Georgia students, lawmakers walk out to protest gun violence

Published 6:36 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018

From Dalton to Valdosta, students in Georgia added their voices — and in some cases, their silence — to a national conversation on gun violence in schools.

“No one wants to go to school in fear of not going home,” said Raven Ford, a 16-year-old junior at Valdosta High School, where dozens gathered Wednesday morning to discuss the need for tighter gun regulations.

The event was part of a 17-minute nationwide walkout planned for the one-month anniversary of the Florida high school shooting that left 17 students and teachers dead.

Participation varied throughout the state. Some districts discouraged students from walking out, citing safety concerns. Other local school officials threatened disciplinary action, although it was unclear as of Wednesday afternoon if any student was punished.

At Baldwin High School, a walkout drew roughly 100 students. Baldwin Superintendent Noris Price said earlier in the week that students would not be punished for taking part in a walkout and that staff could use the exercise as a “teachable moment.”

“We will not have consequences,” Price said. “We will see it as a teachable moment for our students and we will make sure that they are safe. … If they want to go ahead in support of the victims of the shooting in Florida, we will not discipline them.”

In south Georgia, about 200 students at Thomas County Central High School silently walked out of the school building at 10 a.m. to join their classmates.

“There was a tragedy in Florida, and we don’t need one here,” said sophomore Bre Woods.

At Tift County High, four students walked out of their classrooms into the hallway, then returned when asked to do so by staff.

Students in rural Colquitt County held a 17-second moment of silence. No students walked out of class.

“It was a normal day at the high school,” said Superintendent Doug Howell, who had earlier discouraged students from participating in a mass walkout. “And I didn’t expect anything less.”

At the state Capitol, Democrats “walked out” of their legislative chambers as a show of solidarity.

“This issue of school safety and school shootings is the cause for this generation of young people, and they are standing up and they are speaking out,” Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, said at a press conference. “And as Democrats, we stand with them today.”

At this point in the session, Democrats are pushing for a modest measure that would require public and private schools to have a safety plan and hold drills.

The proposal, which has already cleared the Senate, came from a Cobb County teen who was concerned that there could be some schools in Georgia who have not taken such precautions.

“Children are dying,” said 16-year-old Niles Francis, a student at South Cobb High School. “There is no reason why I should have to go to school and feel like I may not come home that afternoon.”

Lawmakers in the House added $8 million for school security improvements and have urged the Senate to match that amount. Republican legislators have also proposed creating legislative committees to study the issue of school security, including whether the state should play a bigger role in addressing weaknesses.

Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, who has proposed such a committee, said Wednesday that further study is needed so “we don’t run off with knee-jerk reactions.”

Jasperse authored the 2014 “Guns Everywhere” legislation that allows school boards to arm teachers and staff, but so far, there haven’t been any takers.

“We’ve got to make sure that if we’re going to spend money on something that it’s effective,” Jasperse said. “We know generally the concerns, but how do we address them in an effective manner that the communities want us to?”

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reporters Kimberly Cannon, Patti Dozier, Will Woolever, Eve Guevara and Maria Galvez contributed to this report.