Students at schools across the nation walked out of classrooms Wednesday to show their support for the Second Amendment.
The rallies, dubbed "Stand for the Second," were started by New Mexico high schooler Will Riley to show that not every young person is on board with the gun-control movement created after the Valentine's Day high school shooting in Florida.
Organizers say events were scheduled in about 40 states. Students, many wearing T-shirts that read "Stand for the 2nd Walkout" or holding signs, walked out of their classes at 10 a.m. local time.
Riley, 18, a senior at Carlsbad High School, said he planned the events because of the nationwide student gun protests that dominated news coverage in the aftermath of shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
"I'm watching the news and I see they're saying, 'We have to do something about this. We have to enact some sort of gun control legislation because this is what the kids are asking for.' And I'm thinking, 'I'm not asking for that,' " Riley said. "I look at my friends and I think 'They're not asking for that.'
Riley said he wanted to give a voice to people "who feel that they're being misrepresented by the media."
In Michigan, about 100 students walked out of Grand Ledge High School and gathered around a flagpole in front of the school.
Students held a moment of silence for police and members of the armed services then were joined by members of the American Legion-VFW Post 3293 Honor Guard, led by veteran Dale Walters.
"We are for your rights," Walters told students. "You guys are the next line of defense, think about what rights we have and how you can defend them."
Hunter Barnes, 16, a sophomore, believes the right to bear arms is vital to protect against those who would do harm.
"I believe we need weapons to protect from other weapons," said Barnes.
From Montana to North Carolina and New York, photos on social media showed dozens gathered outside schools with the U.S. flag, signs and banners supporting both President Trump and the Second Amendment.
For the most part, Parkland students who are part of the core group that organized the #NeverAgain movement and March For Our Lives events stayed mum on social media about the events.
Ryan Deitsch, who survived the Florida's mass shooting, posted on Twitter about planned rallies that lasted for 16 minutes—one minute less than the gun-control walkouts.
"Today’s 10:00AM walkouts asked for 16 minutes in an attempt to ask for less than the 'anti-gun' student groups from previous walkouts," he wrote. "This forgets to mention the 17 minutes were for each fallen Eagle at Stoneman Douglas. They may have forgotten, but America will not."
He said he tries to stay understanding, but "this uphill fight" to take on gun-control is sometimes "too much."
In New Jersey, students walked from their school to a nearby community center in Ridgefield to talk about the importance and history of the Second Amendment and the recent protests calling for gun-control reforms.
Ridgefield High School sophomore Mario Giordano, 16, said he doesn't have a gun, nor does anyone in his family, but he believes the right to bear arms is one of the most important Amendments.
"It protects all of the other amendments," Giordano said. "No other country has a law that says well-armed citizenry is necessary for a free state."
While speaking in front of his fellow students, Giordano noted there are some measures, such as bettering background checks and preventing mentally ill from obtaining firearms, that are needed, but as a whole, the Second Amendment "requires and deserves respect."
Contributing: Ashley White, Tallahassee Democrat (Fla); RJ Wolcott, Lansing (Mich.) State Journal; Katie Sobko, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record; and DeJanay Booth, Carlsbad (N.M.) Current-Argus
