of color and almost every one of their lives has been touched by gun violence. Be it a friend, parent, sibling, neighbor, or other, these students have BEEN fighting for gun control.
It brings me sadness to see the NYT continuing to post about the frustration of youth of color in Baltimore and Ferguson due to their lack of recognition, then go on and do something like this yet again. When will the Times recognize the importance of giving voice to the voiceless? It is long overdue.
5
YES! Bless you. Your elected federal and many state officials, from the president on down, have failed you but it appears that the nation will be in good hands once you get to vote.
Thank you, young Americans, for having the clarity of thought and the tenacity--not to mention the sense of self-preservation--to do the right thing.
3
I teach U.S. History and Government in Southern California and I was proud of my students this morning and proud to have joined them. I agree with others on this thread who say that it's not nearly enough. Of course not. But it's a step toward pressuring the Pro-School-Shooter Republican Party (and some bribe-accepting Democrats as well) and maybe showing that the issue isn't going to fade as quickly this time. The VAST majority of Americans want common sense gun reform. Enough is enough.
I am proud of this nation's students. Roll your eyes if you want but if you are actively against this movement then you are in favor of school shootings. It's that simple.
5
The protests have to be more than just getting some gun laws changed or voting out the NRA owned politicians. The protest has to be about changing the second amendment. If that doesn't change, we will never have meaningful gun control. Changing the second amendment will protect the entire country. But before then, we must register all the guns, demand insurance for all the guns, close the loopholes for purchasing, and do more thorough background checks.
3
Re: the NRA tweet: "I'll control my own guns, thank you."
Actually, you won't.
A 2015 survey on gun ownership conducted jointly by researchers from Harvard and Northeastern universities was hailed as "a very high-quality survey" by one of the authors of another well-regarded study conducted in 1994 by Duke University researchers. The Harvard/Northeastern study estimated an average of 400,000 guns are stolen annually in the US.
Government agencies like the ATF and CDC publish far lower estimates of the number of lost and stolen guns, and their reports are a joke because only 11 states require gun owners to report stolen guns to the police. I wonder if there's a link between NRA money to government officials and the absurd underestimates of lost and stolen guns reported by our government. Certainly it benefits the NRA to underestimate the scope of the problem.
7
What's also truly sad is that instead of school officials seizing this teachable moment, they are only concerned about following school rules and disciplining their students. And they call themselves educators.
6
These students have every right to demonstrate and protest. They are not protesting against our 2nd amendment, they are protesting the conglomerate that propagates and initiates fear. They are protesting an industry that produces tools unnecessary for modern society. They are protesting the very government that asks them to show up every day in their school building but refuses to protect them.
5
I am so proud of these kids. If I were the parent of a school aged child, I would defy any school board and take them to court if necessary. We need to be examples for our children and show at least as much conviction for what we believe in as they do.
5
A great many schools in New England were closed today in the aftermath of the blizzard. I wonder how many more walkouts would have been added to the total but for that?
4
It seems like the "thousands of students" multiplied across the country might make it "millions of students." Let's not play games with numbers when what we are seeing is unprecedented. Our kids are setting the sails and righting the ship.
7
Yes. What sort of number are we talking about?
1
A 2015 study estimated that only 4 percent of American gun deaths could be attributed to mental health issues.
So, let's have a qualifying gun owner's test with a two-year learner's temporary period. If there are any infractions during that learner's period, your license can be suspended. It would include something that all prospective gun owners of all ages "pass".
It could be like a paintball survival course with points scored and points taken. Physical age is not the problem but mental and emotional age can be.
4
If the students want to see meaningful changes enacted to gun control, then they should all go on strike, and not attend classes until the politicians actually pass substantive measures. Let's see how the adults would deal with a national student strike that keeps the kids out of the class rooms until real change occurs. That would be something to see.
1
Students in many schools across the country were threatened if they participated? The American school to prison pipeline is NOT
a myth.
5
As the parent of a freshman in college, I'm disgusted with parents and administrators who don't support their own children and students who are exercising their right as citizens of a democracy to peacefully protest. It is one of the greatest lessons in civics that a young person can have - exercising the right to assemble in peaceful protest - and whether or not you agree with their stance, you have no right to disrespect or punish students for exercising their first amendment rights.
5
No change comes without political action.
Principals and teachers prohibited students from participating in a widely published on-the-ground lesson in democracy or ‘Didn’t know about it.’
That explains why Oklahoma can pay their teachers the lowest salaries in the country.
4
Glad some states and school districts understand the problem. We have roughly 300 million people in this country. There also are most likely at least a billion guns. Does everybody really need an armory at home?
3
I am really proud of these kids. Did not just settle on status quo. They have achieved already what adults couldn’t even just dream of achieving. When they grow up they will change the world! I am proud of each and every one of them.
I am a libertarian; but we need sensible laws. I don’t own a gun and I am not opposed to a sensible person owning a gun; but I am sure that I don’t want a gun in my hand when I am angry.
Good and lengthy gun safety training, comprehensive background check and red flag registry should bring down this gun violence down by 99%
4
So proud of Berkeley High School students who spoke powerfully, from the heart, read poems and urged students to vote, write their officials. They stood through pouring rain to create a peace symbol. They give me hope. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sisterfish8/albums/72157688796416560
3
Congratulations to all students whether you protested or not. You are our future and I have a lot of confidence in you. Be sure to keep fighting for what you believe is right and be willing to engage in civil disobedience if necessary. Of course, be also willing to be respectful of those who disagree.
2
Has gun violence worsened since Trump became president? No. Has discrimination against women increased since Trump took office? No. If you disagree then show convincing evidence. As with the DC rallies nominally in support of women's rights, this anti-gun rally is more about Trump perceptions than the issue advertised. There's absolutely no reason that this degree of mobilization shouldn't have occurred after Sandy Hook, Aurora, Orlando, Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Oikos University, Marysville Pilchuck High School, Chardon High School, and so on. All during Obama's presidency, yet no comparable call to action. I don't believe for one second that the Parkland, FL tragedy represented the surpassing of some politically unbiased threshold that pushed the masses into action. If this same exact shooting occurred in October 2016 then this rally wouldn't have happened.
1
It is the cumulative effect of all these shootings. It is the hiding drills at school. I remember hiding under my desk at Elementary School during the 1950’s in case the nuclear bombs were dropped. It is just getting worse. No other advanced country has this problem but us. Stop being so tone deaf.
5
I hope these students begin to organize and support legislative candidates in their districts! If they are too young to vote, they could work for a campaign on the weekends and help by handing out campaign literature.... Guilt the adults into doing the right thing!
2
One (of many things...) thing I learned in the '60s that while demonstrations were a great way to express one's opinions, meet new friends, renew old old friendships and contribute to the general conversation they were useless in moving an administration, much less the general national sentiment to where they did not want to go.
That said, a tip of my hat to every student who walked out. Good on you all...
USN 1967 - 71
Viet Nam 1968
1
Didn't see much mentioned that the only way for change is to get out and vote. Given the poor turnouts in our national elections maybe these kids should be directing their anger at the Adults in this country.
4
Truly inspired by these students. We as a nation must come together to address gun violence. All these kids are saying is they want to live in peace and be safe - isn't that a basic human right?
3
It would be much more meaningful if students demonstrated outside of school time - either after school or weekends. Some students have earnest intentions but many others just want out of school. And just what are they protesting... gun control? They should go home and ask their parents to get involved then, research the brands that have ties to the NRA, and go after legislators who take NRA money. Unfortunately, I think their naivete shines through because their anger and unmet demands is the true lesson... politicians are most moved by money and the NRA and weapons manufacturing have more money than students.
1
Several Democratic senators (Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Chris Murphy) attended this event in DC to support these courageous and rightfully angry students. Where were the Republicans? Apparently they were busy working on their softball questions for Pompeo and Haspel for confirmation hearings. It's all about priorities, isn't it?
3
there was a pretty big turnout at Coronado Ca hs, but it was silent and the kids had a face on - the only noise made was two boys chanting "kill all guns, kill all guns.." ...ovbviousy silly.
and that is why we Cannot leave this to kids, even if they are close to 18..
it is up to the grownups to get some rule of law on guns..ENOUGH!!
2
At least these kids are taking a stand and not being stood on by the NRA or (elected) ADULTS who have Obviously taken a weak approach to enacting gun legislature. Two boys chanting while the rest of the school remain silent. Powerful!
2
no, sorry, @Tee, it was not powerful. The turnout was powerful, but the silly teenage boys chanting kill all guns was just silly. Not like they were lone voices leading a silent determined crowd. Just a couple of deliberately rebellious teen boys, acting against even the intent of the march, with their words..I always felt that rebellious when I was young. Cynical. I don't blame them or even denigrate them, but to take on serious issues, we the grownups need to act (as well..not to disclude the teens effort..)
