Parents, students protest gun violence at Fall River Elementary

A small group of Fall River Elementary School parents and students held a walk-in Wednesday to demand action against gun violence.

The walk-in was held in solidarity with a nation-wide movement to advocate for gun violence legislation.

“In this whole process, we’ve gotten a lot of questions of, ‘Did something happen?’ That’s the whole point — we don’t want to wait until something happens,” said Jake Weinheimer, a parent and one of the organizers of the Fall River Elementary School walk-in. “Now is the time to reach out and do what we can as a community.”

He said it’s important to let children know they have a right to feel safe in schools, and to teach them to have a voice.

“They need to learn from an early age that their voice matters, so what we’re trying to show them is to stand up for something they believe in,” Weinheimer said. “The hard thing to do is to speak up … it might make you a little uncomfortable, but parents, students, administrators and lawmakers are not alone in this — if we can all come together, then we can enact change, and we can do more to ensure that our schools and our communities are safe.”

His wife, Doreen Weinheimer, also helped to organize the walk-in. The pair ensured students didn’t miss class to participate — instead, the group gathered outside the school office after the first and late bells, and students returned to class five minutes late.

Doreen Weinheimer is encouraging fellow parents to write to their legislators and urge stricter gun legislation.

“I know a lot of people might think that their voice doesn’t matter, but their opinions and feelings absolutely do matter, and we can be heard when we come at them in droves. It’s just a phone call, it’s just a form on a website — it literally takes five minutes,” she said. “The least we can do is contact our representatives and let them know what we expect of them.”

Walkouts were held by students across St. Vrain Valley Schools, Colorado and the nation on Wednesday. While the largest walkouts were held by high school students, she said parents of younger students should also feel empowered to participate in the movement.

“At all levels of parenthood, you have a voice, and if you come together and use that voice, we’re a hundred times stronger, and we will be heard,” she said.

Scott McLean, another concerned parent, said he came out to the walk-in because it’s the “right thing to do.”

“Calling attention to the need for a safe environment for our kids isn't controversial, but with all the noise and vitriol surrounding the subject, the least we could do is show solidarity with our kids and other parents by being here today,” McLean said.

Fall River Elementary School parent Katie Winter also joined the walk-in outside the school.

“I'm participating because my kids deserve to feel safe at school and I deserve to feel safe bringing them to school every day,” Winter said. “Enough is enough.”