Students take charge and address lawmakers following Florida high school shooting

Protesters rally against gun violence on the steps of the old Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, Feb 21, 2018. Students at schools across Broward and Miami-Dade counties in South Florida planned short walkouts Wednesday, the one week anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)

Students in Florida are rising to the occasion after a shooting took the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland last Wednesday.

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Activists planned a walkout and a march on the Tallahassee Capitol in an effort to strengthen gun laws in the state. It was the students who watched their friends die only a week prior who fought the hardest for a change.

“Everybody needs to remember we are just children. A lot of people think that that disqualifies from even having an opinion on this manner,” said student Alfonso Calderon.

Calderon argued that if anyone understood the impact of gun violence, it was the people in his community.

“I want everyone to remember we’re just kids,” he said, adding that before the shooting, he was thinking of taking a math test.

Calderon is not the only student whose statements received much attention.

Fellow student Delaney Tarr said she had prom and grades on her mind before the shooting.

Tarr said that she didn’t worry about losing anything from her protest, only about gaining safety. She vowed to continue approaching lawmakers until something changes.

RELATED: A school district faces backlash for its threat to students participating in gun violence protests

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