High School Students Grapple with Gun Violence at Sunday Summit in San Rafael
SAN RAFAEL (KPIX) -- There wasn't much debate at Sunday morning's gun violence summit at San Rafael's Dominican University. It seemed those who came were of like mind about the root of the problem.
"It is access to guns that's the problem," said one.
"I also do think it all leads back to guns," another added.
Ever since the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students across the country have been walking out and speaking up.
On Sunday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) hosted a panel discussion of young people from schools throughout the North Bay. The message: They've had enough.
"We want to take action regardless what that action is and I think that's something that maybe we're not seeing in Washington," said Alex Simard, student body president at Marin Catholic High School.
In a guest video appearance, Bradley Thornton, a recent graduate of Stoneman Douglas High, expressed frustration with the reception he and other students got at the nation's capital after the shooting.
"If gun control wasn't an issue in their district or if they didn't agree with our policies on gun control. We were essentially completely shut down, completely ignored," Thornton said.
While the discussion focused mainly on guns, Laura Talmus, who founded a local anti-bullying organization said we should not ignore the emotional dysfunction that mass shooters seem to share.
"Not everyone who is socially isolated grows up to be a shooter but we do know that the shooters have all been described as socially isolated, disconnected. And that is not tolerable any longer," Talmus said.
There are no easy answers to the problem but many here believe there is something that could be done immediately to reduce the carnage.
"I think if we cut down on the level of automatic weapons it would be a lot less easy to just walk into a room and cause the amount of destruction people have been causing," said Abby Jones, a student at Casa Grande High School.
These students have grown up with the threat of mass shootings hanging over them. They now believe that it will be up to them to change that.
A nationwide protest, called the "March For Our Lives," is planned for Saturday, March 24.
