Although the president and national Republican leaders have dragged their feet when it comes to addressing the proliferation of guns in American society, United States high schoolers are not interested in just sitting back and hoping for the best.
On Wednesday, high school students all across the country are staging a school walkout, leaving their classrooms for 17 minutes, which corresponds to the number of victims in the recent high profile school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
In Atlanta, Booker T. Washington High School barred students from leaving the building during the nationwide walkout protests, but they did allow students to engage in orderly silent protests inside the building. Reporter Jamiles Lartey said that 50-100 students took a knee to honor the Parkland victims and symbolize their commitment to gun reform per floor of the school.
The students’ method employed to symbolize their commitment to gun reform is ironic considering the fact that the president has personally gone after those who choose to “take a knee” in the past, although that was in a slightly different context.
He went after those professional football players who brought “taking a knee” to the nation’s attention via doing so during the national anthem at NFL games.
In addition to the school walkouts, there is a “March for Our Lives” planned for Washington, D.C., later this month. That planned demonstration has attracted the support of big names like George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey.
