For Clayton High School senior Hayley Bridges, gun violence is a constant concern in her community.
“Honestly, the danger of guns is always present to me,” Bridges said. “I don’t know when someone’s gonna pull one out. I don’t know who has one. Every day of my life, I fear that someone will pull out a gun and shoot, at any time.”
For Bridges, school always felt like a safe place, but the high rates of school shootings in the United States, eight so far this year, have made her doubt that.
Now, Bridges is joining with her fellow students to call for reforms that would, they say, protect against the possibility of school shootings and keep schools a sanctuary for students like her. On February 23, dozens of Clayton students walked out of their classrooms to demand gun reform in Missouri and nationally.
“I don’t want to be a victim of gun violence anywhere,” Bridges said.
Eight students spoke to the press with their fellow Clayton high schoolers behind them, as well as some Missouri politicians: Democratic state Rep. Stacey Newman – a longtime battler for gun legislation reform – attended the event, as did Clayton Mayor Harold Sanger.
The event echoed walkouts organized by students across the country to protest U.S. gun laws in the wake of a recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 students and teachers dead. The 19-year-old shooter used a legally purchased AR-15 assault rifle as his weapon.
Junior Catriona Docherty said she was inspired to speak out about gun violence by the Parkland shooting. She called on politicians, including Missouri’s Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, to do more to regulate guns.
“In order to address gun violence, I believe we must ban assault weapons,” Docherty said. “To this day, Missouri has no law regulating assault weapons. Teens are able to enter schools with AR-15 and assault rifles that they purchased from a local gun dealership … In protection of our schools, all of our representatives, including Roy Blunt, must propose laws fully prohibiting the purchase of assault weapons.”
In Missouri, state laws make it relatively easy for young people to obtain guns. In most circumstances, Missourians must be 18 to purchase a gun, but younger people can buy one with parental permission or obtain one as a gift without issue.
Other Clayton students advocated a variety of measures to keep their schools safer, from increased security technology to Newman’s recently proposed bill to seize guns from domestic abusers. But all agreed that most of Missouri’s lawmakers were not doing enough.
Margaret Baugh, a senior, pointed out a piece of legislation currently making its way through the Missouri House of Representatives as part of the problem. House Bill 1936, introduced by Republican state Rep. Jered Taylor, would expand the locations where Missourians can bring a gun without a concealed carry permit. Guns would be allowed into sporting arenas with less than 5,000 seats, into places of worship, and onto public transportation. Guns would also be allowed onto school properties with permission from the district’s superintendent.
“The easy access to guns and the ability to take them anywhere terrifies me,” Baugh said. “The idea that I or anyone else should get a gun in order to protect myself doesn’t make me feel any safer. What would make me feel safer is common-sense gun control.”
Nancy Cassabaum, a member of gun control advocacy organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, came to the Clayton event to support the students.
“I think these kids are our future,” Cassabaum said. “They are the future I want to see in this country, in this state, and I will do whatever it takes to support these kids. They’re gonna shine for us.”
Another student-led gun control event took place later that day at Parkway Central High School.
