Thousands of Utah students at least 30 schools participated in walkouts to protest gun violence and demand change as part of national demonstrations one month after the deadly shooting inside a high school in Parkland, Florida.
At West High School in Salt Lake City, about 500 students gathered outside the front entrance Wednesday morning and listened quietly as student organizers read the names of the 17 people killed in Florida and released one orange balloon for each.
The speakers urged politicians to enact laws to prevent more school violence, including a ban the sale of assault rifles. Elizabeth Love, a 17-year-old senior, teared up as she declared the walkouts are the beginning of a movement that won't stop until schools are safe again.
The demonstrations lasted 17 minutes — one minute for each of the students and staff members killed in Florida.
