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“Enough”: Students Walk Out Nationwide to Protest Inaction on Gun Violence

Students across the nation are walking out of class to demand Congress act now.

Students from the Friends School make their way along North Charles Street to meet other students from various schools on their way to the Baltimore city hall for a "Guns Down Grades Up" school walkout on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, to protest gun violence in schools and the city. (Photo: Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun / TNS via Getty Images)

At 10 am local time, students at more than 3,000 high schools across the country participated in the 17-minute “Enough” walkout on Wednesday — exactly one month after 17 people were killed in the Parkland, Florida shooting — to protest Congress’s failure to enhance national gun control regulations.

The walkout is part of a national student-led movement to end gun violence. Student activists have also organized the “March for Our Lives” in Washington, D.C. on March 24 and a second nationwide walkout on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

Wednesday’s walkout is being coordinated by Women’s March Youth, which has created an interactive map to track the planned protests, shared information about how to support the action, and outlined students’ demands for lawmakers.

In response to disciplinary threats from administrators, the ACLU has developed legal resources for students and other participants — such as teachers, parents, and school staff, who are being encouraged to join in the actions — and has urged school officials to “approach this moment as an opportunity for learning about civic action.”

Participants and supporters of the protest are using the hashtags #Enough, #NationalSchoolWalkout, and #NationalWalkoutDay to post live updates from walkouts nationwide.

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