 Chairman Bill Baruth of Senate Education, I'm joined by Chairman David Sharpe, Representative and Chair of House Education, and we'd like to welcome you to this public hearing. And I just wanted to say a couple of things about what we're here to do and what we're not here to do. What we are here to do is to listen to you, to listen to students from Vermont schools and what they have to say about school safety, violence in schools, and what you think should be done about it. What we're not here to do is to have the sort of public meeting we had earlier in the session in the well of the house that was more broad-based in terms of who we were hearing from. This was called specifically to listen to you. So with that said, I think the ground rules are that for right now we have time to give three minutes to each speaker. So I will call your name and I'll also call the name of the person who's next in line so that you can be aware that it's going to be your turn. And then Representative Jabotista will be the timekeeper. He's a excessively cruel and will cut you off like that if you go over three minutes. Kidding, he's a sweetheart. You could probably go 3-0-1-3-0-2. So let's start with Elena Hunt and on deck, Nicholas Ham. And the way this works is you come and sit in the chair and you usually start by saying your name and where you're from. My name is Elena Hunt. You may remember me from the last session where I served as a legislative page. I'm an eighth grader in I-10 in Stone Middle School. Like Representative Jim Patista and many others, I'm the native Vermonter. As a Vermonter, I have learned winter isn't over until nature decides we've been through enough. Maple syrup is always at its best when it's just been boiled and last but not least, Vermonters are some of the most level-headed and strongest people I know. I look around this room and I'm inspired. I see representatives who are also school teachers like Representative Beck and a retired principal like Representative Pierce and a school board chair like Representative Long. I'm proud of this little state with all the wonders it holds and that's why I think we can be a role model the nation's got debate issue. I look in this room and I see role models like Senator Filane. Senator Filane, you are a leader when I serve as a legislative page you demonstrated energy. You are a graduate of Harvard with a master's in education. You are both a teacher and a parent. Gun violence is a problem that is plaguing our nation and most people agree that it needs to be fixed. To solve this problem, a number of changes should be made. We should raise the age requirement to buy a gun from 18 to 21. We should implement more enhanced background checks. I also think that from Vita Vilsen in my own school, there needs to be stronger restrictions to the access of assault rifles and subautomatic rifles. We need to consider the different ways in which people would lose access to their guns, such as domestic violence cases where guns aren't present in the home. My classmates are scared and so am I and I do not want to be scared to go to my own school and I definitely do not want my parents to be scared to send my brother who was only in fifth grade and I off to school every morning. Just yesterday, a school shooting happened in Maryland. How do I know my schools are going to be next? How would you take action to keep me safe in school? Last week I helped my school organize our walkout. Almost the entire school went out to the freezing cold to show their support. As we read the names of the students who were killed in Portland and shared facts about gun control, I looked around my classmates and realized how much they all mean to me. My school is small, so even when one classmate moves away, it's a big deal. I cannot imagine any of my friends dying. The lives of my classmates are at stake. I will not feel safe until there are more restrictions on guns. I'm only 14 years old, so I can't solve this problem alone. But I do know that we can not continue to live in fear. I'm proud to be a remonter, but right now I'm not as proud to be an American. Vermont has a history of taking a leading role when implementing changes and we should be a leader for other states as we face this problem. For example, in 1777, Vermont was the first state to ban slavery. Vermont was the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative system just this year. I feel strongly that we can and should be a leader in the gun violence epidemic. Kevin Coolidge once said, I love the mall because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her domino people. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me and this is a petition that 262 students from my school signed demanding gun control action. Thank you. What we'll do is put that on our website. So Nicholas Hannah and then following Nicholas Sarah Hannah. Hello. My name is Nicholas Hannah from Essex. I'm the student representative on the EWSD school board. Armed violence is an extremely inflammatory and sore issue in our school as events by the fact that I'm here today. The following is a quick analysis I drew up on behalf of the Essex High School student body. There are false rumors that have been percolating throughout our high school, speculating about alleged shooters detailing info like who they might be or when they might strike, reflecting student feelings of vulnerability. These rumors have proven to be so prevalent that our principal has repeatedly gone on to our school intercom to denounce them. The fear in our school, though speculative, is not unfounded. Remember, on August 24th, 2006, in Essex Elementary School, how Christopher Williams killed teacher Alicia Schenkes and murdered Mary Snedeker. About 39 faculty and staff, including my mother, were intending an in-service