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A group of students has gathered outside the White House on Presidents’ Day, staging a “lie-in,” where they lay down silently among protesters and reporters, to protest gun violence.
What happened?
WJLA named the group behind the student “lie-in” as Teens for Gun Reform; reportedly, they intended to lie down for three minutes to symbolize how long it supposedly took for Parkside shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz to buy his AR-15.
In addition, many participants were holding up signs, reading statements like “Military style weapons have no place on our streets,” “We Call B.S.” and “Am I next?” Some students also waved American flags.
The organization has also issued the following statement in connection to the event:
“We have organized this protest in solidarity with all of those who were affected by the horrific school shooting in Florida last Wednesday. We call on President Trump and leaders from both parties to finally act in the interest of America’s youth and end these tragic mass shootings!”
According to the New York Daily News, one unidentified teenager could be heard saying, “Why should we be allowed to live in fear, knowing that one day it could be any of us;” other chants included “No more dead kids!” and “Congress is complicit! Congress is Complicit!”
A 10-year-old boy identified as “Leo” was also quoted as saying the following:
“We’re protesting against people who are shooting at schools and killing innocent kids with guns that should be illegal.”
Some early reports of the protest had incorrectly referred to it as a “die-in,” possibly due to the act of lying down partially symbolizing corpses.
The lie-in should also not be confused with the upcoming “March For Our Lives” protest that was announced over the weekend by a group of teenage survivors of the Parkside shooting; that planned student protest is expected to take place on March 24.
