TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Several hundred people have protested outside of the Florida House of Representatives while lawmakers were in session.
The protesters were upset Wednesday that the Republican-controlled chamber refused to take up a measure a day earlier that would have banned assault rifles and large capacity magazines.
The crowd burst into chants of "vote them out" and "we're students united, we'll never be divided." The noise could be heard inside the chamber but business went on uninterrupted.
Rep. Evan Jenne graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Democrat was among others from his party who spoke to the crowd. Jenne told the students to take ownership of the movement.
About 2,000 students, parents, teachers and supporters held hands and chanted outside of Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School one week after the shooting there.
They chanted "never again" and "I will not be a victim" and joined hands and held them aloft at about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday. That's about the time the Feb. 14 rampage began.
Seventeen people were killed in the attack. As the students gathered in Parkland, thousands of people were 400 miles away in Tallahassee, urging lawmakers to take action on gun laws.