stay when Williams arrived and began shooting. Last year, a suspect said that he was armed with both explosives and firearms and indicate that he was going to do harm at Essex High School unless police met his demands. During the police shakedown, many students, including me, had loaded us all firearms waved in their face as they were viciously yelled at. Fair even high school, just last month, nearly out of tragedy of its own as a student's plan to quote, kill as many as I can. An onslaught of fear is a large school seeing this national increasing trend of school shootings. Given the clouded history of our school systems and armed violence, nothing is out of the question. This leaves students frightened and disenfranchised. A lot of this fright comes from the anonymity and the randomness of a school shooting. All it takes is one person named Billy and his AR to rack up seven kills of innocent students at its local public school system. Currently, the best defense students have is that of statistics, relying on the probability that Billy will choose a school not theirs to strike. Needless to say, the insidious possibility of a school shooter is non conducive to a healthy learning environment. There has been a remitting cycle of American carnage exploding from the barrels of firearms all across the nation. Given this, something must be done to break this abhorrent pattern of tragedies. Legislatures must prioritize the safety. It must prioritize safety in order to cultivate the next generation of successful Americans. Thank you. Thank you very much. Sarah Evans and following Sarah will away. Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Evans and I attend Stowe Middle School. I've lived I've lived in Vermont long enough to know that we are progressive, supportive state and I'm proud to call the Greenland State my home. I love Vermont and the community that surrounds me. Everyone knows everyone. We stand with each other in top times and I asked that today on March 21st, we stand together on the issue of school safety and specifically gun violence. Parkland, Florida was voted one of the safest places to live. We often hear that Vermont is one of the safest places to live in. So this so this might not seem like like a pressing matter. The house safe students like me feel in school is what we need to pay attention to. With the tragic school shooting that happened just over a month ago in Parkland, Florida at the back of students lines, many of us want to make a difference so we can prevent more school shootings. I do not want my parents to worry about whether or not they will ever get to see their children come home from school. So students do not have to feel the lifelong pain of losing their best friend at such an age. So that more students do not have to be sacrificed for our nation to see that there is a problem. My school safety should not be a part of an ongoing debate. It should be a given. I understand that the problem is complex and that the solution is not as simple as any one answer. But I believe we need to require enhanced background checks and close the gun show loophole. I believe we should raise the legal age of our monitor can purchase and own a firearm to 21 with the current laws in place. Anyone over the age of 16 can purchase and possess a hand without the consent of a parent or guardian. That is younger than you need to be to be entrusted with the right to vote to serve in the military and to purchase alcohol. It is actually easier in Vermont for a 16 year old to buy a weapon than it is to get a driver's license. I'm only 14 years old but all decisions concerning guns affect my life right now. I cannot imagine middle schoolers being able to buy a gun in two or four years. They should have to wait. I do not want to have to worry about a school shooting ever happening again. We're only 13 weeks into into 2018 and we have already had over to 18 school shootings nationwide. If this does not send an urgent message I hope that the voices you hear today make it more clear. It is time to put an end to school violence and create safer learning environments for students for your children and for our teachers. Because those 17 lives lost in Parkland, Florida will never step foot in the school again. I know that some of the senators and representatives in this room are educators and parents and this has to impact you too. I ask for your support. I do not want to ever have to send a frantic text to my parents as I had in my classroom trying to fit in the goodbye that I should never have to make. Just to make sure my parents know how much I love them just in case I never see them again. No students ever go through this ever again. This is now, this is time, the time is now to make a change, to make a change. Thank you very much for your time, Willa Lane. Willa Lane, followed by Chloe Clark. Good afternoon. My name is Willa Lane and I'm from East Montpelier. As many of you know, a month ago, a 19-year-old former student at Fairhaven Union was reported for actively planning a shooting. Law enforcement intervened and the shooting was prevented and so in other words, the system that we have in place to stop the school shootings worked. Everybody can go home because a tragedy like this didn't affect Vermont. We're all fine and things are going fantastically, except they're not. There would be no need for law enforcement to intervene in the first place if it had been harder for the student to plan a shooting or to buy a gun. Yes, the system was on our side this time, but what about next time or the time after that? How many times will we be lucky enough not to die? Why is this even a question that I'm having to stay here and ask you? I'm 15 and I've seen the headline, Worse Mass Shooting in US History, Five Times. My seven-year-old brother