Decatur Mom Leading National Gun Walkout

DECATUR, GA — On March 14, many students and educators in the United States are expected to walk out of class to protest gun violence in schools — and a mom from Decatur will be behind the move. Clare Schexnyder, the founder of an exercise center for expectant and new mothers and a mother, herself, of an eighth-grader, has created a group calling for people to join a nationwide protest calling for politicians to enact stricter gun laws.

The group is calling for teachers, students, school administrators, parents and others to take part in the event at 10 a.m. on March 14. They are asked to step outside for 17 minutes — one minute for each person killed in the Florida shooting — "to protest Congress' inaction do do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods."

Schenxnyder told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she created the group on Thursday after hearing news of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that has killed at least 17 people. By Monday morning, National Stop School Shootings NOW had more than 5,600 members.

"I’m not powerless," she told the AJC. "I can do something. I can create change."

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Students are being asked to walk out of school with their hands up, much as students do during shootings, circle their school and quietly put their hands on each other's shoulders. They'll then lay down their backpacks to symbolize the many children already killed in school shootings.

On its Facebook page, the group says it is calling for an end to the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for ammunition. After the walkout, kids and teachers can return to class, although some participants plan to then go to local and state government buildings for noon marches and gatherings.

People who don't have children in schools are being urged to attend those government-building rallies, not the school walkouts.

Schenxnyder's group originally planned for the walkout on March 2, but has moved the date to sync with events planned by organizers of last years Women's March in Washington D.C. Women's March Youth Empower is similarly calling for a walkout on March 14.

In Decatur, Schexnyder is hoping to turn backing for the march into a movement. She held a meeting Friday at her home to discuss future plans for the group.

"This isn't a political issue, this is a societal issue,” she told WXIA-TV. "And I think gun owners can agree that our kids need to stop being slaughtered in the classrooms."

Image via National Stop School Shootings NOW