“Your inaction is killing us” — March For Our Lives Iowa Statement on Recent Perry Shooting

With only four days into the new year, this is the first school shooting of 2024 – a painful reminder of how much remains the same

PERRY, IA — Yesterday, at 7:40 am, a shooting at Perry High School in Iowa killed a sixth-grade student and injured five other students and an administrator. As students walked into school on the first day back from winter break and only four days into the new year, they came face-to-face with the deadly, egregious gun violence epidemic.

March For Our Lives Iowa (MFOLIA) offers condolences to those affected in the Perry area. This shooting occurs just two years after the shooting at East High School in the Des Moines metro area and one year after the shooting at Starts Right Here, a non-profit organization for at-risk youth in downtown Des Moines. MFOLIA is outraged by the recent events and will remain determined in our fight for gun violence prevention.

With gun violence on the rise in Iowa, the state legislature must support its communities and school systems. Youth leaders at MFOLIA send an unequivocally clear message to their legislators: Your inaction is killing us. This recent tragedy proves the dangers of the proposed omnibus gun bill, which would allow guns to be stored in cars on school properties. Instead, legislators must pass gun safety policies outlined in our 2024 Legislative Agenda, like mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms and extreme risk protection orders. MFOLIA will not stop fighting for justice and a safer Iowa. We plead and urge Iowans to contact their legislators and continue speaking out about the injustices of the current gun legislation.

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