US Students Stage Walkouts Nationwide To Support Uvalde Community, Protest Gun Violence

Students across the United States staged walkouts on Thursday in a show of support for the families grieving in Uvalde, Texas after this week's mass school shooting and to demonstrate their opposition to gun violence

(UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2022) Students across the United States staged walkouts on Thursday in a show of support for the families grieving in Uvalde, Texas after this week's mass school shooting and to demonstrate their opposition to gun violence.

On Tuesday, an 18-year old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the latest mass shooting in a troubling trend on the rise in the US. In the wake of the shooting, President Joe Biden and many Democratic lawmakers have demanded action while calling for Americans to stand up to the gun lobby.

"We are grieving with the Uvalde community, a predominantly Latinx community, and everyone else impacted by yet another senseless act of violence in our schools," Students Demand Action, an anti-gun violence group who helped organize the walkout, said in a statement on its website. "This is yet another tragic example of how pervasive this public health crisis is in our country. School is the last place where kids should have to worry about gun violence, but thanks to our weak gun laws and the gun lobby's relentless 'guns everywhere' agenda, nowhere is safe.

Students deserve to learn and live without fear."

The organization and parents and students have tweeted and retweeted clips and photos of high school and elementary school students in every region of the country gathering in football and soccer fields including California, Delaware, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, New York, among several other states.

In Rhode Island, a group laid down on the ground for three minutes in front of the state legislature, lawmaker Tiara Mack said while posting a photo on Twitter depicting prone students holding protest signs.

At least 80 events are scheduled to take place today, according to an Everytown for Gun Research directory cited by several media sources.

Protests are also planned for the weekend of May 28, and the week of May 30, with several actions planned for June 1 and during Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 3, organizers said. In addition, several groups including Moms Demand Action, Youth for Beto, and a local Black Lives Matter chapter are also planning to protest the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston, Texas on Memorial Day weekend.