Massachusetts Students Will Participate in National School Walkout for Gun Reform on Friday
On the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School, young activists across the Bay State will advocate for stricter firearm laws and regulations.
Students approach the State House during the March 14 National Student Walkout / Spencer Buell
On the 19th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School, thousands of students across the country—including in Massachusetts—will walk out of class in protest of gun violence.
Twenty-eight Bay State groups—most of which are affiliated with a high school or college—have registered to participate in the National School Walkout on Friday morning. More than 2,700 events across the country have been planned in conjunction with the protest, which seeks to draw attention to the cyclical nature of America’s reaction to gun violence in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The walkout, organized by Lane Murdock, a high-school student from Connecticut, also aims to keep gun control at the forefront of the political conversation and continue the momentum of the #NeverAgain movement, according to USA Today. Organizers hope to hold their elected leaders accountable and engage young people in politics.
“Together, we will send a message that we won’t tolerate any more inaction on this issue,” the organizers said in a statement. “If cowardly politicians fail to act, young people will show them the consequences of letting so many Americans die by voting them out in November.”
In addition to planned walkouts at, among others, Malden High School, Commonwealth School in the Back Bay, and Brimmer and May School in Newton, students at Harvard University will participate in a sit-in in solidarity with the national movement.
The Friday morning walkout is the latest protest organized by young activists advocating for gun reform since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Florida shooting left 17 people dead, and students in Massachusetts have repeatedly rallied for reform in the aftermath of the tragedy. On March 14, the one-month anniversary of the Parkland massacre, students lobbied for reform at the State House, and on March 20, activists young and old packed Boston Common for the city’s March for Our Lives.
