Teachers and students rally at Colorado capitol on Denver Public Schools mental health day
Hundreds of people gathered in Denver at the Colorado State Capitol on Friday morning as teachers organized a rally to express their concerns about safety after this week's shooting at East High School.
The Denver Classroom Teachers Association called for the gathering on the day Denver Public Schools designated as a mental health day. The decision to have no classes on Friday was announced on Thursday as a way to focus on students' mental health.
Everyone who took part in the rally says they want reforms made to laws surrounding guns. Teachers and students chanted, marched, gave speeches and passed out fliers. They are calling on state legislators to prioritize common sense gun violence prevention bills:
- Victim's Access to Justice
- Expand Red Flag Law
- Purchase Age: 21
- 3-Day Waiting Period
Another one of the bills, which was set to be heard on the state House floor on Friday, is the Extreme Risk Protection Order Petitions. That law would extend petitioning power to mental health professionals and educators and expand the tools available to schools to prevent future potention violence to students and to staff.
"Our senators, our legislators need to get serious about passing serious gun reforms and -- as some of these signs have already said -- protect teachers and students," said Danielle Clemons from the DPS school Contemporary Learning Academy.
Students and teachers said they won't stop speaking up and rallying until changes are made in schools.
