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CMS students take part in nationwide walkout for tougher gun control

By Elsa Gillis
By Elsa Gillis

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Roughly 200 students at Butler High School joined thousands of others from across the country Friday in a planned classroom walkout in an effort to push for tougher gun control.

Students at the Matthews high school walked out of class at 10 a.m. to meet in the football stadium behind the school. There, they paused to remember the students murdered at Columbine on this day in 1999.

"It's actually horrifying to think that kids just like me were just going to school for a regular day and they never left, and I want that to change," said Alyssa Choate.

After a few speeches and moments of silence, students wrote letters to communities impacted by school shootings, registered to vote, and got information about what lawmakers to contact and how to contact them.

"We feel that we can make a change in the world by starting today,” student Desirae Ausbrook said.

Thousands of students across the country walked out in an attempt to make sure their message doesn't get drowned out.

Many students told Channel 9 they don't want to live in the shadow of Columbine and Parkland, so they're going to vote for stricter gun laws as soon as they turn 18.

“I have hope for the future, but if we don't speak up and don’t do anything about it, then I don’t think change will happen," Choate said.

Last month, thousands of other students in Charlotte walked out of schools to make a similar statement.

Many told Channel 9 that they're done with gun violence in schools and the politicians who don't want to change anything.

Gov. Roy Cooper promised to make changes and laid out his new plan for school safety on Thursday. He promised to spend $130 million on everything from school building security, to adding more nurses, counselors and school resource officers, to funding more mental health services for students.

"I don't want to see any more texts from schools to parents saying, ‘Mom, there’s a shooter in my classroom.’ We can’t have that," Cooper said.

Friday's walkout at Butler High School lasted about 30 minutes, but students promised more protests in the future for as long as they feel unsafe.

"These movements, these marches, they're giving us power, and we deserve to be heard,” Choate said.

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