has seen it four times. There are people who will tell you that this isn't about guns. After all, guns aren't what kill people. People kill people. But people couldn't murder so easily if they didn't have access to military-grade weapons easily made fully automatic with bump stocks, capable of firing multiple rounds per second. You don't need a gun like that for hunting. You don't need a gun like that for self-defense. Well, Governor Scott and I have different views on many political issues. The need for stricter gun control is something that we agree on. As he recommended to legislators a month ago, we need to raise the gun buying age to 21, and we need to ban bump stocks and large capacity magazines. We also need to close the gun show loophole and require stricter background checks to buy a gun. I don't want to have to worry about whether my little brother will come home from school alive, or if I'll have to watch my friends die on the tile floors of our school hallways next week. I don't want to fear for my life while going to school to get an education. What do we have to lose by implementing stricter gun control laws? Certainly not more lives. They've already been taken. Thank you. My name is Chloe Clark and I'm from Middlebury Union High School. I participated in the Warhouse on Wednesday and Monday for two reasons. I strongly believe that the only way people can effectively make change is through speaking out, others listening, and then spreading the message. So in participating in these events I wanted to say that I hear the voices of the friends and family of those lost in Parkland. I wanted to let the world know that I support them and would spread their message. And that's the second reason. I wanted to speak out against gun violence in school. Don't get me wrong. I understand the Second Amendment and I think that if you want to own a gun that's fine. Same with hunting. I think it's a great sport but no one needs an AR-15 or any type of assault weapon for that matter. Not only do I think that outlawing these types of gun for civilian use is important but necessary. As our background checks, I strongly believe that one of the main causes of this epidemic is that anyone, no matter their history, can so easily buy a gun. The fact that state law lets kids buy a gun before they can legally drink is horrifying because this isn't a game. It's not even just an important issue. This is our lives we're talking about. Children's lives. If kids are being shot on a fairly regular basis, there's something seriously wrong with our country. And a change needs to come. So please, I ask you, listen to our thoughts and requests. Do not let this happen again. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Emma Pote McRae and I am a junior at Middlebury Union High School. Every day in school when the intercom cradles to life, my heart skips a beat, wondering if the announcement will be someone saying that there is a shooter in the school that we need to hide and our lives are in danger. In lockdown thrills, as we crack power in a darkened corner, I wonder if this time it's for real. I wonder which closet is big enough to hide in and if I'll be brave enough to help my friends hide and risk my life so that theirs can be saved. No one should have to live with this fear and especially not children. I joined the walkout last Wednesday because like so many of my peers I've had enough being afraid. The Monters have always put their leaders in forging the right and just path. We have been one of the first states to legalize gay marriage and the first state to abolish slavery. In this issue too, we must lead the way in passing safe common sense gun laws. Legislation must be passed to protect these students who are the future of our state and our country. By asking us students here today, you have shown that you were willing to create change. I ask you senators and representatives to do everything in your power to help our students. We must have universal background checks. We must raise the legal age limit for buying a gun. We must remove weapons from the hands of abusers. We must limit access to these dangerous weapons so that tragic shootings do not happen again. There are so many things that can be done and something must be done. For months children cannot learn in fear. They cannot live in fear. Thank you. Thank you. Nargis Ansali and Ariana Graham Gurley. My name is Nargis Ansali. I am 12 years old and I was one of the leaders at the workshop at Middlebury Union Middle School. Every day I walk through the halls of my school gazing at the familiar faces and every night I lie awake imagining the all too familiar scene of a school shooting happening at my school. The chaos and the screams and the frantic calls telling yourself that maybe it wasn't your friend you saw bleeding on the ground. It's time to make a stand for gun reform and make it harder for people like Nicholas Cruz to get the guns they use to shoot up schools. I don't want to hear the screens anymore. I don't want to hear the sobs anymore and I don't think you do either. This senseless violence is killing so many people and we are taking no action to stop it. I do not want to die in my school. I do not want to be huddled in the corner of a classroom racking my brains to remember if I told my parents I loved them. One of my first memories of the years we first came to Vermont is my mother looking at the screen crying and hugging me close. This was after Sandy Hook. My family came from Iran when I was one. We were in the land of freedom. How could this happen in America of all places? Iran is a developing country as many of you well know but they have more restrictions in place than we do to keep anyone from having a gun. But now we have to a chance to change the laws because my generation is