“Columbus residents hold rally in support of stricter gun regulation and safety in schools, in solidarity with the Florida students at Parkland High School”

A peaceful, youth-organized rally will be held at  the Ohio State House to protest against gun violence and our disagreement with unrestricted gun ownership policies.
 

What: Rally In Support of Stricter Gun Laws

Where: Ohio State House

When: 3:30 pm- 4:45 pm , Thursday February 22nd, 2018

Who: Led by the Amnesty International Columbus Alternative High School Chapter
 

After hearing the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School teens heartfelt pleas for change following a devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida, emotions rolled through us: anger, shock, fear, but most disturbing of all, a sense of familiarity and realization that this was becoming normalized. The Florida teens call for action arising from their tragedy on February 14th inspired us to rally in solidarity through our Amnesty International Columbus Alternative High School chapter. We stand with these teens even from across the country, because this problem — gun violence — is not confined to one school, student, or state, it threatens every young person living in America.
 

Schools are no longer a place of learning when they’ve become synonymous with danger. According to the “Washington Post” more than 150,000 students attending at least 170 schools have experienced a shooting on campus since the Columbine massacre in 1999. This number is only the beginning of the problem: students across the country battle fear every day when boarding the bus, wondering if they are the next victims in America’s ongoing epidemic of school massacres. The questions and fears invade every corner of our mind.  
 

*What's the quickest route if the shooter came in during english class?

Could I jump out the first floor window and seek refuge in the surrounding neighborhood?

If I was roaming the halls when the shooter invaded would I attempt to fight the terror?

Would I have the strength to say my last goodbyes through bloody shaking fingers?

Or would I be stuck in my high school bathroom, listening to whimpers and screams from my classmates?*

Though the sounds of gunshots have yet to ring through the halls of our high school in Columbus, Ohio, but we fear it is only a matter of time. Our march, Protest Against Gun Violence(https://www.facebook.com/events/850593828460399/?active_tab=about) was inspired by the depth of tragedy in Marjory Stoneman Douglas but also the looming fear that the next shooting is inevitable, whether at our school, or any other across the country.

What is most striking about this issue is how preventable it is, yet there’s a lack of action in the government, from federal level all the way down to the local representatives. It is left up to children everywhere to demand the rights the government allegedly guarantees,  but instead stifles.

We don't want thought and prayers we want action, policy, and basic human rights, allowing us our safety. Why is that too much to ask?

At this point, the blame no longer rests only on the shooter, but also those who are complicit in enabling them the tools that cause unmeasurable anguish and trauma. Every person who insists on gun ownership instead of school safety, and  neglects to recognize the pain of the victims, deserves some of the condemnation in shooting after shooting. This is why we rally on February 22, why we protest March 14, why we march out on April 20, and why we will not stop till our voices shake the foundations of Capitol Hill.

Amnesty International Columbus Alternative High School Chapter

Amnesty International Columbus Alternative High School Chapter