ANN ARBOR, MI - A group of high school students in Washtenaw County say they won't stop talking about gun control until something changes.

The day after thousands of middle and high school students across the country walked out of school to protest gun violence on Wednesday, March 15, a group of Washtenaw County high schoolers held a town hall meeting Thursday to speak more at length about their stance on gun control.

About 45 people - including Ann Arbor Public Schools staff, parents and students - attended the two-hour meeting, held at Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School. The student panelists included Pioneer senior Henry Taylor, Lincoln High School senior Max McNally, Pioneer junior Clara Nunez-Regueiro, Pioneer senior Marquaun Kane, Skyline High School senior Liam Keating, Pioneer senior Jon Flynn and Pioneer junior Sarah Lewis.

"I really believe that if anyone can make a difference, it is our students, and I promise that they will have my unfailing support throughout this battle, which likely will not be easy," said Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift. "We understand that and yet, I see them coming clear-eyed, focused and determined to prompt change. And that inspires us all at very deep levels."

Several of the panelists are part of Washtenaw Youth Initiative, which is made up of students from a dozen Washtenaw County high schools, that has outlined a six-point platform for gun control.

Their requests include:

Ban guns in schools, in all circumstances.

Raise the legal minimum age for purchasing a gun to 21.

Ban the sale of assault weapons or high capacity ammunition magazines to the general public.

Require a gun safety class and certification before the purchase of a gun.

Require implicit bias training and psychological certification for police officers before they can carry guns.

The top two priorities from list are banning assault-style weapons and raising the minimum age to purchase guns, Keating said.

He feels there is a disconnect between public support for gun control measures and elected officials' willingness to pass policies that reflect the majority's will. He cited a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2017 that found 84 percent of Americans in favor of background checks for prospective gun owners purchasing weapons at gun shows and through private sales.

The survey also found 83 percent of Americans would support barring gun purchases for people on no-fly lists or watch lists, 71 percent favor a federal database to track gun sales and 68 percent support banning assault-style weapons.

On the other hand, Keating noted, only 45 percent of Americans agreed with the idea of allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns in K-12 schools, according to the Pew Research survey.

"We're only supporting policies that a majority of Americans support. ... I do want us to understand that this is a pretty moderate issue," he said. "We're not trying to push our country to where it doesn't want to go."

Keating and some of the other panelists believe the National Rifle Association's lobbying has skewed some politicians' priorities to disregard public opinion.

"These leaders who have taken these bribes from the NRA, big oil, big pharma, etc. - we have put them in office. I mean, not us, we're not old enough to vote yet. But they have been put in office. They have been elected by our community members, and they have violated our moral code," Kane said. "So my intention is to bring the community together in unison so we can shed light on this issue and other social issues and come together and bring about change. Get new leaders into office who actually reflect our morals and ethics."

Students clarified that their group is not interested in repealing the Second Amendment or taking everyone's guns. Lewis responded to critics of the school walkout, saying those type of demonstrations are an essential part of democracy. She said the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, could have happened just as easily in Ann Arbor.

"Out of great tragedy, I've also seen great leadership emerge," Lewis said. "Just as easily as the victims could have been from Ann Arbor, the amazing outspoken champions who are fighting on all fronts of this battle are here, too. I see it in our community. Our students are passionate and driven and will not rest until this issue is fixed."

The panelists said they are focused on sustaining the engagement they saw Wednesday, when students at Ann Arbor Public Schools' high schools and some middle schools, Lincoln High School, Milan High School, Saline High School, Manchester Community Schools, Dexter Community Schools, Washtenaw International High School and Ypsilanti Community Schools joined the walkout.

Following the walkout, a few hundred Washtenaw County students gathered for a rally on gun control at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor students previously planned a "die-in" demonstration on March 3 and held a brief school walkout on Feb. 21 to protest gun violence.

Their goal now is to continue encouraging people to register to vote and contact their elected representatives and to foster more discussion on the issue - especially with people with opposing views.

"We want to start a dialogue, not just with people who all have the same opinion," Taylor said. "We want to engage in meaningful, thoughtful, fact-based discussion with people who don't think like us. Because in the end change is created through both compromise and facts."

The student panelists also discussed the psychological toll it takes to practice lockdown drills at school to prepare for an active shooter situation. Flynn said the drills get him thinking about what he would do if there was ever an active shooter in his school, and Nunez-Regueiro recalled how fearful she was when her elementary school went into a lockdown due to a nearby bank robbery.

The panelists said arming teachers would make school an even more fearful environment.