Allegheny County high school students speak out against gun violence in Harrisburg

Buses lined up in front of Woodland Hills High School Tuesday morning filled with students. From there, they hit the road headed for Harrisburg to make a change.

“I want to show the world that even though we are just teenagers we understand the pain and grief of losing somebody to gun violence and to show that the fight is still going on and we are still here,” said Tira Buckneer, a senior at Woodland Hills.

Powerful words from a high school senior. She’s one of roughly 140 students from Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and Clairton that spoke out in the capital against gun violence.

“It’s hard because how many more people are we going to lose before you make more gun laws,” said Domonique Brown Taylor, a sophomore at Woodland Hills.

It’s become a yearly trip for these students. They want lawmakers to see the faces that are impacted each day by the violence. These students lost three of their peers just in this school year and they are tired.

“Seeing all the empty desks, the empty chairs at graduation when there is supposed to be someone sitting there it impacts people’s lives,” said Amir Sanders, a sophomore at Woodland Hills.

Dressed in orange for a change, they sat down with lawmakers who passed the first gun law in a decade in the House just last year.

“Just why just now? There are so many other people who died in the past to pass it now. Why did it take so many people for you to want to pass this gun law now?” Brown Taylor said.

With these two new bills up for debate while students were in the Capital, both failed with a razor-thin margin of one vote for the majority.

While these students don’t know the end-all solution to change, they hope for it for the next generation.

“They should be worried about going to school or that test I have. Instead of worrying if they are going to make it home tonight or make it to school or just walk down the street for the grocery store for their parents. They should be worrying about other responsibilities besides surviving the day,” Buckneer said.

The students said there’s no question they will be going back next year.

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