A group of students at a Central Florida high school walked out of class Friday as part of a protest in support of the Second Amendment.
Some of the students who participated in the walkout at Rockledge High School told WFTV that when the movement to honor the victims and survivors of the shooting in Parkland became political, they felt silenced.
“I’m pro-Second Amendment,” Rockledge junior and protest organizer Anna Delaney told the station. "I wouldn’t mind deeper background checks, of course, but the Second Amendment will not be infringed upon.”
Many Rockledge students walked out of class March 14 as part of the National School Walkout that was held in support of the Parkland school shooting victims and to protest gun violence and call for new gun control measures. They stood on the football field and formed a huge heart.
About 75 students participated in Friday’s walkout at Rockledge, Florida Today reported. The protest lasted 20 minutes.
They walked onto the schools track carrying the American flag and signs that said “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and “I support the right to bear arms,” the paper reported. Some wore Trump “Make America Great Again” hats and camouflage clothing.
“We were built on certain rights and that was one of the original rights, that we should have the right to bear arms,” sophomore Chloe Deaton told the group. She helped Delaney organize the walkout.
Zachary Schneider, a junior, was quoted by the paper as saying, “It’s all over the news right now that all students hate guns. I wanted to show that not all students feel that way.”
Rockledge principal Vickie Hickey said the school treated the Second Amendment walkout exactly like it treated the walkout that took place two weeks ago, the paper reported.
She said both events were completely student-driven.