This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.com.
Denver high school students held a rally at the Colorado State Capitol on Wednesday, one week after a shooting at Evergreen High School left two students injured. They called on lawmakers to take stronger action to prevent gun violence.
The event was organized by local chapters of Students Demand Action, a national organization that advocates for gun violence prevention. It began with speeches on the Capitol steps, followed by a march through nearby streets before students returned for closing remarks.
Diego Holguin, a senior at George Washington High School and co-president of the school's Students Demand Action chapter, said lawmakers need to be held accountable for the frequency of school shootings.
"It's on the legislators at the state, federal, [and] executive level to try and tell us how they're going to make change," Holguin said. "It's not my job to be here, but it's their job in the Capitol building behind you to make that change."
Holguin added that while it's encouraging to see legislators join the rally, it's frustrating that gun violence remains a partisan issue rather than a nonpartisan one.
Avett Proctor is also a senior at George Washington High School and Holguin's fellow Students Demand Action co-president.
"I am scared to go to school, that it's my last time saying goodbye to my parents," Proctor said. "I'm there to learn, not to be shot. So, it is quite frustrating that this has happened again and again and again."
Students from Denver's East High School also spoke. Grant Cramer, the school's Students Demand Action co-president, said "it's ridiculous that we don't have an assault weapons ban in Colorado" despite a Democratic majority in the state legislature.
Democratic Rep. Brianna Titone of Arvada attended the rally. She said it's important for lawmakers to show up when their constituents are speaking out, and witnessing students' passion firsthand is different from reading their words on a page.
Titone said that although Colorado has passed some of the strictest gun safety laws in the country in recent years, the state can't solve the problem alone. She pointed to broader cultural issues, like social media amplifying rhetoric and "radicalizing" young people, and said meaningful change will require deeper conversations beyond the legislature.
Several other Democratic lawmakers also joined the students on the Capitol steps.
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This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
