Students hold pro-gun walkouts

Staff at California High School said about 50 students participated in a peaceful protest with signs and speeches in front of the campus administration building.

A spokeswoman for Downtown College Prep Alum Rock High School in San Jose did not confirm that a walkout had occurred, calling reports to the contrary a “scurrilous rumor.”

Officials at Montgomery High School and College Park High School did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation that the walkouts had occurred as planned.

Students at participating schools were advised to schedule their walkouts at 10 a.m., according to standforthesecond.com. They were asked to check with school officials to ensure that timing wouldn’t conflict with any standardized testing.

Organizers called the nationwide walkout campaign a response to recent anti-gun walkouts and other activism that have occurred in the wake of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.

They want to draw attention to gun owners who use firearms for self-defense and are exercising their rights in a legal and effective manner.

The website also makes reference to “viewpoint discrimination,” directing students who feel they’ve been affected by bias for their pro-gun viewpoints to call a hotline for more information.