Support continued to grow over the weekend for a planned March 14 National School Walkout protest in the aftermath of the Valentine's Day school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.
Organizers of the Women's March announced the plans for a 17-minute walkout beginning at 10 a.m. on March 14, which will mark the one-month anniversary of the shooting. The protest is aimed at urging Congress to enact laws that will protect schools from gun violence.
“Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school,” a message on the group’s website read Saturday. “Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day. We are not safe at school. We are not safe in our cities and towns. Congress must take meaningful action to keep us safe and pass federal gun reform legislation that address the public health crisis of gun violence.”
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Support for the walkout, announced Friday, increased over the weekend on social media, with parents and teachers around the country vowing to participate, and actresses like Justine Bateman, Amber Tamblyn and Piper Perabo along with W. Kamau Bell of CNN all offering their support to the planned protest.
A separate walkout was scheduled for April 20 in honor of the victims of the shooting nearly two decades ago that left 13 people dead at Columbine High School in Colorado.
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