SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Several hundred New Mexico high school students vented their frustrations and concerns about gun violence and a sense of lurking danger at schools on Friday in a policy forum and rally at the state Capitol.
Held in coordination with rallies across the country on the anniversary the 1999 school massacre in Columbine, Colorado, the forum in Santa Fe was accompanied by an outdoor student rally, a voter registration drive and letter-writing campaigns to lawmakers.
Students peppered state lawmakers, law enforcement officials and local school representatives with questions about how to ensure classroom safety. New Mexico was shaken by a December shooting at Aztec High School that killed two students. An August 2017 shooting at a public library in Clovis left two dead and four wounded.
“We’re hoping that the legislators and senators and the people who are supposed to be representing us, that they’ll see we’re unhappy with the danger,” said Sophia Lussiez, 16, of Santa Fe.
A question-and-answer session with public officials touched on a gamut of violence-prevention strategies, from increased funding for student counseling services to government research into gun violence as a matter of public health.
Student organizers stressed the event was focused on gun-safety and not necessarily stricter gun control laws.
At the same time, many students complained that firearms regulations are ineffectual. A student rapper pilloried the National Rifle Association in rhyming verse.
The rally and forum took place in a state Capitol that has no security screening and allows firearms to be carried openly, and concealed weapons with a permit. State police oversee security at the building during the legislative session.
Applause erupted as Santa Fe Public Schools board member Steve Carrillo said that “our board would never, ever, ever support arming teachers.” The board voted earlier this month to reject NRA grant money that has supported the district’s junior ROTC program.
Democratic House Speaker Brian Egolf urged students to educate themselves on gun violence issues and to register to vote.
He highlighting the veto of a 2017 bill aimed at limiting gun access for people with permanent protective orders from domestic violence incidents - and said lawmakers want to deliver the bill again to the state’s next governor in 2019. Second-term Republican Gov. Susana Martinez cannot run for re-election this year.
Republican lawmakers were invited but did not attend Friday’s forum, student organizers said.
Lawmakers and the governor this year set aside construction money aimed at improving security at public schools. Bills aimed at expanding background checks for gun buyers have stalled in the Democrat-led legislature in recent years.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.