‘Kids are dying’: Elementary schoolers call on lawmakers to strengthen gun laws as session reconvenes

Some of Tennessee’s youngest constituents came to the capitol Tuesday, calling for stronger gun laws.

In a press conference, five children climbed a small step stool to reach the top of the podium. 10-year-old Ivy Ogle talked about her friend who was at the Covenant School the day an assailant shot and killed three students and three adults. 

“Now she’s scared of things I’ve never thought to be scared of, like sitting in a dark movie theater, loud banging noises, and she even wants to put bulletproof glass in her house,” she said.

Ogle said this isn’t something kids should have to worry about. She called out lawmakers for not passing stricter gun laws in the months since the shooting. 

The General Assembly held a special session on public safety in August, but legislators passed no gun reforms.

“I can’t believe you’ve done nothing so far. Kids are dying. That’s why we need stronger gun laws to protect us kids,” Ogle said.

Marco Vicencio Warbington, a first grader at Shwab Elementary School in Nashville, said he started school intruder drills as a preschooler, learning to hide and be silent.

“I love to play hide and seek with my friends, but I do not want to hide at school,” he said. “I want to feel safe.”

Katey Parham, a senior at Vanderbilt University, spoke after the elementary schoolers.

“These antiquated lawmakers are significantly misinformed,” Parham said. “We, the lockdown generation, are the experts, not them. They didn’t grow up with rocks in their classrooms in case they had to break a window and run.”

A group called Rise and Shine Tennessee held the press conference. The nonprofit group of parents and youth formed in response to the Covenant shooting last year. In addition to advocating for gun reforms, the group also promotes civic engagement and “economic security and opportunity for all,” according to its website.

“School is in today, and they’re missing it,” said Maryam Abolfazli, founder of Rise and Shine. “So this tells you the gravity and the seriousness of the of this issue.”

Nine high school students from the group plan on speaking at the capitol Thursday at noon. Abolfazli said the high schoolers will have “even stronger words” for lawmakers.