Indiana students call for safer schools and end to gun violence

“I wanted to make sure she came out,” said her mother, Elizabeth, of Fishers.

They were among more than one estimate of 2,000 people inside the Indiana Statehouse joining in Saturday’s March For Our Lives, held in cities across the nation following the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla, where a 19-year-old male used an AR-15 rifle to kill 17 people on Feb. 14.

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters rallied in the nation’s capital and cities across America on Saturday to press for gun control in one of the biggest youth protests since the Vietnam era.

The Statehouse event, originally set for Monument Circle, was moved indoors due to snow and chilly temperatures. But initially the crowd was expected to be about 400.

That left hundreds of people in lines outside the Statehouse which had only a single metal detector working at one entrance by the time the rally was to begin at 11 a.m. At least one person was being treated inside the Statehouse’s west entrance for having cold extremities. Although another door was opened, and frustrated attendees were still trying to get in 90 minutes after the start time.

Many carried signs as they heard speakers seek more school safety measures, increased universal background checks for firearms purchases and a ban on the sale of military-grade rifles, among other actions.

“I hope people will walk away with the message that lasts not tomorrow but for months on. Because the message is bigger than the day,” Brandon Warren, a teenager who was a local organizer of the local event, told CNHI.

“We have kids from all over. As long as all leave impacted months from now and willing to do something months from now so we can become proactive rather than reactive,” said Warren, a senior at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. Herrington’s signs brought tears to the eyes of Emma Jones, who stood with two friends carrying signs. One had the name of the 17 people killed in Parkland.

“It’s insane to me how easy it is to obtain a gun,” said Aunika Tibbetts of Greenwood. “People can get one that don’t deserve to have one. I do not want a ban on guns. I do not think this is an anti-gun movement. I think that you should go through more security clearances. I think there should be more safety precautions put behind getting a gun before someone should get one.”

“ There’s no reason it should be so easy. We’re the only developed country that has such loose gun laws,” Jones said.

The rally seemed to bring together youth frustrated with school violence.

“Ever since I heard about the Newtown shooting, I’ve been wanting to do something but because I’m so young I felt there wasn’t anything for me to do,” Carmel High School freshman Sami Magee said.

“But when I found out about the Parkland shooting and 17 teens my age were killed, it really broke my heart. I’m here because I want to make my voice heard.”

Saturday’s event began with a 9 a.m. prayer service at Christ Church Cathedral across the street from the Soldiers & Sailors Monument.

One of the service participants, Bishop William Gafkjen of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was among 64 bishops who signed a statement in solidarity with the youth driving March For Our Lives.

“One of the reasons I’m participating is captured in the statement that we adopted as conference of bishops and that is wanting to stand alongside and support young people who are trying to help the rest of us in the culture have a civil conversation about how to address these things,” Gafkjen said.

The synod is housed in Indianapolis but has a church in Benton, Ky., where a 15-year-old killed two students and injured 18 at Marshall County High School on Jan. 23.

School safety efforts were among a handful of pieces of legislation that failed to pass the Indiana General Assembly by its March 14 end-of-session deadline. Gov. Eric Holcomb has called a special session for mid-May to address five issues including school safety.

One of the bills failing to make the deadline, House Bill 1230, would have provided low-interest loans for security upgrades, required a state audit of school safety plans and provided an additional $10 million over two years for the Indiana Secured School Fund, which helps employ school resource officers and purchase equipment to restrict access to schools, among other measures.

“We need to be doing everything we can right now in terms of school safety,” Holcomb said Monday.

The Secured School Fund is administered by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Last year, 215 schools received grants up to $50,000; 30 were turned down.

The program differs from the better-known School Safety Specialist training for school employees. In Indiana, 46 percent of all public schools have at least two safety specialists which can include counselors, teachers and principals, among others. Training is provided through the Indiana Department of Education.

Char ter and pr ivate schools are not required to have school safety specialists, although 25 percent of charters participate in the program as do 38 percent of accredited non-public schools.

Earlier in the week, State Schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick said she commended students who were respectful and worked with administrators in conducting protests such as the national school walkout on March 14 and Saturday’s rally. She said such events can ser ve as teachable moments.

“I commend students for being a voice,” McCormick said. “I think that we’re in a time in our nation that is time for someone to stand up and if it takes a student voice, it takes a student voice.”

In Washington, the Senate is considering the STOP (Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act of 2018, which revises and reauthorizes the Secure Our Schools grant program through 2028. The measure is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The act, which is House Resolution 4909 introduced by U.S. Rep. John H. Rutherford of Florida, passed the House 407-10 on March 14. All but one U.S. representative from Indiana voted for passage; not voting was U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, 7th Dist.

From Indiana, U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks, R-5th District, and Todd Rokita, R-4th Dist., added their names as co-sponsors.