Austin-area students walk out of class, march to capitol for gun reform
With protest signs in tow, Austin-area students started walking out in the name of gun control Friday morning.
At McCallum High School, Austin High and about 10 others.
Either by bus or some other way, students met up at Wooldridge Square Park.
"My sign says 'when I said I'd rather die than go to school it was a hyperbole.' And just kind of means I don't literally want to go to school and feel unsafe," said Bowie High School Freshman Katie Golson.
She and her friends walked out at 11.
"So we're not against the second amendment, we're just hoping that it like changes and that guns are harder to access to. And there's no reason for anybody to have a semi-automatic gun that can take out hundreds of students," Golson said.
More specifically, according to the Texas Capitol Walkout website, students who marched on Friday are in support of universal, comprehensive background checks, a ban on AR-15's, ghost guns, ending the sale of law enforcement firearms to civilians and more.
"Those in power think that just because we can't vote that we can't touch them but we're here today to show them that that's not true. We are the students whose lives are on the line and we deserve a voice," said activist Jemima Abalogu at the rally.
It wasn't necessarily one harmonious voice at the rally. One man stood right at the front wearing a "Come and Take It" shirt and shouted at the speakers, Especially at Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
"In Washington we cannot consider any bill in the House and we've just asked for one of the bills to have a committee, a bipartisan committee to study gun violence. We can't get it on the floor because the speaker will not allow any bill or amendment to be considered that doesn't have a support of the majority of the Republicans," Doggett said.
But Republicans didn't get all of the blame.
"When the Democrats controlled the House and the Senate and the White House from 2009 to 2010 there was no change! Safety in schools was put on the back burner. Common sense gun laws were put on the back burner," said one young speaker.
Ken Zarifis with Education Austin encouraged the crowd to keep the momentum going tomorrow.
"Do not just sit passively. Do not just think that this is it. Get involved, stay involved. Be the change that you want to see in this country," Zarifis said.
Schools weren't officially endorsing the walkout today and some schools were a little harder on the "walking out part" than others.
For example, Austin High students weren't suspended but the absences will be unexcused.