Hundreds Gather Near Columbine For Voting Rally, Candlelight Vigil
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4/AP) — About 1,000 people, including a group of students from Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, gathered in a park near Columbine High School Thursday night to push for gun control and to highlight the importance of voting in the next election.
The group gathered Thursday evening, the day before the 19th anniversary of the Colorado school shooting that killed 12 students and a teacher.
"This nation should've realized the right to live, the right to feel safe is more important than the right to bear arms 19 years ago," said one student.
Some held signs that read, "Change Gun Laws," ''Change Congress" and "I Will Vote."
Students at high schools across the country are expected to walk out of classes Friday to call for gun control. Columbine High School will be closed, and students there will stick with their tradition of holding a day of service to commemorate the tragedy.
Students at high schools across the country are expected to walk out of classes Friday, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, in their latest push for gun control. But they won't be protesting at the Colorado school where the violence took place.
Classes at Columbine will be canceled just as they have been every April 20 since the 1999 massacre. Though some Columbine students are planning a combined vigil and voter registration rally with students from Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Thursday night.
But the school is sticking with its tradition of holding a day of service on Friday.
The current and former Columbine principals recently urged other nearby high schools to join them rather than participate in walkouts. Columbine junior Kaylee Tyner says the shooting anniversary is a day to remember those lost in the shooting.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
