It's 'cowardly' to have armed guards at student gun control rally, mayoral candidate says

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that a statement from the mayor's office came from spokesperson Jean Porter.

Louisville mayoral candidate Jackie Green is calling for student organizers to reject having armed security at their "March For Our Lives" rally on Saturday.

The demonstration is expected to draw 5,000 students downtown to take part in a national protest calling for common-sense gun reform. The rally comes more than a month after 17 people died in a mass shooting at a Florida high school.

Green, a bicycle shop owner and environmental activist who is running as an independent, said the march loses legitimacy by having armed guards at a rally about gun control.

"It's hypocritical, it's cowardly, it's amusing," Green said.

"People are asking what if the NRA comes there and some nut wants to shoot up everybody," Green added. "But that's what this is about in the school, isn't it? They're saying let's arm the teacher because what if some nut comes in — you know put your money where your mouth is or shut up."

The NRA did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday requesting comment.

"It is hard to understand how anyone would go after these brave students who are using their voices to work to make us all safer," Jean Porter, a spokesperson for Mayor Greg Fischer, said.

Forest Clevenger, a student organizer of the event, told Courier Journal that it is important for safety purposes to have security. He said the march also plans to have unarmed peacekeepers in case of any disruptions or counter-protests.

"I understand his point and I think that's where we should be going," Forest said. "But there's a difference between private people carrying weapons and professional security carrying weapons."

Is this fair?Students may have to pay up to $8,400 for security at shooting march

Chris Rowzee, an adult adviser to the student march, said Green reached out to organizers about his concern, but that they have a responsibility to ensure a certain level of safety. She said they've also heard from numerous parents who insisted certain safety measures be taken.

Rowzee said it isn't fair to tie the students' call for tighter gun regulations to the need for security at their event. She also rejected Green's comparison that having guards at the march is akin to arming teachers in the classroom.

"You're talking about prudent security measures versus going to an extreme of creating what would be an arms race and have everybody armed in a wild west scenario," Rowzee said. "They're not even comparable."

More: Angry and impassioned, JCPS students headed to D.C. for gun control march

Green said rather than armed guards the community should show up in massive numbers to support and protect students if there are fears about Saturday's march.

"If we think we're going to be in a cannon-fodder situation, let the adults be the cannon fodder," he said. "But to employ hired guns as security at a gun control rally really weakens and delegitimizes the entire argument."

The students have invited Fischer and U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, both Democrats, to speak at the March 24 rally, which will shut down several downtown streets before rallying outside the mayor's office. It is part of a nationwide demonstration led by students who are calling for gun reform amid a consistent pace of school shootings.

Fischer established new rules for special events last year that made organizers responsible for finding volunteers to fill certain roles once provided by police. Groups are asked to pay for private security and to use traffic routes approved by the city that will need fewer sworn police officers.

Students estimate that hiring security for Saturday's march will cost about $8,400 alone.

Rowzee said they have raised enough money to pay for the needed guards and other logistics for the march. But the idea of requiring residents who want to express their views to pay for their own police protection upset some grassroots organizers, who contend the city's policy puts a price tag on their First Amendment rights.

Courier Journal found that many surrounding cities have similar guidelines, although officials for the city of St. Louis said police provided security at free speech rallies.

More on the candidate: Jackie Green to run for mayor in 2018, campaign on fight against climate change

Forest, a junior at duPont Manual High School, said he accepts they will have to pay a fee for closing the streets and that the focus should remain on their message.

"We are steadfast in our conviction that we will never be satisfied until people stop dying in our streets and classrooms, until the reforms that most Americans, including most gun owners, want is supported by our supposed representatives," he said in a statement.

Organizers said there will be numerous Louisville students speaking at the event, as well as others who have been impacted by gun violence. The event will also have an art display at Jackson Square Park along with a voter registration drive and postcards to write state representatives.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or 502-582-4475. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/philb.