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Ashland High students rally against gun violence Photo by Charlie Burr Ashland High School students walked from school to the Ashland Plaza on Friday, National School Walkout Day, the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting where 13 people died in 1999. Holding the "Enough is enough" sign is Zea Mindling-Werling. Friday Apr 20, 2018 at 6:53 PM Apr 20, 2018 at 6:53 PM By Julie AkinsFor the Tidings Students across the country, including Ashland, walked out of their classrooms on Friday in the latest demonstrations urging gun control following the February shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. “I’m here to fight for our rights and life, honestly,” said Sofia Gorin, a freshman at Ashland High school. “A child is worth more than a gun. I’m here to make a change and not give up.” The protests were organized to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which left 13 dead in Littleton, Colorado. “We have to think, could a person come with a gun and kill us?” said freshman Zoe Keith. “Sometimes I don’t want to go to school.” Dozens of students from Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School and a few elementary students marched from their campuses to the downtown Plaza to urge passage of legislation blocking the sale and ownership of assault-type weapons, high capacity magazines and gun sales to teens. “We should not allow guns to be sold to people under 24. Your pre-frontal cortex is not fully formed. You literally cannot think it through when you’re younger than that and in trouble,” sophomore Mya Dizmang said. Organizers arranged for walkouts in every state, with more than 2,700 registered events across the country. Shortly before the walkouts late Friday morning, another school shooting in Florida left one student injured. Authorities say one student shot another in the ankle at Forest High School in Ocala. A suspect was taken into custody. “I feel ashamed to be part of this country. No one should have to say that. But we’re still going to change that,” Ashland High freshman Madison Davis said to the nods of her fellow Ashland High classmates. The walkouts are the latest in a wave of youth activism that has emerged after the Parkland massacre. “I’m here because I feel it’s not OK to shoot people,” said 11-year-old Satya Garcia as her mother, Kalinda, and grandmother, Beverly, looked on. “I honestly don’t think people should be able to get guns. It’s very unsafe.” Tens of thousands of students across the country left class March 14 to protest gun violence in what historians called the largest youth protest movement since at least the Vietnam War. Days later, hundreds of thousands of teens rallied across the U.S. calling for tougher laws on guns and ammunition. Community protests continue as students ask for legislation to end school shootings. “Our children have voices, no matter how old they are. We’re raising a generation that’s going to stand up for their rights,” said Kalinda Garcia, mother of Satya, who was one of the youngest protesters present. Her grandmother, Beverly, echoed the sentiment, saying “I’m hoping when the time comes, whenever it comes, she stands up for her rights.” Seventeen people were killed and more than 15 injured at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14. So far in 2018, there have been 20 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. There has not been any federal legislation agreed upon to stem the tide of school shootings. Several states have taken up measures, including Oregon. The day after the Parkland shooting, Oregon’s legislature passed a bill making it illegal for people convicted of domestic violence or those with restraining orders against them to possess weapons, even if they are not married to, do not live with, or do not have children with their victims. Eleven other states are considering or have passed stricter gun measures since the shooting. — Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.