I have to laugh at Barbara Canavan. Evidently she doesn’t know what happened in the ‘60’s. True, students are more politically correct these days, and these students are young, but they’ll learn the ways of protest. When you march, you march. Otherwise they’ll take advantage of you.
Ms. Canavan was calculating that the students would back off due to her threats, thus rendering their protest ineffective and bolstering the NRA.
It’s the art of the deal. You have to make authorities sweat before they’ll do something for you.
2
In two years, many of these students will have a chance to exercise their voices at the polls. Let's hope that they all register to vote as Democrats and that they vote.
46
Stop buying products from or visiting districts/states of Congress members that fail to act. Generally speaking the "red states". Walking out ,while symbolic, accomplishes nothing.
2
Congress should begin the process of gun control with a ban on assault and semi-automatic long guns, a mandatory universal background check on gun purchases and a tight closing of the gun show/private sales loopholes so that all purchases are on the record.
When that doesn't significantly reduce the killings, the next step should be licensing and registration of all guns.
When that doesn't get the job done, the next step should be to repeal and replace the 2nd Amendment.
I hope someone reminds these wonderful students, over and over, when the repub Congress remains frozen in its tracks out of fear of the NRA, that the House and Senate are doing nothing about gun violence. That will get us on the road to the steps above.
16
@Paul. there are already bans on fully automatic weapons and background checks in place. What you are most likely requesting is a better way to prevent illegal sales of said weapons and/or stronger laws for weapons that have been modified.
In the second part of your second statement, all legally purchased guns are licensed and registered. This of course does not apply to illegally gained weapons.
In your third statement, repealing the 2nd Amendment while technically an option will most likely not happen. Not only would it open the door to other issues but also create a vacuum of idiotic ideas. It will still not solve the real problem. That of the gut reaction to request gun control, when the focus should be on better mental health care. In every case of mass shooting there has been a lack of mental health care provided for the actual shooter. And in cases where the mental health care has been provided and shooting have still occurred, that provided health care was not sufficient.
Now a thought to ponder while consider the above information. How many of these same protesters are actually protesting this gun control gut reaction and how many are just jumping on the bandwagon to get out of school. On top of that how many of these kid protesters actually have active involved parents. And how many of these parent have bullied children and do not know about it and are not approaching the school to prevent the bullying.
"background checks in place"
not apparently if if you buy from a private dealer, and according to statistics that's how a third of Americans buy their guns.
2
I'm not in school anymore, but I made sure to talk a walk around my office at 10 a.m. in solidarity with the students.
31
I applaud these students.They represent a new generation that will learn civics through their actions since many school systems are not emphasizing it in their curriculums. It's shameful how many adults I speak to don't know the civics of our country, including how the three branches of government work and how they are elected. Every school system should require at least a week of civic instruction every year for every grade to foster good citizenship.
22
This protest sends a clarion message many educators have suppressed for generations, which could've been gleaned merely watching a popular kids' Sunday TV program without just TECHNOCRATICALLY dismissing it as a mere catchy lyric:
KIDS ARE PEOPLE TOO.
And to invoke another now-ubiquitous lyrically expressed truth: They're NOT CLAY.
Schools for generations have been founded on a single duplicitous, violent assumption, that young people are mere adult saplings or trainees, to be socialized from a period of leisure & play into adult responsibility.
To underscore the point: before I wrote "young people" above, a purely chronological category, I'd automatically written "children & adolescence," biological-developmental stages tacitly defining people in relation to procreative ROLES eventually to be fulfilled.
The point is, the young are FULL PEOPLE now, & must be respected as such, & now are demanding it. It has taken the MORTAL THREAT they are now under, UNPROTECTED BY ADULTS, who systematically multifariously FAILED THEM, to force recognition of this fact. Because they can be murdered like adults, they now assert entitlement to similar rights & protections systematically denied them.
Time for society to stop infantilizing out of youth their full humanity, by continual subjection through relentless year-in-and-year-out mechanical, infantilizing obedience training socialization to the workforce.
In a word, they have a full range of human rights, patronizingly denied.
12
Oops: "adolescents.' Also, sorry for overuse of all-caps for emphasis; hope it doesn't take away from my point!
I genuinely think me must reckon more honestly with the so terribly many ways schools can operate as a mere destructive *trap* rather than instrument of growth. When it becomes literally a death trap, in such increasingly frequent tragedies, these other aspects become more apparent. Indeed, while not to validate IN THE LEAST (yes, all caps), their evil, depraved violence, some of the killers' motivation is clearly tied to a sense of dehumanizaton by their schools. Yes, they are the extremest of extreme cases of pathologically expressed alienation, & they are responsible for their utterly depraved, inexcusable actions, but there is something going on in school that at the very least is helping to bring out the worst in them, that these tortured -& yes, utterly messed up, yes depraved- few can't handle.
For too many, school is experienced as a mere socialization prison, & it's as if they're saying, "as long as doing the time, might as well do the crime."
Yes, youth must be treated differetly; yes they must be prepared for (responsible) adulthood. But never by dehumanizing; you dehumanize any time, any way, you disrespect all the ways even the young are FULLY human. The young have fundamental rights, including basic security & basic civic participation including the right to realistically assess & respond to their situation in rational & constructive ways.
1
Thank you for this coverage and for the photos of these beautiful kids. I see strength and power and concern in their faces.
18
Really, there were parents in Louisiana who were shocked to discover that the protest was about gun control? It appears that that the previous generation in that community was absent from "the curriculum" much longer than 17 minutes.
16
As a long-time firearms owner, I applaud the students' efforts today. But what needs to be added to the walkout is a reading of the names of every politician in each of the students' states, who takes NRA money, how much, and some of their key votes on gun legislation. In every case, of course, they could start with Trump and his $30 million NRA blood money, then name every US senator and congressman, their governor, and state reps if they take NRA money.
It seems pretty obvious that in most cases, local and national media would pick this up and televise/report on it. As it is, this is a huge lost opportunity. The response by politicians will simply be, "they should be in school," whereas if they were named, we could see just how camera shy they are.
27
That was, tragically (among so many tragedies), Bernie Sanders' (along with his wife's shady financial issues) Achilles tendon, his political career's original sin. He too chimed in with the "guns don't kill, people do," after supporting and being supported by the gun community. Hopefully it's a lesson that will be learned from.
2
These young people are the conscience of a nation where adults can no longer actively control our collective destiny.
My hats off to these young people for saying enough is enough. They are exercising the common sense and courage that seem to have vanished from our nation.
Now comes the hard part: sustaining outrage long enough to have a say at the polling booth.
They should hold these walkouts every year, at the least, until there's some evidence that not only are they heard, but heeded.
16
The NRA defines a responsible gun owner as an adult or child with the money in hand to buy a gun. We adults need to take back the word responsible and become responsible for the health and safety of our children. Today the children are taking on that responsibility.
21
This morning at 10:00 a.m. our sixth grade students walked out of school. This was the first student led walkout I have witnessed in thirty-six years of teaching. The students were somber and respectful, some carrying signs demanding change. It was sad yet hopeful. We need to listen.
65
I participated in this today at my school. The administration let us know there would not be punishment for taking part in the walk out, but I would have done it anyway if there was. I'm seventeen years old and I don't want to worry about dying in school. I want to worry about college and AP courses, not being shot. This is a major issue, and I am proud of all the students that walked out around the country with me.
66
Bravo to the students
We had the same intensity as we protested the Vietnam war. The students are learning early that their government must be accountable, just as we all are accountable for our actions or inaction.
Sometimes, only protests will correct disordered thinking. The schools should use this as a teachable moment, not a time for threats
20
Yes, bravo to the students, but times are different now. I had tear gas and billy clubs thrown at me when I was protesting the Vietnam War while in high school. Do you think these kids have the stomach for such a fight? However, my fight was for a more pressing issue of being drafted for an unjust war. These kids are living in a world where attention spans are short and protesting can be held against you throughout your future endeavors. I wish them luck however. It's refreshing to see a generation with guts unlike the generation proceeding them.
2
I think you underestimate them. They will carry their resolve for a lifetime; they will carry their horror with them. I say to them ‘never, never, never forget’
2
I sincerely hope that students who are of voting age will exercise their right to get politicians who are against gun control out of office.
14
This doesn't just look like "thousands" of students protesting, this looks more like hundreds of thousands, if not millions. There are about 15 million high school students in the US; if only a fifth of them walked out, that's literally three million protesters. Can someone get a reasonable estimate?
20
Why would you alert people to when students will be outside of school, sounds like very poor security choice. If someone wanted to cause harm wouldn't this be a perfect time to do that??
4
Students are outside of school in large crowds at very specific times every day--arriving, departing, recesses. Sports events.
4
As an alumni, I was proud to stand outside of the high school and cheer on the students who are taking the lead in the #Enough movement. Let their voices ring out loudly for it is their lives and future being impacted by the proliferation of guns in our society. By taking this action they will only become more powerful. Thank you to all the students who participated.
9
The kids are alright. They are showing a level of courage and poise that is sadly lacking in too many of their elders. There is hope for the country yet.
