Atlanta Students Plan Walkout Following Apalachee High School Shooting

AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File

Throughout Georgia, most people favor the Second Amendment. It's a state with a large rural population, and even in most of the cities, there's strong support for gun rights.

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The exception has always been Atlanta.

While it's the state's capital, it's also the largest urban center in the state. That means it tends to reflect the typically urban politics that go along with such a large population, such as favoring gun control.

In the wake of the Apalachee High School shooting, it's no surprise there that some are seeking to push gun control. It's also no surprise, really, that there's going to be a student walkout.

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.

By the time you read this, it's already happened, which is fine.

Look, I don't care if kids want to express their politics. I just have some concerns about the adults involved in all of this.

See, while it's possible this is student-driven, it's just as likely that teachers put them up to it and likely gave approval for them to walk out and go to the state capitol. Hell, some might be giving extra credit for it.

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We've seen teachers get involved in this sort of thing before, and I have a problem with it.

I'm a free speech advocate. I don't care if students want to exercise their freedom of speech. I applaud it, even, whether I agree with it or not. Freedom matters and that means people need to be free to express their opinions regardless of what they are.

However, the courts have long held that free speech in school ends when it gets disruptive. Walkouts are most definitely disruptive.

In other words, the correct action here would be for the teachers and staff to try and prohibit students from doing this because of that disruption. However, it looks like no one is interested in doing jack squat.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the state, a nine-year-old girl was suspended from school in Brunswick, Georgia, for holding her banana like a gun at lunch.

Now, which is more disruptive to student instruction: Walkouts or kids being kids during lunch?

Regardless, it's absolutely not going to change a thing about what Georgia lawmakers are going to do, mostly because those that represent Atlanta already want gun control and those who represent the rest of us aren't going to bend the knee just because some kids from Atlanta say they should.

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