As dawn broke on Tuesday, students from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School were boarding a bus destined for Jefferson City and the state Capital Building.
Bryanna Love spoke with reporters just before departure, and told reporters “we want just not our voices to be heard, but also the voices of the people that are here. The people who are actually here experiencing the violence and terror that very loose gun laws inflict on us.”
The students and supporters shared stories of the school shooting that shocked St. Louis and the nation on Oct. 24, 2022. They asked for support of laws that would strengthen red flag laws and the right for communities, like St. Louis, to deal with gun possessions how they see fit.
“More than anything, we want to make Jean and Alex’s voices heard because they can’t do that anymore.”
Tenth-grader Alexzandria Bell and 61-year-old physical education teacher Jean Kuczka died before police killed 19-year-old gunman, former student Orlando Harris.
While in the third-floor rotunda, Love spoke to reporters saying “We can prevent this from happening in the future — it begins here with you.”
“The more we allow gun violence to run rampant in the streets of Missouri, the bloodier your hands become.”
Republicans hold large majorities in both the state House and Senate and are staunch in support of weak gun control laws. Gov. Parson holds the same political view.
“If we convince no law makers, [hopefully] we are able to convince voters and let them know it absolutely does begin with them,” Love said. “If that [red flag] law was in place, then it could have prevented what happened to us on Oct. 24,” Mars Sander said.
Police were called by the attacker’s family to confiscate a gun from him before the shooting but were unable to do so because they didn’t have the authority. Under red flag laws, also called extreme risk protection orders, individuals would be allowed to petition to a judge for the temporary removal of a person’s guns if they appear to be a risk to themselves or others.
April Shepard said the students should not have to come to Jefferson City to tell lawmakers how to do their jobs.
“I feel like if you are against this right now, what’s happening right now, you should be more embarrassed than everybody else. Because children shouldn’t have to die for you to finally realize that we have a problem,” Shepard said.
Jaylen Washington hopes that speaking face-to-face with some lawmakers on the issue will help change their minds.
“I think you feel our emotion more. I feel like it’s more of a heart-to-heart. I feel like you get to actually see how scared I am now,” Washington said.
Several students talked about how the shooting has reshaped their lives.
One of those students, Jaiyana Stallworth, recounted a recent event at CVPA when the fire alarm went off. She said it reminded her and her classmates of the shooting.
“Just seeing that whole scene really made me like realize, God, we’ve all lived through this and we’re all impacted and that’s just something that we shouldn’t have to do,” Stallworth said.
Looking to the future, Ranaiyah Cole said her career path possibly has been changed.
“I’m now thinking about majoring in political science so I can try to make these changes at least for the next generation, the changes that might or might not be made for us right now,” Cole said.
This article was originally published in St. Louis Public Radio. St. Louis American staff contributed to this report.
