Students across west Kentucky are joining the national protest this week demanding stricter gun laws and an end to school massacres. Murray High is just 30 miles from Marshall County, where a shooter took the lives of two 15-year-olds in January. Murray student 17-year-old Isaac Gallimore spoke with classmates about their decision to ‘walk out’ and speak out.
More than 50 students gathered at the soccer stands outside Murray High School on Wednesday, joining a national walkout in support of the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting. Students walked to the bleachers in somber silence and reflected on the lives lost, but sentiments throughout the day rang loud.
15-year-old Patrick Jones said lawmakers need to listen to the students. “It’s hard texting your friends saying ‘hey do you know anything about Marshall?’ and they are telling you, ‘Yeah, dude, my friend got shot and they are in critical condition at Vanderbilt.' It’s really hard to know that someone within 20 minutes of you is on national CNN because they got shot in a school. That should never be a situation.”
17-year-old Lexi Fortner said, “A seven-year-old shouldn’t have to worry about the fact that her light up shoes could alert a potential shooter to her location she should have to worry about her grades, where she is going to sit for lunch. She shouldn’t have to worry about if she is going to make it to the next day or not.”
Moments before the walkout, lights throughout the school temporarily went out. 16-year-old Bron Bourque says he panicked. “I was in the hallway and I was scared honestly so, I sprinted to the open class.”
Bourque said changing gun laws will be difficult and said the problem needs to be solved within the school system. "The thing is, this problem is very complex and it's probably not going to be a simple solution. So we really need to increase funding for our schools and give them money to solve this problem."
Murray students say they are afraid and fed up. But the recent demonstrations give 15-year-old Erica Yarali hope: “Even though we are students and even though we are a small community we still have an opinion and we still believe that change needs to come in order to better our general American society.”
15-year-old PovilasViavilavkius said school shootings cause him stress. “Ever since the Marshall Shooting and the recent shooting in Florida, I guess the tensions have really high and it’s been a bit scary to walk to school every morning," he said. Viavilavkius said he doesn't think banning guns entirely is the solution but said stricter background checks could help. “I don’t think guns kill people I think people kill people, however, we do need a change of course."
16-year-old Sarah Jacobs said school shootings make her scared to walk to school. "it just has this fear placed inside me that I could not see my family when I leave the school," she said, but doesn't necessarily like the security measures either. “The security makes me feel like I’m in more of a prison than a school.” Murray High currently implements daily bag checks with a metal detector.
Students are preparing to make their voices heard again at the ‘March for Our Lives’ rally in Marshall County on March 24.
Note: WKMS News Director Matt Markgraf assisted with this story.
