More than a thousand students from Nashville-area schools walked out of classes Monday and rallied outside the Tennessee State Capitol to demand stronger gun laws.
Chalkbeat Tennessee reports that the protest was in response to last week’s deadly shooting attack at a private school in the city.
The walkout began at 10:13 a.m., exactly one week since Nashville police received the first call about a shooter at The Covenant School who killed three children and three adult staff members.
“We all want to live through high school,” said Amy Goetzinger, 17, “and that’s why we’re here today.”
Meanwhile, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has proposed spending $155 million to place an armed security guard at every Tennessee public school, boost physical school security at both public and private schools, and provide additional mental health resources for Tennesseans.
The student protest was mobilized through March for Our Lives, a youth-led movement for stricter gun laws that was formed after the 2018 shooting that killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The protests were the latest in a string of peaceful demonstrations against Tennessee’s lax gun laws since the shooting last week.
The 28-year-old intruder, Audrey Hale, used military-style guns to shoot through a locked glass door and enter the Covenant School. Police said Hale fired 152 rounds of ammunition before being fatally shot by police.
