Riverview Gardens School District officials have been in a meeting for more than an hour discussing how or whether they should discipline the hundreds of students who left school grounds as part of a gun-control walkout this morning, according to the district receptionist at 2 p.m.
“It wasn’t sanctioned by the school,” said Carolyn McCain, who was answering questions because the district currently doesn’t have a communications director. “There is no discipline as long as they stayed within the confines of the school. They were told there would be consequences if they left school grounds.”
The principal, Darius Kirk, was among those in the meeting discussing, “what, if any, action would be taken,” McCain said.
At 10 a.m., about 200 high-school students walked out of the school gates, holding signs that said, “Teachers don’t need guns” and “Save lives not guns.” They demanded gun reform in Missouri and nationally. 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.
On Friday, students at Clayton and Parkway Central high schools also walked out, in an effort that was approved by the districts.
While other states are responding to the tragedy by tightening up gun restrictions, Missouri is currently debating legislation that would loosen them. House Bill 1936, if passed, would allow concealed weapons to be carried on public college campuses, private property, churches, sports stadiums, among other places where guns are currently prohibited. On Monday, a House committee heard public testimony on the bill.
Damen Alexander Jr., a SLU High School student, joined many others ‒ including St. Louis city’s public safety director ‒ in testifying against the bill in Jefferson City on Monday.
“I do not feel comfortable with this normalization of guns on campus,” Alexander said, “especially in high schools.”
On a national level, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) helped introduce HR 5087, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018.
“Semi-automatic assault weapons like the AR-15 are designed to rapidly kill mass numbers of people,” said Clay, who is an original co-sponsor of the legislation. “They are weapons of war and have no reasonable purpose in civilian society.
The common instrument of death and mass destruction at shooting massacres in Parkland, FL; Las Vegas, NV; San Bernardino, CA; Aurora, CO; and Newtown, CT. is a semi-automatic assault weapon. The massive wounds caused by this high velocity weapon leave victims beyond doctors ability to save them. It’s time to end this carnage.”
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
