Provo • A Utah girl whose mother was running the Boston Marathon when it was bombed in 2013 is among those arranging walkouts to protest gun violence in schools.
Kaylee Anderson and other Utah County students will be participating on March 14 in the walkouts that have been scheduled nationwide, the Daily Herald reported Saturday.
The walkouts will last for 17 minutes to represent the 17 people killed in the Feb. 14 Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“This should not be a normal thing that happens in America,” Anderson said.
The events are organized by local participants in the ENOUGH: National School Walkout, which is being organized by Women’s March Youth EMPOWER to demand congressional action on federal gun reform.
Anderson said more than 30 Westlake High School students will participate with her. Other schools with students who will walk out include Mountain View High School and Utah Valley University in Orem, Timpview High School and Brigham Young University in Provo and Rockwell Charter High School in Eagle Mountain.
Utah County school districts plan to enforce normal attendance policies the day of the walkout, which means students will need a parent to call in to excuse them from class to avoid an unexcused absence. Teachers who want to participate will have to take time off for the walkout.