pushing back. Us whose first lesson was how to hide in a corner and be quiet in case a gunman entered our school. But we can't do anything without you, our senators and our representatives. Please help us in our push for gun reform. Help us to make the state a safer place for students starting by simply having more background checks. I am not calling for a ban on all guns. I understand that people hunt and want to use guns to protect their families. All I am saying is that we can make it harder for people like Nicholas Cruz to get guns. So I ask you again please help us. Thank you. My name is Ariana Graham Gerland. I'm a seventh grader at Middlebury Union Middle School. At Moms I was one of the organizers for of our walkout last Friday in protest for gun reform. When I came home from school that Thursday, February 15th, I didn't know anything that happened to me and after I found out I was devastated. Another school shooting? It took me a week and a half to get over it enough to realize that we could do something. We can make a difference. Maybe not all at once but over time we can be the ones. If we work side by side with our legislators we can make a difference and we must. We cannot sit around here and do nothing while these senseless tragedies occur. We have to stand up and take action as human beings living in a world where these struggles with guns occur daily. This affects us all. In cases of domestic violence, hate crimes and school shootings. If we can put in place gun violence prevention methods such as background checks and required ages to buy a gun, then these tragedies will be much less likely to happen. In our fight in our federal executive branch there are a lot of people who feel that it would be enough just to arm the teachers. I would like to respectfully disagree. If we arm the teachers there will just be more fear. It increases the chance of that that accidents could happen as well and it makes a more chaotic scene in the event of a real school shooting. I also know that there are many Vermonters and other people who say that it would that it is not a safety hazard to own an AR-15 or another assault weapon. Their argument is that they're only using it to shoot with in their backyard and they're being safe. And I get that. I'm not saying that we should ban all guns to the public and take away the second amendment. One hunting rifle is fine. But if you're letting anyone own a gun, a gun that can take 17 lives in six minutes, that is not okay. That is not just sport. That is the ability to commit a mass murder in a matter of minutes. It is happening more and more often. That is the thing we have to change. We cannot let these crimes continue. I'm angry that no one has changed this before us. But since no one has, that means that someone has to. And that someone is us. We must make these changes. There are thousands of children out there who are scared of going to school each day and I am one of them. Scared that it'll be our last day. So please make background checks, fans on assault weapons, and the higher minimum age for buying a gun in reality so we can make our beautiful green mountains. Land that is my home and your home, but most importantly all of our homes, a safer place. Thank you. Dahlia Harrison-Erwin, followed by Ren Kola. My name is Dahlia Harrison-Erwin. I am a STEM grader at Middlebury Union Middle School and I choose safety. I choose safety for me and my friends and teachers. No student should have to worry about every school they've been in the last. No teacher should turn away from a job because of safety issues. I choose innocence, not for myself, but for young elementary students like the Sandy Hook Elementary. When that shooting took place, I was in third grade. We had just moved here from Connecticut a few years back. When I heard, I was worried for my friends that I left in Connecticut. Elementary school students like that should not have to worry. They shouldn't have to worry about their friends or teachers dying. They shouldn't have to worry about flashy shoes giving away hiding spots. Lastly, I choose my education over guns. I want to go to school feeling safe. We must change this. The Second Amendment is supposed to keep us safe, not guns. This is not just for kids. It is for women and racial and religious minorities. I ask Vermont to keep us safe by adhering to stronger background checks, raising the minimum age for buying, and making sure that bum stocks, like the ones used in the mass shooting in Las Vegas, that turned a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle, are not available. This is not a full ban on guns, but things must change. I choose the future. Thank you. Thank you. Lynn Caldwell and Sophie Pote McRike. Two notes on the room. One is don't be freaked out by this guy down here, that's Peter Hirschfell, the Vermont Public Radio. Also, I notice representatives from Senator Leahy's office here, so that you know your federal delegation is listening to you as well. And I know that Congressman Welch has representatives here also. Hello, I'm Ren Caldwell, one of the organizers of the Middlebury High School Walkout. The day after the Parkland shooting, and many days after that, I found myself walking down the halls of my school and seeing the people I walked past in a completely different light. I would look into the eyes of my good friends, teachers, and other strangers and wonder what it would be like to see their faces in the newspaper or on social media as the next victims of school shootings. Added magnitude to a statistic that was never once okay. Then I would wonder if they would be seeing me there. In this year, 2018, children like me walk into their schools and wonder if they will ever walk out. We look at the victims on the news and see faces that look just like ours. We feel