Montgomery County Students Plan Walkout For Gun Control

BETHESDA, MD — Students across Montgomery County are planning to walk out of school Thursday to pressure congressional lawmakers to pass tougher gun control laws, MoCo Students For Change announced in February.

The walkout is scheduled on March 14 — exactly one year after the advocacy group organized a similar protest, in which 3,000 students marched to the Capitol and rallied for gun safety measures. MoCo Students For Change was created in the wake of the Parkland shooting that left 17 people dead on Feb. 14, 2018.

SEE ALSO: Montgomery Students Remember Gun Victims On Parkland Anniversary

"We will walk out again because this is not a moment, this is a movement," one Montgomery County student said in a promotional video for this year's walkout.

Last year, we participated in the biggest student led walkout this country as ever seen. While senate debates on whether to pass life saving legislation, we walk out again.

Join us, March 14 in DC. This is not a moment. This is a movement. pic.twitter.com/nKa52y3oun
— MoCo Students For Change (@moco4change) February 18, 2019

Students will leave class around 10 a.m. and lobby for H.R.8 — otherwise known as the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 — on Capitol Hill. If this bill passes, it would require a background check for every firearm sale. Currently, the bill has 231 co-sponsors. Five of them are Republican.

Proponents say this piece of legislation will save lives.

"This is where we come in," another student said in the video."If this law doesn't pass, more people will die."

The organization has already set up a GoFundMe page, asking supporters to help cover the cost of renting buses for students in areas where there is little to no access to public transportation.

While students see this as a chance to protest, the school district considers it a "disruptive impact on school operations."

According to Montgomery County Public Schools' guide to students rights and responsibilities, "any walk-out or departure from campus during the instructional day will be treated as an unexcused absence, given the disruptive impact on school operations."

In an interview with Patch, MCPS spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said the district supports protests, but strongly discourages students to leave campus and rally during school hours.

"To ensure students' safety, we really encourage students to stay on campus and work with their principals and administrators to find a way to have these conversations," said Onijala.