‘Tired of talking about it’: Paschal High School students walk out to protest gun violence
Around 30 students at Fort Worth Paschal High School walked out of class Friday to call for gun control and reducing violence.
Their walkout followed a statewide walkout Thursday organized by the anti-gun violence group Students Demand Action.
The Paschal walkout started around 10:50 a.m. and lasted till 11:40 a.m with students carrying signs and shouting slogans like “protect kids, not guns” on the corner of West Berry Street and Forrest Park Boulevard.
A Fort Worth police squad car was in position on Berry Street with four school staff members standing roughly 30 feet away to observe.
The students said they were tired of talking about gun violence and wanted to take some kind of action. They referenced the shooting Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets and the January shooting that killed 17-year-old Paschal High School student Zechariah Trevino outside the Whataburger across the street.
Students said it was more important to be on the street protesting than in class. Several said shooting fears made it difficult to concentrate in class, with some adding the threat has been a part of their lives since elementary school.
The Fort Worth school district in a statement Wednesday discouraged students from walking out.
“Please remember there are District protocols in place to ensure your safety, and we appreciate your cooperation,” the statement read, while also encouraging students to user teachers and counselors if they need someone to talk to.
That message seemed to affect the turnout. Participating students said teachers threatened them with being marked absent on attendance if they participated.
The Fort Worth school district’s protocols allow students to protest peacefully, but require teachers to make a list of participating students while reminding them that participation is not an excused absence, according an email from a district spokesperson.
Students said they felt proud of their protest. They said it was more important to take the action than fear for their safety in class.
Firearms were the leading cause of death for 15- to 19-year-olds between 2018 and 2021, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. They accounted for nearly a third of all deaths for that age group.
There was increased pressure on the Texas Legislature earlier in the week to pass a bill to raise the age to buy a semiautomatic weapon from 18 to 21.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker voiced her support for the bill on social media. “We can’t afford to just stand still waiting for longer-term investments to save our lives,” she wrote. “We need immediate action.”
While the bill passed out of a House committee Monday, a separate committee missed a deadline Tuesday to schedule a vote on the house floor.
This story was originally published May 12, 2023 at 2:05 PM.
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