SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Activists gathered at Missouri State University Sunday evening to prepare for Springfield’s Walkout For Our Lives where a sign-making party took place.
Missouri State University – Image courtesy of MSU
Walkout organizers invited the community including students, faculty, parents, and volunteers to share walkout information as well as speak about gun legislation.
Director of Team Millennial, Hannah Brashers, says many students across the city are excited to take part adding organizers from Kickapoo and Central expect over 150 students to participate at each school.
Brashers mentioned the main purpose of the walkout in her interview.
“I just urge people to have an open mind and realize that we’re not trying to take away all your guns,” Brashers said. “We just want to make the bad ones harder to get access to and we want to make the bad people have less access to them.”
The official walkout will take place across the city at 10 a.m. Friday, March 23.
Students will walk out of the school for 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting on Valentine’s Day.
Up 500,000 are expected for the national March For Our Lives Saturday, March 24 in Washington, D.C.
The event was organized with the help of Everytown For Gun Safety, a group that has developed a strong presence in Missouri. It’s grass roots arm, Moms Demand Action, held a rally earlier this month at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Missourinet media partner KOLR-TV contributed this story