16
I would love to be proven wrong on this but my estimation is that the sum result of changes from these and other actions will be 0 or close to 0.
3
Don't expect change from today's Republican-dominated House, Senate, Supreme Court and Oval Office. But these times they are a-changing. Republican politicians, beware!
2
Thanks for making such a dire estimation from the relative safety of Canada, where you're not currently experiencing these devastating issues on a national scale.
Look, perhaps that was snarky but I'm tired. I'm tired of politicians, people in other countries, and my own fellow citizens saying that nothing ever comes from peaceful protests, that nothing can be accomplished by people of goodwill banding together for justice, that the hopes and actions of children and those who care for them as stewards of the future mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." It's bending today, Scott. You just need to look harder.
4
Easy for you to say from Canada where you don't face the same risks from getting shot at as Americans do when going to school, shopping, visiting a doctor's office, seeing a movie, going to a nightclub, watching a concert, etc!
Also, I'm sure there was a "Scott from Canada" who said the same things you did in regards to abolishing slavery, giving women the right to vote, securing a 40-hour workweek, assuring our foods aren't tainted (see "The Jungle"), requiring inspections of building for fire hazards (Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire), etc. And where does that get anyone? You ought to be grateful that someone stood up and protested so you can enjoy the fruits of their labor/ sacrifices today.
2
Nonpartisan voter: We can't trust the While House or Congress and the Courts that have twisted the Second Amendment beyond recognition and logic when it comes to the assault weapons control . The reason is follow as usual THE DOLLAR. The Arms/Gun industrying in this Nation is very powerful and very wealthy. The NRA and many on both sides of the aisle in Congress are the vocal instruments of that Industry. All mentioned have a price in their wallet, while our kids have a price on their heads. Arming teachers will, if anything, complicate the problem and, for sure, would put more wealth in the coffers of the Arms Industry. It is about time to call in the help of Democracy; put the weapons control on the platforms and ballots. Voices of the clear minded and the innocent must be heard. Well live in the Age of Financial Dictatorship.
11
Watching the protests and I am moved by the respect for the dead and sense of seriousness and purpose of the majority of the students I see.
The adults seem to struggle with a response. It has been patronizing "they're so grown up"; fearful "they can't go out, someone could shoot them"; controlling "there is loss of instructional time" and "the teachers, not you, will plan how you respond to this event"; trivial "they'll be marked absent" and disrespectful of their choices "that's not what I would do."
I have never had a military weapon pointed at me or my friends so I cannot judge but I'm glad these teens have shown us a response that is not fear and yet more weapons.
17
Makes you wonder. Kent State. Student shot outside for protesting. Today. Students outside protesting for being shot inside.
Kent State stunned the nation. School shootings today? I am not convinced we are feeling enough pain. All due respect to the families, of course, who suffer.
All these kids stepping out of school? Not even happening much here, with delays and closing due to snow. The impact is not strong enough. You can't be a half-way protester and see results, and it isn't up to these kids to shoulder the burden. I agree with the poster who said walk out and stay out until there is a plan. Including teachers. With pay. America has to totally rally around making schools safe or it's active shooter workshops forever.
4
Voters who massively vote for Democratic candidates can do their part to save our children, our country. That's protest in which voters of all ages can participate.
3
Having just observed the Brooklyn Borough Hall demonstration, I'm thrilled to see these brave students transform loss and outrage into activism. Learning that some schools are threatening disciplinary action for these walkouts rather than using them as object lessons for how to affect positive and long overdue change in our democracy is infuriating. Alas, let's join these empowered young people in finding a path to a house majority on gun control this November and vote out all those members who are unwilling to protect our children from further gun violence.
14
Here in Detroit and its suburbs, my son and others took place in this moment of silence, this protest, and I couldn't be more proud of him and his peers. I know of no school district here that threatened students with retaliation. Well done, and now on to the next step. Let's get these kids registered to vote!
18
My entire middle school took part in this silently and peacefully with respect and understanding. (we are 30 miles north of the shooting) I've never seen 1000 kids silent. Ever. I was deeply moved. I only hope our government will also be moved enough to finally take action, without the fear of campaign contributors like the NRA.
43
Bless these kids. They are our future and they are doing the right thing. I hope their efforts aren't wasted, though I don't have a lot of faith in the GOP, as the party in power, to do anything to curb gun violence in this country. Still they should take heed that this is a clear signal that the NRA can't silence all of us even though it owns most of them.
5
Here in Cupertino, California several hundred students walked out of Monta Vista High School in order to demonstrate in front of the school. A handful of older citizens stood on the sidewalk in support of the students. Cars honked their horns as they drove by.
15
The other night I saw the film "Silent Revolution", based on a true story of a class of courageous, idealistic high school students in East Germany who sat in silence for two minutes in class to protest the violent suppression of the Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule in 1956. Reading the response of certain school superintendents to this day of innocent protest, I couldn't help thinking of the stone-faced East German officials who swiftly moved to nip this 'counterrevolutionary' movement in the bud.
4
Students are learning (or rather being instructed and directed with) all the wrong lessons. They, and their DNC sponsors and academic handlers, have suspended the critical faculty of rational skepticism and the scientific method, in return for ideological indulgence. There are no third-party, verified, forensic investigation crime scene reports (and not even a public adjudicated hearing) upon which they can rely for facts. The students are effectively engaging in mob rule and willing themselves and in group behavior--and by obeying authority figures in their schools who are directing them--to effectively lynch their imaginary enemy. They are also being exploited in a most unfortunate, if not venal, manner. And that alone tells most about the nature of this issue, and the motives of the special interests seeking to direct it. They can't make a case that can withstand adversarial trial and cross-examined evidence and testimony, so they will seek to bypass law and elicit feelings, hysteria, bias and anger, and all directed at suspending deliberation. This is a political lobbying act, not an act in law, reason and fact.
2
Do you actually know any high school students? Have you ever worked in a school? I teach high school, and this was, indeed, a student-led movement. Prove otherwise, and please cite your sources.
3
50 years ago in the spring of 1968, my high school class in a small Indiana town walked out of school together to attend a Eugene McCarthy rally. He and Bobby Kennedy were storming through the midwest prior to the 1968 primaries.
I remember Mr. McCarthy spoke from the back of a large flatbed truck about ending the Vietnam War. Although students were worried about being punished for leaving school (which had a regular policy of suspending students for small violations, like having your shirt tail hanging out or having too-short skirts), we got support from our teachers, and the school decided not to punish us. Our act of civil disobedience became a "civics lesson."
These scary times feel a lot like 1968. But it warms my heart to see the clarity in these young eyes and hear their clear voices. There is hope for our future.
17
So proud of these students, and so inspired. When I feel like giving up, they say stand up. Sending love and hugs to every student who walks out today and fills me up with hope. Thank you.
11
It would be good for all students to see where students (Americans) were denied their first amendment rights to protest. The stats may show that these rights were denied in Red states under the pretext of safety measures. Schools have been worried about safety yet forgot what their main purpose is, education. There was one school that wanted to help students learn from their actions today and help them understand the reasons why change is not instantaneous. The good news, they are future voters.
4
Go, students, go! The high school where I was the librarian until retirement is one that essentially forbade joining the student walkout by having a mandatory mass for thoughts and prayers, with detentions and fines for any student who walked out. A group of former students and former teachers came to the high school to support the walkout and to protest this policy.
While there, we learned from a very proud mother that at least 17 students respectfully protested by not entering the mass and by having their own service outside to join the 10 AM walkout. So proud of all these young people, here and everywhere, who are working so hard to keep being heard. Their energy and creativity are so moving.
8
I am a senior from Kent, Ohio and I am in class now after having walked out. My school was very supportive of it, for which I am grateful, and did not take any disciplinary action against the protestors. We also organized a voter registration drive! I am very excited for the future and cannot wait to vote this November.
25
Excellent, SB. Know that many millions of adults are behind you 100%. You are the hope of the world!
3
This is the most social media savvy, connected generation in history, having grown up with the technology as an intrinsic part of their lives - and they are actively choosing to use it in such a positive, life affirming and brave way that it’s incredibly inspiring to see.
I am so, so, proud of them.
7
said Barbara P. Canavan, ... said that the protest “presents, paradoxically, a threat to student safety, as word of the walkout has been widely disseminated and students who go outside could become more vulnerable.”
Yes, "paradoxically". It is perfectly understood that Ms. Canavan feels a heavy responsibility for the safety of the students. However, no one suggested that Pres. Trump cancel his rally in PA a couple of days ago because "word...was widely disseminated" and the thousands of people who were there exercising their rights of free speech and assembly might be in danger. Someone made sure they would be safe. What has Ms. Canavan done to ensure the safety of her charges? What efforts has she made as an individual (like the kids are) to make it at least as difficult to use a gun as it is to drive a car? If there is no money for security, then the protesting kids are completely right about their elders. I wonder if Ms. Canavan (sorry to pick on her, but no one forced her to say what she did or make the policy she did) would forbid her students from volunteering for the military because they might get killed in defense of something they believe in. If adults won't go to the front lines in the fight to save lives, these kids will. Just like 18-year old soldiers, the children in Parkland have seen their friends killed. Just like soldiers, they have the courage to fight on in their stead when others don't. Just like soldiers, may they be both courageous and safe.
