AMHERST — As more than 100 students from Amherst Regional High School packed into the Spring Street parking lot in downtown Amherst March 14, they put out a call for better gun laws to keep their school community, and schools across the country, safe.
“Tell the NRA we’ve had enough,” shouted Imaani Din, a 14-year-old freshman from Amherst, to her fellow students, as well as a number of parents, community members and local leaders who joined in the protest.
The Walkout for Our Lives began outside the high school at 10 a.m., with organizers of the event, each wearing orange bandanas, reading the names and biographies of the 17 people killed a month earlier at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, before holding a moment of silence and singing the spiritual “This Little Light of Mine.”
When the event started, students signed a large banner reading “Walkout for Our Lives.” This banner was then carried from the high school to Triangle Street and along North Pleasant Street and South Pleasant Street, before they arrived at the downtown parking lot. On the way, students chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, the NRA has got to go,” “Say it loud, say it clear, the NRA is not welcome here” and “What do we want? Gun laws! When do we want them? Now!”
Students who participated said the topic of gun violence is critical to them.
“We’re trying to make a change in gun laws, definitely,” said Kiera Florance, a 17-year-old junior from Amherst.
“We need to stop having kids die,” said Myra Anderson, a 17-year-old junior from Amherst. “We shouldn’t be afraid to go to school.”
Zora Dallmann, a 15-year-old sophomore from Amherst, said she believes the walkouts happening across the country can lead to needed changes in gun laws.
“It’s really empowering because something needs to be done about this problem,” Dallmann said. “Our voices have needed to be heard for a while, and this gives me more confidence and hope they will be.”
Senior Abigail Morris, 17, of Amherst, one of the lead organizers, thanked the school for allowing the protest, Amherst police officers for protecting her and her peers during the hourlong event and the community for coming out.
Morris, who will be able to vote in November, said she knows students don’t intend to give up on the issue. “Teenagers are very stubborn,” Morris said.
Once the students got to town center, they heard from state Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who praised the empowerment of the youth.
“It’s incredible to see so many of you out to protest for your own safety,” Goldstein-Rose said.
He encouraged them to continue pressing for regulations and to not allow their voices to be silenced. “You have a lot of power if you remain active,” Goldstein-Rose said.
Emily Stetson, national program director of the College Democrats of America, said thoughts and prayers are no longer enough after mass shootings.
“I’m here to say you’re not the future,” Stetson said. “Your voice is right now.”
Organizers said they will write letters next week that will be sent to students in Parkland to offer support and assistance. They also informed their fellow students of the next opportunity to have a meaningful campaign on gun law reform, which will happen with rallies scheduled in Amherst, Northampton and Greenfield March 24 to coincide with ones in Boston and Washington, D.C.
School Committee Chairman Eric Nakajima, who observed the walkout, praised the school administration for allowing students to bring their message into the community.
“This is exactly what our school district should be doing,” Nakajima said.
Carol Samuels, of Shutesbury, who coaches lacrosse at the high school, held a sign reading “#Enough” and “Gun Control Now!” Samuels said she supports students’ right to have a safe environment in school.
“I welcome their leadership,” Samuels said. “It’s important to listen and pay attention to them.”
Brenda Kennedy Davies of Amherst said she came to support the students, noting that gun violence is one of the most important issues facing the United States, though has been minimized in the past because it has more often affected communities of color.
“We’re stepping back so they can step up,” Kennedy Davies said.