Student 'March for Our Lives' walkout calls for stronger gun laws
From a rallying cry to silence. Through rain and shine. Thousands of students all over the Bay Area came together in their communities, calling for stronger gun laws in America.
"How many bullets and bodies and street corner memorials will it take before we wake up? As I sat at home on Fourth of July and listen for fireworks go on for hours. I wondered to myself. When did America fall in love with gunshots," says Oakland Tech Sophomore Class President Samuel Getachew.
At Pittsburg High School, students laid on the ground taking part in what they called a die-in to pay tribute to victims of gun violence.
At Alameda High, students read the names and stood silent. 17 minutes for 17 victims who lost their lives one month ago at the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The students later left the school and took to the streets. They walked a mile and a half so people all over the island would hear their cry.
"Honestly I'm scared and I shouldn't have to be scared to go to school. I shouldn't have to be scared to walk around my community," says Alameda High School Senior Allie Solomon.
"We're the next generation of voters. I'm going to be voting in November and if Congress members really care about their seats so much. They are really start making changes," says Alameda High School Senior Alexander Chow.
At Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, students held a rally on their school campus to mark the walk out.
San Francisco students rallied at City Hall before taking to the streets marching down Embarcadero.
Back across the Bay in Alameda, students weren't penalized if they took part in the moment of silence on campus. But once they left, it's a different story.
"I was told you will have an unexcused absence because you're out here. What are your parents going to say about that? My parents support it and they appreciate that I'm out here standing up for what I believe in," says Alameda High School Sophomore Kahlim Davis.
"I hope the school will understand that it's very educational and important to be engaged in politics and be here," says Anna Martin an Alameda parent.
"We're just here trying to advocate for gun control. Because nothing is being done about it. So to put that policy in place that makes us choose between prom and this, it just seems very ridiculous," says Chow.
Alameda Unified School District spokeswoman said they're not trying to penalize students or shut them down. They just want them to realize with free speech and anything in life consequences occur. They say at the beginning of the school year all seniors sign a contract stating that if they have more than three unexcused absences between March and May they will lose privileges, which can include prom.