Ohio students are once again preparing to walk out of their classrooms in support of stricter gun laws.
Many of the Friday walkouts, protests and marches will mark the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, where 13 people were killed. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
Fintan Bracken, a 16-year-old junior at Mentor High School, said students there plan to march after school to Republican Congressman David Joyce鈥檚 office to ask for what Bracken calls common sense gun laws-- universal background checks and magazine restrictions among them.
鈥淵ou know, we go to school every day, and we don鈥檛 know if we鈥檙e going to have to evacuate the building when the announcements come on,鈥� Bracken said, 鈥渁nd I think that he should listen to our voices and understand why we need these reforms.鈥�
Bracken said the march is also a protest against the financial support Rep. Joyce has accepted from the National Rifle Association.
鈥淭he NRA has used their money and influence in politics to block any attempts at gun reform so that the arms manufacturers can make more money,鈥� Bracken said.
Campaign contribution records show Joyce has received $10,500 in direct campaign contributions from the NRA since 2012, but the count does not include any money that may have been contributed to political action committees supporting the candidate or his issues.
In Lakewood, students and community members plan to hold a candlelight vigil and rally at the city park Friday night to honor all victims of gun violence and call on state and national leaders to pass stricter gun laws.
鈥淪tudents around our area and around the country, they don鈥檛 want to be scared every single time somebody slams a locker or the fire alarm goes off,鈥� said Isabella Bryson, a 16-year-old junior at Lakewoor High School. 鈥淪o, that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e opening up a dialogue.鈥�
A survey from the national Pew Research Center found 57 percent of high school students are either worried or very worried there will be a mass shooting at their school.
Bryson said she has never felt unsafe in her suburban high school near Cleveland, but added most students who are interviewed after mass shootings also thought it would never happen in their school.
鈥淚t is scary because we鈥檙e not really sure if it鈥檚 going to happen, however, it kind of inspired me to act,鈥� she said.
Bryson said that鈥檚 why she and a group of her friends decided to start a club focused on student activism. The group organized the Friday night vigil.
The events to mark the Columbine shooting, though, are the last planned in a series of nationally coordinated protests and marches following the February Parkland, Florida, shooting that resulted in the deaths of 17 students and teachers.
Bryson said she does worry support for gun control will wane amongst students鈥攊ssues tend to fade from the country鈥檚 consciousness quickly, she said鈥攂ut with the survivors of the Parkland shooting taking the lead, she hopes other students across the country will continue to be inspired to fight for their cause.
鈥淚 think that the students who really want to affect change here, they鈥檙e not going anywhere,鈥� Bryson said. 鈥淲e have so much at risk and we have so much to lose that there really isn鈥檛 another option.鈥�
Copyright 2021 90.3 WCPN ideastream. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
