Thousands walk out to protest gun violence
UNITED STATES: Tens of thousands of school pupils across the US spilled out of their classrooms yesterday and demanded tighter gun controls, in one of the nation’s biggest student protests since the Vietnam War era.
The National School Walkout was organised for one month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, in which 17 people, many of them students, were killed.
Young people at nearly 3000 schools and youth groups took part in the coast-to-coast demonstrations, calling for measures includ- ing a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks for gun buyers.
The walkouts were staged at 10am in the different US time zones. Many included a 17-minute silence, signifying one minute for each Parkland victim.
Lewis Mizen, 17, a Parkland survivor originally from Coventry in England, said: ‘‘We’re all standing up together as the next generation. We’re not going to stop until every child in America can go to school safely.’’
In Washington, 2000 pupils from local schools gathered outside the White House and sat on the ground with their backs turned while a nearby church bell tolled. They carried signs saying ‘‘I should be worrying about my grades, not my life’’ and ‘‘Protect kids, not guns’’. They then marched down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the US Capitol, chanting, ‘‘Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go!’’.
As the protests took place, the National Rifle Association said in a tweet: ‘‘I’ll control my own guns, thank you.’’
In Florida, thousands of pupils at the Parkland school filed on to the football field, applauded by their families.
– Telegraph Group