Woburn Students To Protest Gun Violence In National Walkout

WOBURN, MA -- Students at Woburn Memorial High School are gearing up to participate in a March 14 walkout to raise awareness of gun violence and pressure Congress to enact stricter gun controls. Students across the country are planning to walkout of school at 10 am on march 14 for 17 minutes -- one minute each for each of the victims killed last week at the Marjorie Stoneham Douglas High in Florida.

"Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school," organizers of the Woburn walkout wrote on a Website promoting the event. "Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day."

The Florida shooting was the seventh of eight school shootings that have left 20 people dead 41 people injured since the start of the year. According to organizers of the Woburn walkout, the action is aimed at protesting "Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods. We need action....Congress must take meaningful action to keep us safe and pass federal gun reform legislation that address the public health crisis of gun violence. We want Congress to pay attention and take note: many of us will vote this November and many others will join in 2020."

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Photo: Jessica Gargaro, 15, left, and Sarah Goodchild, 15, both students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, place flowers outside the school on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. Authorities opened the streets around the school, which had been closed since a mass shooting on Wednesday. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).