powerless against the deadly force of guns, scared for our lives, and that is unacceptable. It is up to you, those in charge of protecting the people of our state, to do everything in your power to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. Thank you. Sophie Pope McRite and Willie Yonkman next. Sophie Pope McRite from Middle Mary in high school. One week ago today, my sister and I prepared to participate in the nationwide walkout. I was excited but nervous. We knew that there was a group of counter protesters who wanted to stop the walkout and the thought of another public shooting kept entering my mind. This fear is not uncommon. I often find myself imagining a situation in which a shooter comes into our school and I wonder why this possibility is even present in my mind. Why do we live in a world where people hear about the tragedy in Parkland and think it's just another public shooting? It's so frustrating to hear of yet another shooting and see people doing nothing. I participated in the walkout last Wednesday because I wanted to do something no matter how insignificant it might be. This is my chance and your chance to make a difference. Increasing safety measures in schools is important but that's not the root of the problem. The real problem with gun violence is that people have access to guns when they shouldn't and we need extensive background checks on people who want to buy guns because children and adults are dying. This needs to stop and it can only happen if gun reform legislation is passed. This is not for the sake of just my town or our state. Making a change will affect the whole country. We're starting a movement and you are the only ones who can help us continue. Willi Yonkman followed by Sylvan Williams. My name is Willi Yonkman and I am a resident of Fason and a 10th grader at Harvard University High School. I urge your support for Bill S-55 which will make universal background checks mandatory and raise the legal age to purchase a gun to 21. I fully support this bill because it should never be easy for a dangerous or unstable individual to gain access to a gun especially an assault-style weapon like the AR-15 used in Parkland. I believe that universal background checks will help to keep firearms out of the wrong hands and out of schools where a gun should never ever be. Although people may argue that if someone wants to get their hands on a gun they will regardless of the law. In Australia the number of gun deaths was the lowest on record in 2017 after passing the National Firearms Agreement in 1996 that banned certain semi-automatic weapons and imposed stricter licensing and registration requirements. It should never be easy for anyone to get their hands on a military-style assault rifle. It should never be easy for someone to walk into a school and pull the trigger. We need to make it harder for them if the lives of students are on the line. As a student I shouldn't have to be afraid to come to school. I used to think that I was safe because there would never be a school shooting in Vermont. But after the threats in Fairhaven I no longer feel safe when I know what the current legislation about gun ownership isn't Vermont. While other students in other countries are learning math we are crouching in dark classrooms wondering if this time it won't be a drill. Children shouldn't be dying for an amendment right ratified over 200 years ago. This is why our Constitution has amendments to begin with. Many of the students at Harvard and I will be marching on the 24th and will not give up the fight to pass legislation that will keep us safe from gun violence. Even if we can't vote yet we will be heard. Enough is enough. So some of you might wonder what the bells and the lights are for. So the green light means the Senate is in session on the floor and we are glad that the chair of the Senate Education Committee is able to join us. The flashing red light means that calling House members to the floor of the house. I'm going to go upstairs and see if I can get the dispensation for the committee to continue to stay here and listen. In the meantime the next witnesses. Willie Youngman, sorry, Sylvan Williams followed by Cameron Muller-Harper. My name is Sylvan Williams and this is a poem. My mama birthed me a girl into a world of violence. A post 9-11 infant I grew up on a planet where terror rocked my cradle and the strung together names of mass shooting victims became my loved ones. I took my first steps on bloodsame soil. I teased on the words hands up don't shoot. Mama how come they still get shot? You always told me never to talk to strangers and to avoid walking alone at night but keep your head down and your car keys in between your fingers if you have to. But you never taught me how to behave in a mass shooting because you never believed that could happen to your baby girl. But times have changed since you were my age and mama if I look down and see red spilling from my gut does that mean that I've got to go to heaven? Will I join the thousands of us killed or will six feet under be as far as I get? And when you bury me mama when you watch your own little girl lowered beneath the earth how many bullets will they have had to remove from my chest before they dress me up to look pretty for my wake? But you know mama people are always prettier when they still have a pulse and I don't want to be another scapegoat that never succeeds in getting through to you. I don't want to be a statistic that they put on protest signs. I don't want my name being screamed in a poem. I don't want people saying that I was too young or too smart or too sweet to die like that because all of them are too young and too smart and too sweet to die. All of them were their mama's little baby and now they're dead. And mama how many hours will it take