6
"Some districts welcomed or even tacitly encouraged walkouts, while others threatened disciplinary action"
It would be interesting to highlight a district comprised of majority conservative pro gun/anti gun control people that nonetheless chose to support student walk out/demonstrations.
Pictures of NYC kids with beautiful signs and bullhorns doesn't show a shift or movement as those kids were already pro gun control (and NY state itself has the toughest gun laws) - likewise school shootings are not a thing in NYC (connection?).
Let's really report on/look at gun country students rising up- changing. Get those stories out there and maybe that would inspire actual shift in voting/political will.
5
Excellent. What a teachable moment across the country.
These kids will be voters in 2020, and many will be voters in November.
7
It breaks my heart that we live in a time where so many do not see political activism and affecting social change as essential parts of an education. Intentionally or not, these people are standing against independent thought and pride in one's beliefs. By insisting on obedience, and punishing dissenters as if they've done something wrong, these people are teaching kids that their voices don't matter, and that speaking out will hurt their futures. Is this America, or North Korea?
4
"And a little child shall lead them."
I fully accept that a child's brain is not fully formed. What I take away from these demonstrations is that children themselves understand the same thing and are better prepared and equipped to act. Those who have suffered at the hands of other children understand best that their cohort is not sufficiently responsible to be granted access to weapons of death. We hear and read from the NRA and its political beneficiaries that since 18-year-olds fight for our country, they are entitled to carry weapons in civilian life. This is a red herring: those who enlist in the armed forces are meticulously trained in the use and care of their military weapons. Those who buy these deadly tools in local stores and free-for-all shows are not.
It is well past time for adults to follow the lead of our children.
5
Beautiful! Their future. Their Country’s future. So proud of them, each and every one, as well as the schools managing it all so well. Thank you.
3
Please keep this story front and center all day to support these students and teachers.
8
I'm stunned at the people who are upset with these kids. What else are they supposed to do? Remember, they don't have the rights/abilities to make the changes to laws or through voting that adults do, even though this affects them so much more than it does us. This is their voice. This is their way of showing the lawmakers they want change, they want peace of mind that they can leave the house for school and be safe from incidents like this...yes, I know, you'll argue that it'll probably still happen, that criminals will still get guns.... but hopefully with less and less frequency and less and less "legal" firepower than it does now. I, for one, am very proud of these kids.
10
On a quiet, chilly morning I stood watching my normally goofy, outgoing and all around boisterous students stand silently for 17 minutes holding signs in protest and solidarity. Their solemnity as they read the names of those who lost their lives in Parkland, Florida was awesome in the truest sense. There are some who deride these protests as merely passionate and naive, but this was much more than that: civic leadership, awareness, maturity and respect. I am humbled to be their teacher, proud to see them design and perform their own protest, and hopeful that this is the dawning of something powerful and bright.
10
I am so proud of these kids. They are standing up for all of us. Let us follow their example.
3
Glad to see these motivated students, although it is a little strange that it's only happening now. Like one kid said, "seventeen people are dead...", referring to the most recent school shooting in Florida, but that's hardly the only or the most deadly mass shooting. This issue has been around for a long time, but it's good to see students paying attention to it now, and I hope they don't give up on it or forget about it.
I think they should keep in mind too, nothing will change until Republicans are out of power. Republicans are completely averse to doing anything about gun control, they're bought by the NRA, including Trump, and so no gun control can be implemented so long as they are in power.
So I hope these students commit themselves to fighting against the Republicans forever, because that's what it will take to enact sane gun control measures.
2
A Portrait of Young America, the Now and The Future, coming to the fore, coming to remind their Elders never to surrender to the Tyranny of Violence. Look at the photograph of their faces, eyes of The Rainbow and Hope. They are all represented by culture and creed.
The Flowers have returned. They are not smiling but looking steadfast and strong. A moment to remember when America looks at its best.
2
I pray the determination of these students will rub off on our voters who are about as lackluster as you can be. The results of a 20% or 30% voter turnout led to our current presidential problem, which by the way, gets worse by the day.
These caring students are offering us all a reason to vote. Will we get the message?
6
"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing..."
- Thomas Jefferson
Teachers and administrators take note: This is a teachable moment and the perfect civics lesson.
9
Good for these brave students. Mass non-violent civil disobedience is the only way to address these crucial issues. They are our future. Keep it up.
3
How can you not be inspired, heartened to see the maturity, grace and sheer determination of these young adults from every stripe...coming together in a positive and productive way. Too often viewed as 'entitled' and seen as having no view further than the screen on their phones....it gives one hope that our future is brighter than it sometimes seems, and that real, meaningful change is afoot !
2
While I agree that young children (kindergartners to second-graders) likely cannot understand the circumstances behind or the reasoning for these protests, and that it makes sense for schools adjust their plans accordingly, it seems horribly ironic when many young children have already experienced lock down "rehearsals." Our first-grader's after-school program had an active shooter lockdown drill shortly after the Parkland murders. The teacher pulled the window shades down and the kids huddled in a corner of the room for 7 minutes in silence. They were supposed to huddle for 10 minutes, but he called it at 7 because they were doing a "good job" of being quiet. Our child told me all these details, as I tried to say anything that made sense and was not fear-provoking in response. How do you explain lock downs to a first-grader and not the protests? I honestly don't have an answer--it is a question raised for me by the counselor quoted in this article.
6
So proud of these young people. I'm not sure their efforts will succeed but it sure feels "different" this time around.
3
I find that students walking out and expressing their rights while protesting is an inspiring and truly moving act. I am currently a resident at Mayville High School, and we held an optional assembly this morning. I found it intriguing when so many students showed up, because I didn't know so many of the students in my school cared. Our school threatened disciplinary action against us if we walked out, but I would have walked out if that had not been the case. I know many schools disobeyed their schools instructions, but there are not many students in my school and I still believe in following rules.
3
The electorate must demand real and significant gun law reform and must insist that any person running for political office on any level must stand first and foremost upon that platform. The media has a role to play in keeping the public focused on that goal and in moving public opinion toward that direction. The electorate must not be distracted by the machinations of the powerful influences who feel otherwise. This is the only way for us to effect change but i think if we are successful in this very achievable goal many other progressive issues will follow.
2
Thank you to the students who are out doing what needs to be done. We can't do nothing. You are the leaders of this moment, and I'm happy to follow.
4
Congrats to these students who are becoming adults and will soon be able to vote, unless the republicans find a way to keep them away from the voting booths. Conservatives will learn that these young voters will not aid them in restricting democracy and increasing the power of the wealthy.
3
So moved by the students who are articulate, passionate, engaged. These young people are dedicated to the issues and causes that belong to them. They will not be deterred or co-opted. It's time for politicians to learn that the young are to be valued and taken seriously for their what they own, not just objects to be co-opted to support the agendas of the status quo.
If our republic can be saved, we had better start listening.
2
This was an international walkout - not just national. It happened here in France at 10am local time at at least one international school. I'm not sure about other countries and schools, but many of us overseas support these young people 100% in their effort to make real change - and don't forget, we are voters, too!!
14
How ironic--and wrong--is it that, according to school board president, Jerry Hidalgo, parents in Lafayette Parish, La. find political undercurrents--gun control--in the student walkout but not in their own lack of support for the students because of their concern for second amendment rights? It doesn't get much more political than that. This is yet another sad example of the supposed adults in the room selling-out their own children to the NRA and the gun industry.
Another example is the interim superintendent at Sandy Hook, Lorrie Rodrigue, treating the walkout as an extension of social studies class. This well-intended rationalization actually undermines and diminishes the student's protest. The walkout is not an extension of any class: It is a walking away from class, a breaking with class, a changing of established procedure as a form of protest, it is the students themselves taking action when no one else will to minimize the remote but very real possibility of their being killed when they enter a classroom.
5
The walkout is not only about gun control, it's an educational and inspiring way to awaken students minds to the idea that "we the people" can encourage and create change in this country...by doing something. This is fabulous.
3
I’m so moved by what these students are doing to protest and speak out about their safety. My friends son was terrified to go to school after the Parkland shootings. She is considering home schooling for him next year that is if they are still here. She is here on temporary protected status after leaving El Salvador 20 years ago.
This walk out is a wonderful way for these students to get some control and take action by walking out and making their their voices heard. Now if the deaf GOP could hear them and actually do something that would be something.
