In this op-ed, high school seniors Kanyinsola Oye and Julia Allwein, who live in Columbus, Ohio, explain the inspiration behind their community protest and ongoing advocacy for gun safety.

After hearing the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School teens heartfelt pleas for change following a devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida, emotions rolled through us: anger, shock, fear, but most disturbing of all, a sense of familiarity and realization that this was becoming normalized. The Florida teens call for action arising from their tragedy on February 14 inspired us to rally in solidarity through our Amnesty International Columbus Alternative High School chapter. We stand with these teens even from across the country, because this problem — gun violence — is not confined to one school, student, or state, it threatens every young person living in America.

Schools are no longer a place of learning when they’ve become synonymous with danger. According to the Washington Post more than 150,000 students attending at least 170 schools have experienced a shooting on campus since the Columbine massacre in 1999. This number is only the beginning of the problem: students across the country battle fear every day when boarding the bus in case we are the next victims in America’s ongoing epidemic of school massacres. The questions and fears invade every corner of our mind.

What's the quickest route if the shooter came in during english class?

Could I jump out the first floor window and seek refuge in the surrounding neighborhood?

If I was roaming the halls when the shooter invaded would I attempt to fight the terror?

Would I have the strength to say my last goodbyes?

Or would I be stuck in my high school bathroom, listening to whimpers and screams from my classmates?

Though the sounds of gunshots have yet to ring through the halls of our high school in Columbus, Ohio, but we fear it is only a matter of time. Our march, Protest Against Gun Violence was inspired by the depth of tragedy in Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the countless other shootings, but also the looming fear that the next shooting is inevitable, whether at our school, or any other across the country.

What is most striking about gun violence is how preventable it is. Yet there’s a lack of action in the government, from the federal level all the way down to local representatives. As we watch the videos of families crying in Florida we cannot comprehend how those voted into power — who hold positions where they are able to create change — continually choose unrestricted gun rights over children's lives. One can take a look at the National Rifle Association’s support for these same candidates and suddenly the source of their inhumanity is clear.

It is left up to children everywhere to demand the rights the government allegedly guarantees, but instead stifles, choosing to ignore the outcries and devastation of the very people they claim to serve. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, like so many before them, found themselves in the parking lot of their bloodied school, frantically contacting their loved ones and searching for the faces of friends and teachers that they may never see again. Students not only suffer through these shootings, but inaction from lawmakers that follows. They have joined leagues of other young people fighting for what seems like common sense: safety in schools.

We stand with the victims in Florida and young people everywhere, at risk for gun violence. We understand, as students, the frustration and terror those at Douglas must feel during this week. It is hard to watch the people in power offer empty condolences instead of legislation that will have tangible effects in addressing this pressing issue. But we will continue to fight and advocate for change in solidarity with them, in our own community. We are the voice of a generation that refuses to accept rampant gun violence as a status quo.

We don't want thoughts and prayers; we want action, policy, and basic human rights, allowing us our safety. Why is that too much to ask?

At this point, the blame no longer rests only with the shooter, but also with those who are complicit in enabling them the tools that cause unmeasurable anguish and trauma. Every person who insists on unrestricted gun ownership instead of school safety and neglects to recognize the pain of the victims, deserves some of the condemnation for these shootings. We are not only doing this for the 17 students and faculty murdered but also for the youth whose innocence has yet to be shattered by the pervasive terror of gun violence. This is why we rally on February 22 in Columbus, why we will march out on March 14 and April 20, and why we will not stop till our voices shake the foundations of Capitol Hill.

Related: I Survived the Parkland Shooting

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