Todays protestors are tomorrow's voters

At The Edge of 17: Local High School Students Protest Gun Violence in 17-minute Walkout

Almost 42 million Americans are teenagers - and will vote in a few years.

Derrick, MHS
At the protest students took a moment of silence for all victims of school shootings, remembering the victims and promising to help change the gun laws. This photo, from Montclair High School, was captured for TheJerseyTomatopress.com by student Derrick.
Diane Lilli
A view of Montclair High school, where students of all grades protested and also held a minute of silence for all fallen students killed by bullets across the U.S. in numerous school shootings.
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Diane Lilli
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Across the country, from the west to east to north and south, from the heartland to every corner, many thousands of high school students walked out of their schools to protest in a nation wide demonstration to protest the school shootings that have become a norm here in the U.S.

The protests made by children of parents who include members of Congress; gun owners; pacifists and many more, were designed to send a clear message to the world: students want the gun violence to stop now, and demand some form of gun control that will protect them from mass shootings in school, where they are supposed to feel safe.

Starting at 10 AM, hundreds of high school teens from Montclair High calmly left the school, walking in a pre-arranged spot at the outdoor amphitheater. The mood was somber, and many of the kids held hands as they walked in unity. And, in all high schools across New Jersey, New York including Park Slope and all of Brooklyn, and among the more than 3,000 high schools in the U.S., students stood chanting "no more guns" and "Enough is Enough" and also held a minute of silence for all students murdered in their schools.

Alongside the students were parents, holding signs, cheering and even wearing tee shirts showing their support.

Next up for students protests is a national demonstration on Saturday, March 24 in Washington D.C. organized by March for Our lives by Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization supported by many including New York Governor Michael Bloomberg.

Television channels including MTV, Comedy Central, BET and others are going to suspend their programming at exactly 10 AM for 17 minutes in order to send their support to the teenagers who plan to send a message to their parents, their Congress, and the world.

With this generation banding together, there is no telling what may happen. As the Vietnam protests took over a generation and created change, so too may this young generation, who are standing up to tell their elders that they will not accept easy access to guns. And, in a matter of only a few years, with about 42 million Americans in their teens today, their demands will be seen in the voting booths.

Updates to follow