4
I commend the students who walked out of their classes on March 14 to protest the government response to school shootings, prompted by the Parkland, Florida massacre in which 17 students were shot dead in their classrooms. It is unacceptable that the National Rifle Association control the discussion and legislation over control control and availability of guns to dangerous and mentally ill people, or whether military weapons should be readily available to the general public. Lobbying and financial interests have superseded basic safety and assurance for too long, and the time for change is clear.
Young people have no financial incentive for their protests, and the only "skin in the game" that they have is their own skin, and their right to live without fear of being murdered in their own schools. They have the vigor and drive to raise these issues and to change the national dialog over the long term, and I hope that students and young people maintain their momentum to affect change to bring sanity to gun regulations while respecting our constitution. The efforts they made on the 14th will help protect themselves and future generations.
3
This is a good start and I am proud to see young Americans taking to the streets and demanding action. The now need get registered and vote, vote, vote, vote - when that 18th year hits.
3
My daughter, a high school sophomore, participated in her first walk out today. She texted me with a description: “the walkout was so cool. so many people came together to stand up for what we believe in and it was just so amazing”.
I hope that this is the entry point for the next generation of voters to show democracy in action and vote out the dinosaurs who sold their souls (and our collective well being) to the NRA and other radical, fundamentalist organizations.
3
The basic problem with young people getting involved in these area is that the frontal lobes and pre-frontal lobes in the brain (the seat of reasoning and judgement) aren't fully developed until the early or mid twenties. That's why it was a terrible mistake to lower the voting age to 18 - in actuality it should have been kept at 21 or even raised to 25. It's almost impossible to truly reason with someone that is under 21 in areas that require a higher level processing. Fortunately most young people will out grow this problem as they age but until they do don't expect rational, complicated reasoning.
1
My THANKS to these 'powerful' students and the future of our country. They're the ones who will VOTE wisely and honestly and they WILL VOTE!
3
Excellent!
Our only HOPE!
I am encouraged and hopeful for a better future for nation
2
Even in districts where there is hostility to the walkout, this is a teachable moment. "Potosi, Wis., ... did not anticipate any walkouts there. “We believe that because we are rural, there is a different perspective than the highly publicized gun violence narrative...." That in itself is worth reflection. We are a country that only cares about its own back yards? An area in the north that has yet to receive the message that "a country divided against itself cannot stand?" Where cities don't care about rural areas and vice versa? School officials in Potosi are living in a fantasy world along with the NRA. Less than a year ago 26 people were shot in a church in Sutherland Springs Texas. It doesn't get more rural than that. Perhaps the school administrators in Potosi need to be learn some lessons themselves. The first lesson is that with respect to this and other critical problems we're all in this together. Like it or not.
5
Bravo to our young students. Its good to see that they have taken a stand against senseless violence. Why must the young be the ones to take to the streets? Where are the adults? Memories of the Vietnam protests come to mind and I am proud of these young people who now attempt to lead "we the people"
1
Aroostook County is Maine's northernmost county (bigger than Connecticut) very rural (11 people per sq mile) with a tradition of responsible gun use.
And overall a very measured, sensitive response to the walkout: https://thecounty.me/2018/03/14/news/schools-across-aroostook-participat...
An overwhelming majority school districts of thoughtful responses by school districts.
3
Bravo !
From France, I am 100000 % with all those kids that are doing something to change things that are unacceptable by all civilized nations, because the adults have checked out common sense from their actions.
3
Go for enforceable gun control young hearts. Time is on your side. It is your birth right to live in a world that does not glorify guns and does not allow guns to be in the hands of those younger than 21 and being able to live in gun free zones should be a birth right. Changes are happening in America today for a better and fairer future that we could never have expected to happen during this century or the last. Hope the national walkout will force a change and empower our political leaders to stand up to the all mighty NRA.
2
I assume we still teach "Civics" in K-12 in US schools. This is civics in action. Not some mock trial, or mock legislature in action, which is what I got. Although school administrators will not admit it, their "job" is to domesticate students as well as teach them. "Forced conformity" is the enemy of Democracy.
1
This is a good first step, students. Now register and VOTE. You have power as a collective, and as individuals. Look at PA as an example. In TRUMP country no less. A democrat is going to win because individuals took a stand. You can too. VOTE. It means something. Exert your power.
2
All the power to these students. Now they need a handful of committed agitators, like Emma Gonzalez, to lead a sustained movement. Walkouts and demonstrations are nice, but the powers-that-be usually just wait until the participants get distracted by the next outrage.
1
Indeed, the future is the youth. I’m very hopeful.
1
We are all sick of what's wrong and what's right about gun control ... but it's supremely disappointing so many of our elected leaders choose to continue to ignore the concerns and requests from these inspirational future leaders of America. I applaud these young people for their initiative and commitment to life, and I hope I live long enough to see the change they advocate and herald.
11
Shouldn't our elected leaders pay attention to EVERYONE's concerns?
1
"and a child shall lead them." As an old 60's activist I believe we are leaving the world in good hands!
10
God bless these fine, young students! Our democracy is complex, noisy, frustrating, and slow to change; we need your voices, your passion, and your involvement. I urge you to stay involved; as you become 18, vote! Get involved in the various elections and run for office. And at all times, exercise both your rights and the obligations and duties associated with our rights and freedoms
10
This should scare republicans to no end. These are your future voters, ladies and gentlemen. They are tired of the idiotic trope of "guns make things safer" so all I can say is "good luck"
7
My generation once said, "power to the people". Keep up the good fight. Stay focused, organized and energetic. Fighting evil will not be a cakewalk, nor will it happen overnight. Be patient. Good things will come to those who stick it out for the long haul. Don't give up like the Occupy Wall Street movement did.
5
Four points - somewhat related.
1) What kind of school administration would not allow students back on campus after demonstrating for smart gun laws? For what reason? Whatever they would say would be a lie if it wasn't - we, as administrators, believe in lax gun laws.
2) A "Get Out of Viet Nam" sticker still shows on the clarinet case I used in public school in the 5th grade. If I had lived in Georgia, would I have been allowed into school carrying that?
3) The country is so so big now (almost twice as many people as when I was in 5th grade) - so dispersed - so leaderless - so rudderless - how can policy change without the boost of vast amounts of money from lobbies, the the billionaires - need I go on...? I'd like to blame just the President who says one thing one day and the opposite the next. But we citizens facilitate this. Still, who is the "we" when the country is so large - we're more a bunch of tribes than a country...
4) If the internet is good for anything - let these young people get ON IT, and find a real "we" - a real "us" - and take control of their lives and their planet. They seem to be starting. Bless them - and if you work in a school - support them - you need them more, it seems, than they need you to remember some of the important things.
12
Step aside older generation! Let these intelligent, active young people show us how to get things done.
2
"Hey, hey N.R.A., how many kids have you killed today?" This was the chant of the 70's protests against the Vietnam War. Instead of N.R.A., it was L.B.J. our president at the time. It makes me soul sick to think that now it is being used by teens and children who just want to go to school and know they and their classmates are safe. What kind of culture values guns over children? Why would public servants take donations from an organization that kills their children? Having worked with emotionally disturbed students, as a Special Education teacher, I would never recommend allowing volatile children and teens access to weapons of any kind. The rights of individuals to own or possess guns, should never overwhelm the rights of student populations to be safe in their schools. WE are so proud of these students who are protesting, recognizing they need to use their voices to end these nonsensical laws that allow for rapid fire and violence which should be unacceptable in any humane society. God help us, as we come to terms with the value of human life over rights of individuals to bear arms.
9
I am extremely proud of these students; I am extremely ashamed of all adults for not doing more to stop gun violence. Ray Sipe
4
Whether you agree or disagree, THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! And, I'm thinking a lot of the young people might know they are putting themselves at risk doing this, but they believe so much that they are willing to. Civil rights activists did the same. I teach teens, and while I know they don't fully process risk and mortality, they aren't stupid. They understand the risk just as much as the 18-year-old who joins the army.
7
This should be top headline until problem is solved. Our children deserve nothing less than our undivided attention.
3
Go ahead an punish students who walk out. That will just serve to teach them what needs to change in this country
5
As the very talented and insightful Grace van der Waal has sung: Not Clay!
These kids are proving it.
4
finally us teens have a voice
7
It breaks my heart to see these precious students making such an effort for change and yet with this president and this congress, nothing is going to happen. I hate to see these young people defeated and discouraged but sadly that's the way it'll wind up.
In the liberal west, our school actually had counter protesting kids, with a giant white semiautomatic weapon flag that said "just try to take it". Super awkward!
34
I would seriously question what school you are sending your kids to.
11
Kind of strange how they will hold onto their weapons while giving up their ability to live in a society where there would be no such need to have weapons.
4
I would disagree. It's Super awesome!
3
Solidarity from The American School in London. @asinlondon and www.asl.org
10
I want to know what is happening in rural districts. Are those kids on board too? More reporting please NYT. Kids who walk out to protest=courageous. NRA people who feel like they can't go anywhere without a gun=cowards.
3
Young people have always been the catalyst for change. (The Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam come to mind.)
