Southern Regional Students Hold Walkout Over Gun Violence

Hundreds of students at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin staged a walkout, showing unity and support to the victims of last week's Florida school shooting, and hoping to bring a change to our nation's gun control laws.

Students also walked out of Middletown High School South at the same time.

The walkouts follow a protest staged by Toms River students earlier this week. Sadly some of the comments we got were along the lines of "kids are dumb, they don't know what they're talking about, blahblahblah"...and it just saddens me. I get that kids are kids, they don't have the same world-view that adults do...but that doesn't mean they're not allowed to voice their opinion. They have to worry about every kid in class who reaches into their backpack, they have to worry about some lunatic who just bursts into their school, they have to worry about someone bringing an explosive to a football game...they are watching their friends and peers get murdered. Who are you to tell them how to feel or how to react?

I don't mean to keep playing the "now that I'm a father" card, but it still applies. I'm lucky because Baby Varacchi still has a few years before it's time to send her off to school, and maybe some changes can happen before then. And yes, I know that regardless of what gun control laws are in place, it only takes one crazy guy with a gun to do damage...but if we can just limit the crazies, limit the guns, limit the goddamn assault rifles...then maybe some kids can live past high school graduation.

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