for them to clean the floors of those high schools? How long will it take for them to hose down those sidewalks? What happens to the clothes that they died in because mama blood stains are hard to wash out and the harder you scrub the more likely the blood is to discolor your own skin and how long after those tiles have been cleaned and polished will it take for us to forget they were ever read? I'm connecting dots with the remnants of brain tissue like constellations in a sky I can't see anymore and I can't see anymore because my vision has been treated for miscommunications and my empty eye sockets reflect the places where bullets met the souls of my brothers and sisters and I don't want to live in a world where eyes are only valid if they're looking down the barrel of a gun. And fighting this is hard and it's hard when no matter how hard I yell they won't listen and eventually voices get hoarse and so if I can no longer yell this is me whispering I've had enough. Thank you. I'm Oscar Neuber. I'm Cameron Miller Harderm. I helped organize our walkout last week at Cabot School and I've never shot a gun. I've never held a gun and the number of times I've seen a gun I can count on one hand. According to Vermont Law I could leave here right now find a gun dealership I almost any gun I wanted to go out into the woods and shoot it. When talking about gun control many people point out that many more people died from cars than guns. This is true. In 2017 40,000 people died from car accidents in the US. 12,000 were killed by someone with a gun. To properly compare however let's say I want to drive a car. First I would have to pass a written test as well as a vision test to get my permit. I would then need to have to drive to have my permit for an entire year while I learn how to drive with a minimum of 40 hours driving time and if I'm under 18 I need to pass driver's ed. Then I have to go back to the DMV pass the technical exam. After all this is done I can go by a car but I still need car insurance and my car needs to pass annual inspections in order for me to drive it legally. Cars have a lot of purposes. Living in a tiny town 30 minutes from anything bigger I probably spend a minimum of four hours in a car for a week but we still do what we have what we can to minimize the amount they can kill people. This is why we have tests and licenses and have your license taken away if you break laws regarding automobiles. Guns may not kill as many people as cars but we don't have regulations necessary from an item expressly meant to kill. Some people might say that me missing chemistry today is a disruption of my education. Personally I think a bigger disruption is me being dead. Thank you. I'm ringing three bells like you're hearing right now is a roll call. So my committee the House Education Committee has to go upstairs and vote and then we'll come back down and continue to listen. In the meantime the press remains in the room and so does Senator Baruth and we will continue to hear your testimony. Oscar Newberger and followed by Holt Petrar. We did. I recognize that smile. Second time in two weeks. I'm not texting I have my stuff on my phone for the record. Okay hello I'm Oscar Newberger I'm a freshman at Montpelier High School and this bill is important to me because I'm supposed to feel safe at school. I have to be there by law and I shouldn't be scared to be there and it upsets me that I even need to be here that I even need to say I deserve to feel safe at school and that I even need to ask for you guys to do something about the fact that children are being murdered in their classrooms and I'm only 15 years old but it probably take 25 fingers to be to count the amount of times I've heard school shooting in the United States and I can't help but wonder why Parkland why was Parkland the last straw for people to do something why didn't we do something after Sandy Hook why did it take this many kids to die before we decided it was enough why wasn't one kid being shot in their own classroom enough why wasn't why was that okay but now that but now that we're such at such a high number it's not the time for action is it now it was years ago the time for action was after Sandy Hook even before then and now that you've given us space to speak and are listening to us I I'm asking pass the gun bill please when I say goodbye to my parents and my sister in the morning I shouldn't have to be sure that I say I love you because I might not see them again I shouldn't have to worry about my safety when I'm in a classroom and I shouldn't have to wonder if my sister is okay I shouldn't have to intensely cherish the time I have with my friends because I might watch them die on the floor of the gym next week adults say that we should trust them it's been imprinted on us since birth that adults are here to take care of us and that we should let them make the decisions that they are there to choose for us and from what we eat to when we go to bed since we've been born adults are in control but and they say we should say at a politics but my peers are dying kids kids around me are dying I could have I could have been killed if I was born in a different place I could have been killed I could be dead and it's not okay and I need you to show us that we can trust you because I when we were born we trust adults but I'm losing that I'm losing my faith in both the government and adults in general to protect me and protect other others around me show us and show the rest of the country that the lives of our month's kids and the lives of kids everywhere in the United States matter more than gun ownership because when I'm 16 years old I can't go to an R rated movie by myself but I can buy and I've gone without my without my mother saying it's okay and you can't kill someone with an R rated