Students across Puget Sound walk out to protest gun violence
Mar 13, 2018, 11:22 AM | Updated: Mar 14, 2018, 1:07 pm
(KIRO 7 chopper)
Students across the Puget Sound walked out of school on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to honor the 17 people killed in the Parkland, Florida school shooting last month and to protest gun violence on campus.
Photos: Students across the nation walk out
They demand Congress ban assault-style weapons, require universal background checks for all gun sales, and encourage the federal government to approve a law that allows courts to disarm potentially dangerous people.
Governor Jay Inslee appeared at Ballard High School in Seattle.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also joined students in a rally at the University of Washington’s Red Square.
In eastern Washington, Freeman High School in Rockford observed 18 minutes of silence, with the extra minute to honor their classmate who was killed in a shooting at the school last year.
Western Washington student walkout
The Seattle Public Schools board urged students to stay on campus, both voicing support for the movement but also warning students they would be unexcused for the absence.
The Seattle City Council passed a resolution in support of the student walkout. The resolution urges Seattle Public Schools to support it.
“It recognizes some of the work we have done at the City of Seattle level to address gun violence issues,” said Councilmember Lorena González. “… the reality is that there are things we can do as local cities, like the City of Seattle, to at least support some of the efforts we are hearing about and to address some of these significant public safety and public health concerns.”
Roosevelt High School students, #NationalWalkoutDay https://t.co/s24Ey2VMyZ
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
Roosevelt High #NationalWalkoutDay in Seattle https://t.co/qm0BvAp8Ai
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
Roosevelt High School students, #NationalWalkoutDay https://t.co/tGWYGqA85n
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
Roosevelt High School students, #NationalWalkoutDay https://t.co/OGhJdMCt0K
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
Roosevelt High School students, #NationalWalkoutDay at Red Square UW https://t.co/izGy3pV1eN
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
Seattle high school students, #NationalWalkoutDay #redsquare UW. pic.twitter.com/XufgWogfPh
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
High School students, #NationalWalkoutDay https://t.co/690MwyR375
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
#NationalWalkoutDay seattle pic.twitter.com/zUrE8wFN0k
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) March 14, 2018
The Associated Press contributed to this report.