One of the biggest stories in the media so far this year is the student walkouts. After the tragedy in Florida, students across the country put down their books and took to the streets in peaceful protests against what they perceive as overly-lenient gun laws; gun laws that they claim have allowed numerous mass shootings.
But will these protests, which often focus on AR-style rifles and tend to vilify the NRA, impact your right to carry a concealed handgun? That remains to be seen…
Where are Walkouts Taking Place?
Americans need to recognize that these walkouts appear to be occurring all across the country. There are reports of organized walkouts in areas such as Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as smaller towns like Des Moines, Iowa and Yarmouth, Maine. Gun owners can have their thoughts on the motivation and foundation of these protests, but you can’t deny that it is a nationwide movement, and one that could have profound effect on national gun laws.
Do the Walkouts Pose a Concern to Gun Rights?
In the near term, it seems unlikely that the school-shooting protest of recent months will have any effect on your right to own, carry, and use a firearm to protect yourself and your family. However, that does not mean there couldn’t be changes in the long term.
Those in favor of the protests are committed to driving the anti-gun narrative and encouraging voters to elect anti-firearms politicians. Whether this tactic succeeds is the real test of these protests. It’s not necessarily how many students that anti-gun groups can get out of school, it’s how this national story will play into election day, both in the 2018 mid-term elections and the 2020 elections.
Not All Students Opposed to Gun Rights
Although it appears to have not received nearly the attention of the anti-gun protests, there has been a trend of pro second-amendment walkouts occurring across the country. Whether these protest can balance the anti-gun narrative sweeping the headlines has yet to be seen, but it does, at the very least, show that not all high schoolers are diametrically opposed to the right to own and carry a firearm.
