Students from & demanding action in the .
— Kristi King (@king草莓传媒)
Greenbelt police hold safety briefing ahead of at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
— Meg Thornton (@MegT_PIO)
Principal McNeill: 鈥淓ngaged and dynamic student population and leaders here heading today鈥檚 protest.鈥�
WASHINGTON 鈥� With a combination of silence and chanting, students left area schools to participate in the National School Walkout to protest gun violence.
Hundreds of students gathered in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes of silence —聽one minute for each person killed in the Florida school shooting last month.
“We’re tired of seeing children die,” one protester told 草莓传媒.
Students then marched to the Capitol, with chants including “Hey hey ho ho/The NRA has got to go,鈥� 鈥淲hat do we want? Gun control!/When do we want it? Now!鈥� and 鈥淗ow many more?鈥�
‘I’m proud to be with you’
At about 11:15, a group of lawmakers descended the steps of the Capitol to address the marchers.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi drew an ovation when she was introduced, and told the students, 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to be with you.鈥� She praised 鈥渟tudents who have sacrificed so much and spoken so eloquently,鈥� and adopted their slogan of 鈥淓nough is enough.鈥�
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer cited 7,000 students lost to gun violence, calling them 鈥�7,000 kids whose lives could have been before them. Enough is enough.鈥� He added that he was the National Rifle Association’s “Public Enemy No. 1 and I’m proud of it.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, got a rock star鈥檚 welcome when he addressed the crowd, telling them 鈥淎ll across the country, people are sick and tired of gun violence, and the time is now.鈥� He told the students he was proud of 鈥測our courage and your intelligence and [your] leading the nation in the right direction.鈥�
Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.鈥檚 delegate to Congress, told the crowd they were 鈥渢oo young to work, but old enough to become the first generation to fight for their own lives.鈥� She praised the students鈥� 鈥渄etermination of your new generation to do what we before you have failed to do.鈥�
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said the students comprised 鈥渢he new ingredient鈥� that was 鈥渃hanging the terms of the debate.鈥� He drew parallels to Martin Luther King鈥檚 work desegregating public accommodations, in which the involvement of teenagers 鈥� which King resisted at first 鈥� tipped the scales.
鈥淚n the past, it seemed despairing 鈥� that after a shooting there鈥檚 a little bit of talk, and then nothing happens,鈥� Kaine said. Among the changes he suggested were universal background checks and reauthorizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence as a health issue.
Also Wednesday, parents of Parkland High School shooting victims are testifying at a Senate committee on school safety.聽At the same time, the House was set to vote on a bill providing more money for school security and efforts to identify potentially dangerous behavior. House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the chamber鈥檚 emphasis was on 鈥渟topping people who should not get guns from getting any kind of gun 鈥� period.鈥�
‘We don’t have to live like this’
But the kids had the most to say.
Michael Sullivan, a sophomore at Spring Brook High School, told the crowd they were on 鈥渢he right side of history.鈥�
鈥淚n an ideal world, none of us would be here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n an ideal world, the 20 first-graders and kindergartners who died at Sandy Hook would be in middle school today. In an ideal world, the 58 concert-goers who were gunned down in Las Vegas would have returned to be with their families. In an ideal world, the 32 students who died at Virginia Tech would be employed professionals, and the 17 victims from Stoneman Douglas would probably be eating lunch at school right now, and the only thing they would be worrying about is a test next period. But this isn鈥檛 the case.鈥�
His message to Congress: 鈥淎 lot of us will be 18 by November, and that鈥檚 when midterms start. 鈥� For once, value our lives over your bank accounts, or we will vote you out.鈥� Sullivan recalled the Civil Rights and women鈥檚 suffrage movements, predicting that 鈥渨e too will remain persistent until there is real change.鈥�
Eri Shay, a freshman at Quince Orchard High School, said she had once lived in Japan, where people are allowed to own guns 鈥� after taking a class, a shooting test, a mental health test, a drug test and a background check. 鈥淭here has never been a mass shooting in Japan 鈥� ever,鈥� she said.
鈥淥ther countries made these laws to protect their citizens, and it works. We know that we don鈥檛 have to live like this in the U.S. And our children don鈥檛 have to die like this. It could have been any one of our schools, and it still can be.鈥�
More than 28 D.C.-area schools participated; more than 3,000 school districts nationwide are taking part, ABC 草莓传媒 reported.
Emily Schrader, a high school junior and one of the student organizers from Montgomery County, told 草莓传媒, 鈥淚鈥檝e seen more energy in this gun-violence prevention movement than I鈥檝e ever seen in high school before.鈥�
Yasmine Benderson, of Rockville High School, told 草莓传媒, 鈥淗onestly, we鈥檙e here because we鈥檝e been failed. We expected our government to help us, to [protect us, and over and over again we鈥檝e been repeatedly failed. We were watching our peers being gunned down in school, and it鈥檚 unacceptable.鈥�
She added, 鈥淚t sucks to have nightmares about having something like this happen, and having to plan out what you would do at your school if it happened to you.鈥�
‘Very energetic and passionate’
Standing in front of the wind-whipped Capitol, D.C. police Chief Peter 草莓传媒ham said students had exercised their First Amendment rights peacefully.
鈥淭hey seemed very energetic and passionate about their issue, but they were very cooperative with law enforcement,鈥� he said.
Police coordinated with area schools ahead of the planned walkout, 草莓传媒ham said. Many D.C. high schools held their own rallies in remembrance of the 17 people killed in Florida last month.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any need to have those types of firearms in our community under any circumstance,鈥� the chief said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檒l continue to say that, and hopefully, somebody will listen.鈥�
草莓传媒’s Nick Iannelli, Dave McConnell and Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