It's sickening that our elected officials lack the courage to stand up to the gun lobby, despite the fact that people die every day in this country from gun violence.
While I applaud the students efforts, we have to remember that this bloodshed isn't just happening in schools. It's happening on the streets, in movie theaters, churches, concerts, clubs, military bases, and in people's homes, with domestic violence and suicide.
23
So proud of these young people here at Franklin High School for stepping up to their beliefs, and hope they register to vote and keep at making our country a peaceful, tolerant place. You are the change.
7
I agree that we should reflect and respect the kids who had their lives taken. I could not fathom the loss and sorrow that the families affected felt and the whole state of Florida is in my prayers.This comment is not meant to take anything away from those affected. This is a horrible tragedy that should not happen again, and I agree we need to make changes for that to happen.
But guns are not the issue, the same thing could happen with a knife. If we take guns away what would we be accomplishing? Criminals and shooters will still obtain guns illegally, they don't care about breaking the law, but if we take guns away then law abiding citizens cannot protect themselves any more. If criminals know that homes don't have guns then they will be more likely to break in to homes, the crime rate would increase exponentially. We don't take cars away from everyone just because a drunk kills someone, we punish the drunk. But why not take cars away? How many kids have committed suicide because of cyber bullying? Why not take away phones and social media?
Guns are not the issue, guns cannot walk to a school, aim and pull its own trigger. People are the issue, and not just the ones that commit the crime, but the people who don't care to be kind to fellow humans. I am committing to doing 17 acts of kindness every day, for my fellow students and teacher at my school. This movement is called Walk Up, and I think it will be much more effective than blaming gun owners.
2
Chloe, you get it. Very wise commentary.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, the same thing cannot happen with a knife.
With a knife you have to get close; you can only harm one person at a time.
With a semi-automatic firearm you can hurt many from a distance, and quickly.
World of difference.
5
Chloe,
I can take everyone of your points and make a - factual - counterpoint.
Anyone can kill a lot more people with an AR-15 than with a knife. That's the point of the AR-15.
In countries and states where there are gun restrictions, there is less gun death.
Look at statistics from reputable sources comparing the U.S. to places like Japan, Canada and most west European countries. The US has a disproportionately higher incidence of gun death than any of those countries and all of those countries have gun laws.
Look at Connecticut which introduce gun restrictions after Sandy Hook. Gun deaths went down. Look at Missouri which eliminated some fun restrictions went up.
Guns really are the issue.
You do not, of course, take all cars away because one drunk kills someone. But all drivers have to be a certain age. All drivers have to pass tests. All drivers have to be licensed. Their cars have to be licensed and insured. Their cars have to meet industry standards. They have to have seat belts for example and new ones have car bags. Since introducing safety standards in cars, vehicular deaths have gone down.
We're just saying we need some sensible safety standards, licenses and tests for guns.
Congratulations on your 17 acts of kindness every day. Good luck in changing the world with it.
1
I hope this generation of young people finish the job that my generation failed to do. Eliminate the mindset of violence that permeates all aspects of our society.
4
I find this political theater to be nauseating. Our impressionable children being used as tools to repeal the 2nd amendment ? How on Earth did we get here !
The NYC protests are quite rich. A city that charges law abiding citizens upwards of $800 to apply for a firearm license, that makes you wait 7 months & forces you to register that firearm with the NYPD (totally contradicting the amendments purpose, as the NYPD is a function of the state).
And for added context ? 96% of all NYC shootings were committed by non-Whites, 99% illegally obtained.
But let's keep this charade going, why not right ? Anything to empower the Democrat party & marginalize law abiding America citizens.
3
People who don't grasp that high school students are writing this movement themselves crack me up. Is it unfathomable to you that teenagers have coherent thoughts and know how to take action? It seems to be endemic in the gun-loving parts of America that children are to be seen and not heard. Well -- those of us with progressive hearts and minds hear them loud and clear.
18
Young people can think for themselves.
"A city that charges law abiding citizens upwards of $800 to apply for a firearm license, that makes you wait 7 months & forces you to register that firearm with the NYPD."
More cities should do the same. To operate a motor vehicle requires proof of (expensive) insurance, registration, driving competency, and in many cases a 6-month or more graduated licensing process. Those car owners sure are marginalized and kept off the streets.
3
Nobody is trying to repeat the 2nd amendment. They are trying to get some reasonable restraint on weapons of mass destruction, military grade machines capable of killing a lot of people in a hurry.
How is making it easy for someone to kill at a distance a "sacred" right? How is a life less important than guns?
As for money: NRA to Trump, $30 million, Rubio $3.5 million, etc. etc.
As for statistics, you seem to have a private source that tells you what you want to believe. Here's a better overview:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/06/opinion/how-to-reduce-sho...
Try the Gospels if you call yourself a Christian. Blessed are the peacemakers. Thou shalt not kill.
I don't need you to be armed when you have a tantrum, want to bully a woman, accidentally don't secure your gun around a child, have roadrage, or any of the other all-too-human temptations to kill and bully.
I'm fine with you having a gun. But I seriously doubt your "facts". Try this for what even gun owners want:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/05/upshot/how-to-reduce-mass...
And here's how you guy a gun:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/02/world/international-gun-l...
1
The level of tone-deafness shown by the Superintendent who feels the kids are safer in their classrooms than walking out in protest should be shocking, but no longer isn't. Kids are being gunned down in their classrooms, while Congress turns a blind eye while accepting more money from the NRA.
We're raising up youth who will spend their entire education running active shooter drills, each time with the increased chance that it isn't actually a drill, and the adults keep telling them they're overreacting.
Walking out in protest is one thing, just wait until these kids are old enough to vote.
10
Here's exactly where wrong-headed republicans demonstrate that indeed *everybody* can be learned from ('the broken clock twice a day' principle):
"Ben Franklin Was Right - When You Give Up Liberty For Security, You End Up With Neither," said Ron Paul, indeed in a case where the paraphrase was actually better than Ben Franklin's original, which said those sacrificing liberty for security *deserve neither*.
This principle, that giving up essential liberty for the sake of security winds up losing both, is all important in this context. Rather than the ersatz "liberty" to own assault rifles, the absolutely primary and foundational liberties of life and civic participation are what are at stake here. Nothing could be truer than that sacrificing one iota of these liberties of LIFE ITSELF and CIVIC PARTICIPATION (both, in contrast with gun ownership, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, our founding document itself), for the spurious liberty of private assault rifle ownership, winds up losing *everything* indeed.
If tbe civic liberty of protesting for redress of grievances, and in the name of protecting the most fundamental, foundation of liberties is not exercised, life and liberty are squandered in the most devastating ways, and no merely temporary and shallow security is worth it. Get out and protest!
1
In Trumplandia the only adults in the room seem to be 18 or under. Those over 18 are too engrossed in fighting the black helicopters and ensuring that all of us remain at risk 24/7/365.
Thank you students!
7
Wow so awesome . Cried when I woke and read this . Its the first time that I feel changes will come . Keep fighting kids . Love u
8
These kids are awesome. And remember legislators, they will all be voting in just a few years.
4
I am so proud of and inspired by these students.
9
So a first amendment is ok to follow however the second is not. Check mate boss.
1
It's disgraceful that some schools threaten discipline for protesting. Protests have already lost enough power by being planned and regulated to eliminate or minimize disruption when disruption is what gets results. Millions have protested Trump's policies with few to no results, because we get permits, stay on the sidewalks etc. The least these schools could do is preserve the kids' right to express their views.
3
No more “Children should be seen and not heard.”
These young people show more backbone and consistency than many elected officials.
They have no vote (yet), but they have a voice, which is loud and clear.
Never again.
Please, let’s not fail to act.
5
My child will be doing a permanent walkout if it is ever decided that teachers or whoever will be allowed to bring guns to school. That, my friends, will be the end of public education.
22
Its already been a thing in Ohio for years.
The end of public schools is exactly what the Secretary of Education wants. We must also take care that this government does not raise the voting age.
3
God speed kids!! The more students rally about gun reform, the more optimistic I find myself becoming about the future.
I can't imagine the terror of having a gunman marauding through my school or how I would have reacted back in the day. I am a baby-boomer, born after WWII. We didn’t fear each other—we feared Russia. A Cold War simmered, people built fall-out shelters, and students were taught to shelter under our desks in case of a foreign attack. Our threat was not as close as the hall outside our classroom; nonetheless, it was chilling to crawl under that desk.
I know that my parents would have been abhorred to know their children faced danger merely because our government didn’t have the common sense to know that the 2nd amendment did not give every citizen, including kids, the right to have a gun let alone a semi-automatic weapon. They would have insisted that Congress take action, and I think Eisenhower would have backed them.
Students today face a different enemy—not so much a foreign unknown, perhaps a classmate or a neighbor. Our apathy is part of the danger, as is lack of common sense. We don’t want to realize that the solution will begin by taking action against the real enemy: the NRA and a government that seems to care more about money, power, and re-election than its constituents.
