Students across Tri-State Area, nation walk out of classes to demand action on gun violence: "Enough is enough"
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- Students across the Tri-State Area and the nation walked out of their classrooms Thursday to pressure lawmakers to respond to the latest school shooting.
Chopper 2 was overhead as teens marched outside Maplewood High School in New Jersey. At Tappan Zee High School students in Rockland County, students wrote messages in chalk.
"Does the fact that I'm a kid mean that I don't deserve to live?" one student said.
A demonstration popped up in Foley Square in the city. Students also staged walkouts at schools in Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Some students spoke to CBS2's Natalie Duddridge to share their outrage and disgust that after so many school shootings, no meaningful changes have been made to address gun violence.
"Enough is enough. The time is now to pass real, lasting legislation," said senior Zoe Kovac.
At 10 a.m., students poured out of Ridgewood High School, where flags have been lowered to honor the 19 children and two adults killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
"These were little kids. Now these parents have to live with a thought how they're never gonna be able to see their kid again," one student said.
"I think it's really tragic how it's affecting everybody," said another.
The students walked out as part of a nationwide call to action led by youth activist group Students Demand Action, an arm of the organization Everytown for Gun Safety. These teens say while they can't vote yet, they can use their voices to call for change.
"We want universal background checks, which 87-90 percent of the country agrees with. We want emergency risk protection orders, which allow judges to remove guns for temporary periods of time from at-risk individuals," said student Josh Fishkin.
The young activists don't believe adding more security is the answer.
"You're telling me we're going to have money and resources to get armed guards at every school in America?" asked 11th grader Moussab Mahmoud.
After the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, tens of thousands of students descended on Washington in what they called a "March for Our Lives." But despite the massive rallies and calls for change, calls for stricter gun control were largely ignored.
Students told Duddridge another rally is being organized in Washington, D.C. on June 11, and they plan to be there.