High school students to stage walkout for gun laws at Georgia Capitol
ATLANTA - Atlanta high school students are planning a walkout at the Georgia Capitol Building to push for stronger gun control laws following the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School.
It's been just over two weeks since the deadly attack in Barrow County left two students and two teachers dead and nine wounded.
The violence has spurred some high schoolers to advocate for change in the state.
Students at Atlanta's Morgan Oliver School have organized a citywide school walkout on Thursday to call for legislative action.
The organizers say they are frustrated with legislative inaction on the issue of gun safety in Georgia and want to "draw widespread attention to the urgent need for legislative reform."
The demonstration was initially supposed to happen on Sept. 13 but was delayed because of student safety concerns.
Apalachee High School
The move comes on the same day that funeral services begin for 14-year-old Christian Angulo, one of the victims of the shooting. A viewing is planned for tonight at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Winder. His funeral is set for Friday morning.
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The Georgia school shooting marked the 30th mass killing in the U.S. so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings.
In response to the shooting, Georgia Republicans have proposed new policies to foster student mental health and detect guns in schools, but have stopped short of demands from their Democratic counterparts to strengthen laws that would require background checks or let the state temporarily take guns from someone in a crisis.
The protest is set to start at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol.