In the aftermath of a tragic shooting at Perry High School, students in Iowa are gearing up for a walkout on Monday, intending to march to the state Capitol as a demonstration against what they perceive as lawmakers’ inadequate response to gun violence.
The initiative to mobilize students for the walkout originated from March For Our Lives Iowa, issued just hours after a Perry High School student shot and killed a sixth-grader while injuring seven others on Thursday. The organization took action in response to the voiced frustrations of students who, deeply affected by the incident, sought a platform to express their concerns.
Akshara Eswar, one of the executive state directors of March For Our Lives Iowa, emphasized the profound impact the shooting had on students, stating, “The shooting has hit really close to home for a lot of us. People are angry. They’re thinking about it constantly.” Eswar expressed the need to channel this energy constructively and make legislators aware of the dissatisfaction with Iowa’s current gun laws.
Students from Des Moines, Bettendorf, Johnston, Waukee, and West Des Moines are expected to participate in the walkout around noon on Monday. The group plans to deliver a letter outlining its legislative priorities to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Notably, this event coincides with the first day of the 2024 legislative session.
Mass shootings in the United States have consistently sparked calls for stricter gun laws from advocates of gun safety. Thursday’s incident was no exception, with various gun control advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemning the shooting.
According to federal data, the number of school shootings in the U.S. reached a record high in 2023 for the second consecutive year, with 188 incidents resulting in casualties at public and private elementary schools during the 2021-22 school year.
March For Our Lives’ legislative priorities encompass proposals such as a law requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms and another mandating a temporary ban on individuals proven to be at risk of harming themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a gun. Eswar underscored the group’s primary objective: to impress upon legislators the pervasive fear students experience while attending school.
Eswar criticized Iowa lawmakers for not prioritizing legislation directly impacting the safety of children in recent years. She pointed out that the focus has shifted to laws governing book content in schools, parental notification about students using different names or pronouns, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from sports – issues that, according to Eswar, divert attention from the urgent matter of ensuring students’ safety.
“They use all of this in the name of protecting children,” she said. “But the reality is every day is a gamble. Every day we walk into school never actually knowing what’s going to happen that day, and it’s not fair that we have to live in that fear.”
The shooting at Perry High School on Thursday shocked the rural town of Perry, with a population of nearly 8,000, located approximately 40 miles northwest of Des Moines. The incident involved a teenage student armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, opening fire in the school’s cafeteria shortly before classes were set to begin on the first day back after winter break.
The tragic event claimed the life of 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, a sixth-grade student at Perry Middle School. The shooter, identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, succumbed to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger and six others, including staff members and teenage students, suffered injuries ranging from significant to minor.
Ahmir’s family described him in an obituary as leaving behind a “legacy of love, compassion, and advocacy for those in need.” The family urged those attending his funeral to carry on his legacy and uphold his “unwavering determination to make the world a brighter place.” The funeral is scheduled to take place one week after the tragedy at Perry’s St. Patrick Catholic Church.