Iowa Students Plan Walkout and March to Capitol in Protest of Lawmakers’ Inaction on Gun Violence

In the aftermath of a tragic shooting at Perry High School, students across Iowa are preparing to stage a walkout and march to the Capitol building on Monday, January 8th. The purpose of this demonstration is to protest against what they perceive as lawmakers’ inaction in addressing the issue of gun violence.

The call for student participation in the walkout was issued by March For Our Lives Iowa shortly after authorities confirmed that 17-year-old Dylan Butler had fatally shot 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff and injured seven others at Perry High School on Thursday. Principal Dan Marburger was among the seriously injured individuals. Butler was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the school.

Related: An 11-year-old boy identified as a victim in the Perry High School shooting that wounded eight others.

March for Our Lives Iowa, a nonpartisan organization that encourages young people to engage in politics, took the initiative to organize this walkout in response to the students’ frustration following the school shooting. Akshara Eswar, one of the group’s executive state directors, expressed the depth of emotions among the student body, stating, “The shooting has hit really close to home for a lot of us. People are angry. They’re thinking about it constantly. That’s all that we can talk about, and so we need to utilize this energy to make sure that our legislators understand our dissatisfaction with the current gun laws in Iowa.”

Students from Des Moines, Bettendorf, Johnston, Waukee, and West Des Moines are expected to walk out of their classes around noon on Monday. The Des Moines metro area students are encouraged to gather at 1 p.m. at the Iowa State Capitol located at 1007 E. Grand Ave, Des Moines.

More: The reasons behind two Iowa school districts rescinding policies allowing armed teachers in classrooms.

The main objective of this demonstration is for the students to deliver a letter outlining their legislative priorities to Governor Kim Reynolds. Akshara Eswar, a senior at Johnston High School, emphasized the significance of the timing as the walkout coincides with the first day of the 2024 legislative session.

Some of March for Our Lives’ legislative priorities include implementing a law that requires reporting lost or stolen firearms and enacting a temporary ban on individuals proven to be at risk of harming themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a gun. The ban would be lifted once they receive appropriate help.

Eswar stated, “I think our biggest hope or agenda item, I would say for this, is that legislators understand that we are terrified to be in school.”

In recent years, Iowa lawmakers have not given priority to laws directly addressing the safety of children and residents in the state. Instead, the focus has been on legislation banning books with explicit content from schools, mandating school administrators to inform parents if a student requests the use of a different name or pronouns, and restricting transgender girls and women from participating in sports.

Related: Learn more about the weapons found at the Perry High School shooting.

Eswar spoke out against this approach, stating, “They use all of this in the name of protecting children. But the reality is every day is a gamble. Every day we walk into school never actually knowing what’s going to happen that day, and it’s not fair that we have to live in that fear.”

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Contact her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at