NYC Students Plan 2nd Gun Control Protest After Parkland Shooting

NEW YORK, NY — New York City students took to the streets to push for stricter gun laws last month, but they're not done yet. About 6,000 students from 30 schools will rally for tougher gun control Friday as part of a second nationwide student walkout, said Arielle Geismar, a junior at the Beacon School in Midtown who's organizing the event.

The noon protest at Washington Square Park will feature speakers including survivors of school shootings in Parkland, Florida, Newtown, Connecticut, and Columbine High School in Colorado, Geismar said. It will mark a political turn from the March 14 walkout that drew about 100,000 city students, she said.

"In March we mourn and in April we act," she said.

The rally is one of more than 2,200 student walkouts across the country planned for Friday. Students and pro-gun control activists planned the pair of walkouts and the March 24 March for Our Lives protests in the wake of the Feb. 14 Parkland shooting.

Geismar is among a group of New York City students who hope to maintain the momentum of the movement for stricter gun laws that's burgeoned in the two months since Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Geismar and more than 40 of her peers recently formed NYC Says Enough, a student coalition that aims to advocate for stronger gun control laws.

The group grew out of a Facebook post Geismar made seeking help organizing an April 20 protest, she said. Some members have long been politically active while others have just gotten involved recently, Geismar said.

NYC Says Enough raised more than $7,000 to cover the costs of Friday's protests and plans to incorporate as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, Geismar said.

The students plan to go after political candidates who have resisted gun reform and taken money from the National Rifle Association in November's midterm elections, Geismar said, even though just a handful will be able to vote.

"We didn’t ask for guns to be brought into our schools. We didn’t ask for guns on our streets. But that’s the reality," Geismar said. "If it’s going to affect us then we have the right to change it."

Some supportive national officials will be at Friday's rally, Geismar said, including U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. That union gave NYC Says Enough a $5,000 grant to help pay for the event, Geismar said.

The students have worked with school administrators and city officials to plan the rally, Geismar said. The Department of Education did not return a request for comment on Monday.

(Lead image: Students rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as part of the March 14 nationwide school walkout for stronger gun-control laws. Photo by Nick Rizzi/Patch)