Students march for gun control at Capitol
‘Thoughts and prayers don’t save lives,’ sign reads
MADISON – Thousands of students marched on the state Capitol on Wednesday, demonstrating for gun control and school safety and chanting, “Are we next?”
The march down East Washington Avenue drew students from Madison and surrounding communities as part of a nationwide day of remembrance for the 17 victims of last month’s school shooting in Florida.
Carter Brutosky, a 15-year-old sophomore from Middleton High School, was demonstrating for gun control and carrying a handmade sign that read “Thoughts and prayers don’t save lives.”
“It’s really frustrating to see so much debate over children feeling safe in schools,” Brutosky said. “People are dying.”
Brutosky said he favored universal background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases, restrictions on the types of guns sold and increasing the minimum age for purchasing guns from 18 to 21. He said he didn’t mind the idea of having to personally wait for three more years to buy a firearm, pointing to research showing that young people are prone to act impulsively and emotionally. “Your brain’s not done developing yet,” he said. The Wisconsin Capitol Police estimated the crowd size at several thousand, said Steve Michels, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker’s administration.
Middleton juniors Chloe Meyer and Amena Saleh said they saw the news of the Florida shooting and wondered if they or their classmates could be next.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear that this is going on and our government isn’t doing anything about it,” Saleh said.
The demonstration comes as Walker and his fellow Republican lawmakers are privately writing legislation to help pay for school safety improvements. Walker wasn’t present for the statehouse demonstration — instead he signed a libraries bill Wednesday in a northeast Wisconsin school near the Michigan border.
“Governor Walker is leading on school safety, and he is going to be with students today at Florence High School for a bill signing,” Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said. “Governor Walker believes that no child, parent or staff member should fear going to school, which is why he will announce a comprehensive school safety package in the coming days.”
Democrats have also backed allowing schools to raise money for safety improvements, but they say the state should pair that with gun control measures.
Both Democratic lawmakers and Walker have opposed proposals from some other Republicans to let teachers carry guns.