Australia got rid of a gun problem. I think these kids might be able to do the same with a little help from adults. They have fire in their belly; we have the power of the vote.
5
To come next: Student walkout from all colleges and Universities in America.
Change WILL happen from younger generation up.
It is the young Americans who have to live the longest in this corrupt country.
When the young people revolt, a lasting change is bound to happen.
3
This is long over due. Recent win for Conor Lamb in PA in a very red district shows people fed up with politicians under the thumb of special interests.
Kids don't care about that. They still believe our congress is supposed to put their lives ahead of corporate profits and special interest like the NRA who you and I cannot vote for and who represent very small fraction of American voters.
These kids will start voting in the next mid term. They will be voting in the next presidential election. They are tired of being scared of going to school.
They will influence their parents as well. Mom and dad fear for their children's lives and will vote in the best interest of their safety not in the best interest of NRA.
http://yourfuture.us/
6
I guess this means no one needs to come out to vote now during the elections. We showed them.
Kalidan
Love it! Students keep on them, educators, parents, keep voting for the right people who will stop this insanity. For all you schools who condemned and tried to keep these kids down..SHAME ON YOU!
As I read on a previous thread it would be great if we could put a number on how many schools and kids participated.
4
To all the teachers and supervisors in all the schools nationwide who are blocking or threatening these kids for their protesting, you are wrong. You are part of a backwards conservative archaic thinking. That has got to change. You should respect and support these kids for standing up for their rights not to get shot and not to live in constant fear for their lives. You haven't protected them. You are dinosaurs. You haven't realized that you are extinct. You are.
13
I'm so proud of this generation that many of us have undersold as thoughtless and self-centered. I only hope their revolution continues to build steam and their voices become so loud that the rest of the country --especially Washington DC, takes notice and enacts changes.
11
Kudos to the next generation and a bright and shining future. You can make the world a better place - don't believe anyone who tells you you can't. Stay strong. Keep it coming.
6
This could be the greatest lesson students ever learn in Civics, much more valuable than missing 17 minutes of AP History or Wood Shop.
25
It is more than about time that we started having protest kids in this country again. Bob Dylan is proud today!
3
Those districts that oppose student protests claim it's to keep students from being shot - and because they're pressured by a local public that demands to have guns. Children are collateral damage.
3
The colleges and universities ought to participate as well as they are of voting age. A show of numbers will change the thinking in this country and make those elected to represent us act responsibly. How dare they not listen to voters! VOTE THEM OUT. Votes are more powerful than any gun.
4
It is starting to feel like the 60's and 70's. The sleeper has awakened.
5
Here in Central WV, students were told by administration that this was not optional. They had NO choice. That is NOT a statement or an action by "children demanding change". That is a political move using children.
I also find it disturbing that anyone thought that having children walk out, en mass was any kind of a good idea. If there was just one mentally unstable person wanting an easier target and a way to get easy fame, I don't know where they could find a better place. One minute of silence, the same as we have for the lives lost on 9-11, inside the classroom, would have been a far smarter idea. However, "smart" and "security" have never been the goal of the organizers of this.
To "fix" shootings, you need two things: remove the reward and harden the target. https://nonotoriety.com has a great idea on the first.
Increase the ability of a school and administrators to effectively provide immediate response to any threat. Be it by police, armed security or volunteer teachers who receive specialized training to be armed. Eliminate the ease in which shooters can enter unopposed in a school.
17
Children walk out of school 'en mass' and on a schedule, cued even by a bell *every single school day*.... every one of those days those same kids have to face the same fear that there might be a mentally unstable person who has been able to legally purchase a weapon of war waiting there. Today they chose to confront that fear head on by walking out of their school one extra time, and we should applaud them. Today they let the world know that they are angry, they are disappointed, they have had enough and they are brave - and not just today when everyone is watching, but all the other days, when they face the same thing with no fan fare at all.
The only way to even begin to address this is to first remove weapons of mass destruction from the hands the public. Children need schools - not high walls and guards... that's a prison..
18
So happy you're in the minority. You have next to no understanding of activism or of the problem of gun violence. You imagine a world where we should do one of two things: 1) Sit on our hands and do nothing because a shooter might be waiting outside; or 2) Train people in the school to be armed.
You're much more a part of the problem than you are the part of any kind of solution.
21
Not acknowledging shooters is the start, but changes in laws encouraged by the voices of the people are the finish.
3
The administrator for the Potosi, Wisconsin school district must not be from Wisconsin, has a short term memory loss or is simply sticking his head in the sand. Potosi is a half hour drive from where I live in rural Wisconsin, and the town of Potosi is an hours drive from Weston high school where several years ago the beloved principal was shot to death by a student who brought a gun into the school. It had a profound affect on all the surrounding rural communities including Potosi. Every time there is a new school shooting, the comments I hear are about how could this happen again after Weston, this coming from an area that loves guns and their children.
Mr. Saari, your beliefs are also part of the problem. I does happen in rural areas. Pull your head out of the sand.
9
"School administrators have been grappling with how to respond."
Because they haven't given any serious consideration to the initial call for action by the students.
"It is unlikely that officials in Washington will quickly heed the demands of the students."
Washington always needs to get a 2x4 across the noggin to wake-up. Today was an excellent opening salvo.
I posted it here during the initial report of students organizing: IGNORE THE NATION"S YOUTH AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Look at these photographs, the people in them will be voting soon! (and running the country soon after)...
3
Just think all these kids can vote in the next few years. So nice to see that finally someone has the sense to challenge the status quo and grip that the NRA has on the USA. And that sense is not the "grownups" in Washington, it is the children of America. This is the face of change in America. And a little child shall lead them, or something like that.
8
For a bit of perspective about the inadvisability of arming teachers, please follow the link to a story from Seaside, Ca, where a teacher brought his loaded gun to school to give a class on gun safety. While clearing his gun, he accidentally shot into the ceiling, injuring 3 students, one seriously, who was hit in the neck with a piece of the shattered bullet.
This was an experienced gun owner, who was a member of the police reserves. Imagine the implications of arming less experienced teachers, and the danger to students that could result.
http://www.ksbw.com/article/seaside-high-teacher-accidentally-fires-gun-...
19
These kids will turn 18 in 1-3 years and vote! Change will come, finally.
10
Last time I checked "Murder" was against the Law and for a very long time and it hasn't stopped the ones who want to murder. So How would more policies help stop murder? Please Answer this? I really want to know.
2
Why have any laws then?
4
How do you know it hasn't stopped would-be murderer's? There is no data on who may have thought of murdering someone but didn't because there is a law criminalizing it.
Anyway it's more to do with culture and attitude. When you have a law, lawless people start to understand that it is not acceptable and also cultural attitudes and society's mores start to change, evolve. And in time the first thing that comes to mind is no longer murder but ways of resolving conflict.
I wish everyone was responsible, tolerant, self-reflective and humanitarian then we wouldn't need to draw lines, we wouldn't need to create laws for those who aren't responsible and in doing so penalize those who are. But we are far from being at that point in our evolution as a species.
Lawmakers. You have two choices. Do something NOW or be voted out of office when these kids become voters.
6
I enjoyed watching the local high school children walkout so they could joke, play on their phones, take selfies, scream like toddlers, and attempt to disrupt traffic in front of the school. When one of them noticed the empty holster on my hip the rage over the inanimate object was bouderline comical. When I asked how me having this piece of plastic on my hip was different than one designed to hold a phone I was told, by the same child that noticed the holster in the first place, “that thing is designed to kill”. So much for observational skills and critical thinking. I was so glad to watch the police, tired of their antics in traffic, herd them back into the school like the sheep they are.
2
So proud and inspired by these students. People denied power, influence, respect and regard must do what they can to spotlight atrocities and lethal threats. Stay safe and resolute. You are heroes today and key to our hopes for the future. I'm with you!
5
The US is not like other countries in regards to guns.
And we are not better. We are worse.
Why do so many other countries have gun laws that lead to less death?
2
Better educated countries have less gun deaths. Fact
1
Four American impossibilities:
• It's impossible for the American colonies to win their independence from the greatest military power on earth.
• It's impossible to end slavery in the United States
• It's impossible for women to gain the right to vote in America
• It's impossible to license guns and ban assault weapons in the U.S.
What do you say, kids?
8
Many schools in Massachusetts had classes cancelled today due to the storm yesterday. We are with you all in spirit - you are magnificent people.
3
I'm sorry, Maryland, but you are mistaken. To be effective, protests must be public. Waving fingers in the air inside a classroom does nothing. Apparently, it is the school administrators who need an education.
9
The right wing won't like this at all.
Gov Reagan ended free college tuition in California due to anti Vietnam protests. He didn't like folks speaking their mind.
