Several Wisconsin Students Walk Out Of School To Support Gun Rights

Nine Marquette University High School students in Milwaukee walked out of class Wednesday morning in support of Second Amendment rights.

Part of national “Stand for the Second” demonstrations, the walkouts were organized by Will Riley, a high school senior from New Mexico, with support from the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund.

Students were to walk out at 10 a.m. for 16 minutes.

At Marquette University High school, a first wave of about a dozen students appeared to be attempting to walk out only to be turned around, eventually a second wave of nine students walked out.

Students walking out said they didn’t feel supported by the school because they were not getting the same support their peers received on March 14, when the school held anti-violence events after the February mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Students Wednesday said they were being threatened with Saturday detention as they walked out. But school administration said they first heard of the event Wednesday morning via news reports.

“In terms of students protesting or students acting for what they believe in, you know we would really encourage that they take the right steps to have something that they believe in, organized in a way that might bring forward their message in a positive way to the entire school and community,” said Jeff Monday, principal of the high school.

Students said they had little time to organize and first reached out to school officials Wednesday.

Students from the high school say they support the right to bear arms and see the issue of mass shootings as guns getting into the hands of wrong people.

Walkouts in other parts of the state were also planned.

Sun Prairie High School had 10 students walk out for about eight minutes and one student gave a short speech, according to school administration.

School officials say they received notice from Sun Prairie students Monday. The school did not authorize the demonstration but they didn’t stop students. Participants won’t receive detention.

Three students left class at South Middle School in Eau Claire.

Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 5:06 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Rich Kremer contributed reporting.