Teens Stage White House ‘Lie-In’ to Protest Lack of Gun Control

A large group of high school students has reportedly staged a “lie-in” outside of the White House to protest a lack of gun control.

Organized by a group called Teens For Gun Reform, the students are said to have taken turns lying on the ground near the President’s dwelling for three minutes at a time, which is the amount that the Florida school shooter spent firing on students and teachers.

The Daily Mail reports that the group shared a message on their Facebook page that stated the lie-in was intended to be a “representation of the victims of school shootings.”

“By doing this, we will make a statement on the atrocities which have been committed due to the lack of gun control, and send a powerful message to our government that they must take action now,” the message added.

The lie-in isn’t the only protest that has been planned in the wake of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Another anti-gun rally is reportedly being planned for March and Bellevue star Anna Paquin took to Twitter to share her “100%” support for the upcoming student anti-gun rally.

In a message on Twitter, Paquin wrote, “I 100% support our teens making their voices heard.” Along with her comment, the former True Blood actress shared an image that also featured a message about the walkout.

“High school students are talking on message boards about making April 20th the day they all walk out of school and don’t come back until congress updates laws – as it’s their lives on the line. Please share for visibility as this is a great idea,” the image reads.

While the message reads that the rally is to take place in April, CNN reports that the walkout is actually being planned for March 14.

As has been widely reported, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the fatal shooting at his former high school. The shooting took place on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and very quickly caught the attention of the entire world.

Following the shooting, sales of bulletproof backpacks reportedly rose by 30%. Bullet Blocker, the company that manufactures the items claims that it sold around 500 bulletproof backpacks the day after the shooting. The backpacks cost between $200 and $500.

According to the Bullet Blocker website, the Massachusetts-based company “started in 2007 by Joe Curran, a real-life father who wanted to do all that he could to protect his two school-aged children after witnessing the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre” in 2007.

“Using the knowledge he gained while training as a Ranger in the United States Army, along with his experience as a Deputy Sherriff and firearms instructor, he invented ‘My Child’s Pack’ which was the first bulletproof backpack designed specifically for students,” the company adds.

Curran told reporters that the majority of the bulletproof backpacks that were sold on Thursday were purchased by Florida residents.