Later he became the president under suspect circumstances. The "October Surprise". Ronald Reagan's Federal Communications Commission abolished the Fairness Doctrine. Also changed regulations pertaining to how many broadcast stations a single company can own. As he put it. "We Hit the Jackpot"! So did Limbaugh et al
2
I joined the nascent Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in January 2013, right after Sandy Hook. Surely, I thought, mobilizing mothers desperate to save their children could break the NRA's choke-hold on the Congress. But mothers mean nothing to the GOP majority and the slaughter continues.
Now the lock-down generation - our children who were forced to cower in closets during active shooter drills - is up and running. Like the Boomers before them during Viet Nam, they're not going to take being brought home in body bags. They've got the motive, the method, and an avalanche of incipient electoral power. Goodbye to the cowards at every level of government who refuse to control guns. These kids are going to throw you out. The future is here now.
4
this walkout is said to be "against gun violence". Tell me who is FOR gun violence? In general, people with guns have them to prevent ALL violence!
The courage and determination displayed by the students is in stark contrast to the cowardice and gun money avarice entrenched in our NRA owned congress.
1
Mass violence steals a most precious gift from people coming of age -- the empowering sense of self amid solidarity. That violence may hide behind justifications like gun rights, national security, or law and order. Whatever its rationalization, it robs us of our voice.
Today, I'm inspired by those taking to the streets to claim the invincibility that enables teens to reshape our world for the better. Thank you for giving me renewed hope for a more just future after the failures of my neo-liberal generation.
Si se puede.
2
Pay attention baby boomers- these are the Americans who will be picking your nursing homes and they'll long remember how much support you showed them many years after you've forgotten.
1
Dear Students,
Excellent job on step 1
Step 2: Register to vote
Step 3: Vote out those who don’t support gun control
Thank you for being the adult voices in the room.
5
"... and a child shall lead them."
Best news I've heard all week. I hope every single one of these students registers to vote. Can't wait for 2020.
3
Kids rock. So moved watching these compassionate students. Let's start an 'Adopt a Voter' movement where those of us of voter age can pair up with these students and step into the voting booths to vote for candidates who can carry out these kids' agenda.... They'll 'pay' us for our votes with their tremendous passion to make all of our futures brighter. Kris Kobach-- Eat your heart out!
6
I must admit,I am very proud of all these young people. At least when they protest,they do it in an orderly,calm manner. When adults protest,it always leads to violence and riots. Color me impressed!!!
1
Always.?....I think not.
2
Civil Disobedience - H.D. Thoreau and M.L. King would be proud!
3
Here are some stats:
Tobaco kills 480,000 a year.
Obecity kills 300,000 a year.
Alcohol kills 88,000 a year.
Vehicles kill 35,000 a year.
Rifles kill 400 a year.
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" --The Bill of Rights
But according to this very paper:
“More than 33,000 people die in firearm-related deaths in the United States every year, according to an annual average compiled from C.D.C. data”
8
I'm not sure where you found your gun statistics, certainly not the CDC.
On average (for years 2012-2016) guns are the weapon of choice for:
Homicides: 12,726 per year.
Suicides: 21,637 per year.
Undetermined and other: 779 deaths per year.
Total gun deaths per year: 35,141
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms" referred (in 1791, when the second amendment was added to the bill of rights) to front-loading brown bess muskets & flintlocks, not military assault rifles, and is associated with participation in a "well-regulated militia."
3
I don't know about guns much but I DO know rifles are only one type of gun. So that's why the rate of death Dominican Rambo (as Reddit would say, "Name Checks Out") is quoting such a low figure. A lot of deaths by gun don't occur with rifles but with handguns/ pistols.
Very proud of these students ! My thoughts and prayers are with you, as you mobilize against our "Corrupt Corporate Owned (NRA) Politicians". Don't let this end today. Stay engaged, and understand that your most important action will be to vote your conscience in "every" election. Get out and VOTE !
3
I am so proud of these kids and I'm not even an American
3
I'm ashamed to be an adult in the US. We have fiddled, and Rome is burning.
6
In most civilized societies it is the role of adults to protect children not pursue the proliferation of useless murderous weapons. trump America sees things differently from threats of nuclear war to ownership of idiotic guns.
2
Get back in Class and try and learn something..OH I forgot the LEFTY Professors aren't teaching American History and the Constitution...Kids...turn off CNN and Main Street Media and get to the books and learn why the 2nd amendment was put in our great Constitution...Agree that AR's have no place on the street and background check should be MUCH stiffer with a STRONGER Data Base
1
I stand with the students across America in their walkout and pray the lawmakers listen because one day soon these students will be voting as well.
Ms. Canavan says, her district would offer “a learning module that will provide students with an opportunity to share their feelings ... in a structured way.”
So Ms. Canavan's school and others who "cannot condone students leaving classes during the instructional day to participate in this activity,” will actually speak for the students...? Will this include getting a permission from the NRA first before talking to the lawmakers?
When students are outright prohibited from sharing their feelings of being killed in school the educational system is a much bigger disarray than I would have thought. Obviously the teachers can't tackle the gun violence issue alone and don't for a second think that just because they are students they are ignorant.
1
The loudness of all these voices should have been shouted a long time ago. The Florida school shooting was tragic just as every other school shooting. How many shootings have been since the Florida one and how many will continue? Will walk outs make everything go away, guns, mental illness, madness, and so much more? Will this be the last one because of all the loud voices and #enough is enough, we all hope so. But what is reality? Am I saying that it's all for nothing, no. But more than walking out, sitting in streets, sitting in football fields, and creating hash tags, needs to be done. New blood in our politics is needed. We the people have been overlooked and forgotten. Politicians say over and over they do not forget us, but they do and they have. So nownall those loud voices need to come together and become the voices that sit on the senatenfloor making decisions that will make a difference for We The People.
Good for the students across America. You did it!
Can we have now a walk out across colleges on April 14?
Can we follow up with Parents walk out across USA on May 14?
Can again follow up with All Americans walking out across USA on June 14?
Since I do not expect any action from this government, Let us all walk to the Polling stations on November 6, 2018 so that we do not have to walk out again to implement people's voices against Gun Violence Forever.
How many lives will be lost meanwhile before any actions are taken by this Government?
2
It seems the common refrain from the clueless administrators and others who are trying in vain to stop this movement, is that it is "disruptive". They had better borrow some of those useless/senseless "thoughts and prayers" from the disgusting GOP if, hopefully not but tragically possible, a shooting occurs at their school...then they will know what "disruptive" truly is. These young people are pleading for us to help prevent that horrible recurrence; too many adults are doing just the opposite. Shameful.
3
Punish those that punish. Educate the educators.
2
‘Why would people want to go outside of the school, to protest, when there can be some nut out there who could shoot at students?’
If that doesn't speak *volumes* in favor of gun control, I don't know what else can..... Children that are driven to be so paranoid that they don't feel safe anywhere and the solution we offer them - surround them with more and bigger weapons.
It's time to JUST STOP..... This is a mini-scale Cold War of citizen against citizen and it needs to end. Demilitarize the public.
5
School officials including Barbara P. Canavan, the schools superintendent in Harford County, Md., who denied students' right to voice their concerns and rights do not have place in Education.
They are doing gross injustice. They are vision less, spineless puppets to republican army who are there for their own selfish gains.
Parents and students shall March to school board meetings and demand each puppet that sits on boards and committes. Ask them who is bribing them? What their ulterior motives to block fundamental rights?
3
The only way this will work is if a MASSIVE number of students walk out AND STAY OUT, until their voting parents put heavy pressure on each congressman and senator to do something or be voted out next election.
Parents will not stand for school administrators suspending kids, thereby compromising college acceptance and the child’s future. Nope, I wouldn’t want to be the school administrator who has to tell parents that otherwise “A” students Jack and Jill won’t be graduating this year because they protested gun insanity that just might kill them. That administrator might consider a kevlar vest before he/she talks to those parents!
No government type can overcome a concerted effort brought about by parental instinct to protect the wellbeing and future of their children! And that’s a fact!!
3
"And they walked out anyway."
God bless 'em.
7
‘Why would people want to go outside of the school, to protest, when there can be some nut out there who could shoot at students?’
That really says it all. The fact that people might be afraid to go out and voice a political protest, not because of reprecussions from the school, but because there might be someone out there who could shoot them? What kind of madhouse has the country turned into?
4
What's the matter with the bought & paid by the NRA politicians? These hundreds of thousands of kids will soon be voters, duh!
1
Our children are afraid about going to school.
Not only is this a pathetic reflection upon our violent society but how does a young person concentrate and learn, if in the back of their minds they're always thinking about a shooter bursting into their classrooms to hunt them down with assault weapons and murder them? This type of worry is not conducive to education nor our future.
3
It's a start.
Let's see where they are after the next 10+ shooting in a year or so.
1
very proud of these kids
4
Its time to heed the kids demand for safety in school.. complaining about broken homes and video games and touting NRA should be dealt with seriously this coming election..
We have failed our kids.. its a shame we cannot go on living with.. we have to vote to bring the real change !
Congressman.. please return the NRA money!