After the latest school shooting in the United States, in which a 19-year-old gunman claimed the lives of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the country is seeing an unprecedented wave of anger over the ongoing and senseless epidemic gun violence.
Along with the public outcry from survivors of the shooting, including Emma Gonzalez‘s stirring and powerful speech at an anti-gun rally in Fort Lauderdale, there’s now a grassroots movement to stage a nationwide walkout from schools across America.
There appears to be two national walkouts planned: one on March 14, organised by the Women’s March, and one on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.
Enough is enough!
Women’s March Youth EMPOWER is calling for students, teachers, and allies to take part in a #NationalSchoolWalkout for 17 minutes at 10am on March 14, 2018. Join us in saying #ENOUGH!https://t.co/8ZE8uthRlZ pic.twitter.com/45yCZl4zDm
— Women’s March (@womensmarch) February 16, 2018
The Women’s March walkout is set to be for just 17 minutes – one for every victim of the Florida shooting – but agitators are urging educators and students to walk out on April 20 for a full day.
On Friday, April 20th we want students to attend school and then promptly WALK-OUT at 10:00 am. Sit outside your schools and peacefully protest. Make some noise. Voice your thoughts. “We are students, we are victims, we are change.”
— National School Walkout (@schoolwalkoutUS) February 17, 2018
The rallying cry has been echoing around Twitter, with many participants in the conversation saying that action that effectively operates as a country-wide education strike is the only way to actually get through to American lawmakers.
APRIL 20th 2018 ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF COLUMBINE WE WALK OUT OF SCHOOL UNTIL OUR CONGRESSMAN CHANGE OUR GUN LAWS AT 11:00 AM WE LEAVE #nationalwalkout #FloridaShooting
— wesley presley (@kldretro) February 17, 2018
There are multiple school walkouts now planned in response to Parkland and America’s numerous mass shootings. https://t.co/tQ9a8u9VEa
— Phil McCausland (@PhilMcCausland) February 17, 2018
If every student aged 15-24 in US schools and colleges took part in this walk-out there would be an estimated 43 million student bodies demonstrating for gun reform across the country. https://t.co/MQs5WERaRR
— Dan Rose (@The_Rosbif) February 17, 2018
I’m telling you these kids are our hope. The walk out will be staged on the anniversary of columbine. https://t.co/oT8vlzTCJp
— Dana Wright🎙 (@RadioDana) February 17, 2018
Spread the word. These kids will make a difference. It’s powerful. https://t.co/IqJOngDoG0
— Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) February 17, 2018
This is amazing. I hope everyone in schools across the USA partakes in this! POWER IN NUMBERS! 💪🏼 #NationalWalkout https://t.co/n6KHic1mEk
— Daniel Preda (@MisterPreda) February 17, 2018
Making April 20- anniversary of the Columbine School shooting- a National Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools. @AFTunion proud to be part of this. Enough is Enough. Take action here: https://t.co/uSUTtx3Mr0
— Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩🎓 (@rweingarten) February 17, 2018
I support this effort. I will be joining this peaceful protest in memory of all of those we’ve lost in school shootings and to senseless gun violence over the years. It’s beyond time for real action. https://t.co/PYq5Tu7srD
— Jess Phoenix, Lava Connoisseur 🌋 (@jessphoenix2018) February 17, 2018
I fully support any teacher or student who decides to walk out on April 20th and refuses to go back to school until sensible gun laws are put into place. Debate all you want, but these kids don’t want to fucking die. They deserve safety. Protest! Demand justice. They work FOR US!
— Jinkx Monsoon (@JinkxMonsoon) February 17, 2018
I will do everything and anything I can to support @schoolwalkoutUS. This is what democracy looks like. The young telling the old, tired and corrupt what they demand their future looks like. #EndGunViolence https://t.co/Bkc3CdAkw7
— Patrick J Adams (@halfadams) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/Marie_Lu/status/964880520965373952
Students and teachers will boycott school until Congress does something about gun violence by planning walk out days on March 14th and April 20th-plan to do one or all of them to say #EnoughIsEnough and #GunReformNow https://t.co/EYtvtb7C0G
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) February 17, 2018
After so many years of such astonishing loss of life at the hands of blokes wielding assault rifles, and such shocking lack of action on behalf of legislators, maybe this democratic demonstration by a generation that has grown up doing active shooter drills, hearing story after story of kids killed in their classrooms, and losing their friends – or their lives – maybe this will finally change things.
