Kudos for peaceful walkout
I watched the reports around the country covering the student walkout, and I must applaud them all, not just for the message but for the way it was delivered. There was no property destroyed and no profane signs or bull horns blaring profanity, no one group claiming they mattered more than another.
I hope we all learn from the example these young people set for all of us when we want to protest or make a statement. The protests we’ve seen the last couple of years weren’t taken seriously and most fell on deaf ears because the people and groups who delivered their message relied on shock value, which overshadowed the message itself.
Congratulations students!Most Read Opinion Stories
Unlimited Digital Access: $1 for 4 weeks[1]Jim Groves, Redmond
A salute to future leaders
To high school students regarding your stance against the National Rifle Association: I salute you. Your lives are just beginning, and despite tragedy it’s so clear you are onto a path that leads to greatness.
I can’t wait for you guys to take full control.
David Williams, Seattle
Lawmakers keep passing the buck
High school students had the courage to stand up to engage in the national debate on gun laws. But our government passed the buck.
The U.S. House will be passing on another bill to the Senate that will ask teachers, as well as students, to train for identifying violence-related tendencies in the classroom.
Now teachers are not just counselors, art, physical education and music teachers due to budget cuts but must take on the psychological task of evaluating violent behavior. It is time to acknowledge we need massive attention and resources for mental-health services that were long ago cut in federal and state funding. Gun violence is systemic due to domestic violence, poverty stress, lack of prescription meds and more. Don’t ask teachers to put a Band-Aid on the leading causes of gun violence. New guns laws demand responsible and serious Congressional action for mental-health support. Jim Thompson, Seattle Sensible safeguards for safety now As a student from a community that has experienced a school shooting, I believe change needs to happen. When students are shot down at their own schools — a place that was deemed “safe” — it rattles the entire community. The policies placed around the purchase of firearms must change. How many more innocents must be hurt for the policies to remain unchanged? Finally, our government is taking action, but will its decisions help? Although we must abide by the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment, we live under the immense profit received by the NRA. Citizens of America should come to agree that the protection of our people is worth more than shiny guns and hefty pockets, to