movie please do something show us that children being murdered all their hidden in a closet hiding under desks fearing for their lives isn't okay thank you Petraro to be followed by Nicholas Cole and I'm also reading off my phone hello everyone my name is Petraro I'm 15 years old and I'm a sophomore I'm up to your high school I've been following this issue for quite some time I spent two and a half hours at the public hearing about a month ago and I spent two and a half hours at the Senate debate on S6 as a sophomore class president and teenager who loves politics I try to speak to my politically involved classmates especially those who disagree with my beliefs so I can educate myself on different perspectives and as well as my own firstly just because people who get in car accidents while wearing seat belts are still injured that doesn't mean that seat belts aren't effective or worth having in a car the same principle applies to background checks many argue that background checks would not have prevented mass shootings yet mass shootings only account for three percent of firearm deaths according to BBC the positive effects of UBCs are boundless what have we to lose by supporting S6 furthermore H-22 allows for law enforcement officer to confiscate a dangerous weapon if the weapon is in the immediate possession or control of the person being arrested or cited in plain view of the officer or discovered during a consensual search the time after law enforcement is initially involved in a domestic violence situation is when the victim in which is the time in which the victim is most likely to be seriously injured or killed this legislation would save lives lastly as to 221 states that if the family division of the superior court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person poses a significant danger of causing injury to himself or herself or another person by purchasing possessing or receiving a firearm or by having a firearm it within the person's custody or control that weapon can be confiscated those opposed to gun control argue that gun control laws are a quote-unquote slippery slope there's no way that these laws contribute to a slippery slope when most of the when they only apply to very very specific situations that wouldn't extend past domestic abuse or violent individuals these laws by confiscating firearms prevent crimes from taking place and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure it's been five and a half years since the Sandy Hook shootings were nationwide conversation on gun control was propelled into the spotlight two months ago police killed an active shooter outside of my high school after my classmates and I coward for two hours in a dark room now whenever I go into school I think about how easily someone could enter and kill us all there's a recent shooting threat in Fairhaven every day when I check the news I'm bombarded by stories about shooting threats and shooting deaths and that's only a finite percentage of the firearm deaths within our country I'm desensitized I think this is normal but should it be the problem only escalates especially in America I wonder do legislators care because they know it's right or do they care because we're pressuring them regardless I'm thankful for the attention this issue is getting especially from our politicians something has to change this is why I admit many other students urge you to support gun control legislation within the state house right now where kids are getting for our lives the conversation continues but we all know actions be gladder than words thank you for your continued support Nicholas Colwell followed by Rowan Leach here just to give a brief account of the experiences that I've had over the past two months with gun violence and the threat of gun violence which were thankfully relatively mild there was the shooting death that hope described of the active shooter on the grounds popular high school and the school administration handled that very well and I texted my parents from inside a dark locked classroom and it was when my dad told me that he loved me that it really hit me that maybe I could die that day or see my friends die one of my friends goes to one of the schools in the area that recently had a shooting threat and there is a concert scheduled after school fairly soon that I'm going to go to and my parents are considering telling me no you can't go because we don't want you dying in a shooting it is unacceptable that they should have to worry about that it is unacceptable that my little brother and I should have to think every morning when we tell them that we love them whether or not that would be the last time this needs to change this means banning bump stocks limits to magazine capacities and strict regulation or an outright ban of what are commonly referred to as assault style weapons and I'd like to end by just posing a question to anybody who would oppose common sense gun legislation like that can you please if you oppose that legislation look me or any of my peers in the eyes and tell us that our lives are worth less than your right to own that type of weapons thank you I hope I pronounced that correctly followed by Nestaia Abdul-Aten my name is Ron Leach I'm fourteen years old I'm a freshman and I go to Montpelier High School I didn't know anything about testifying until today and that it would make my voice heard and as soon as I fully understood what it was I had to participate I had to take the opportunity to make my voice heard by my government to give me the opportunity to say how I feel about this issue this issue is always close in my mind whenever we have a lockdown whenever the crackle of an intercom is heard without any warning is this it is this the time that our school's luck runs out because it is luck it is complete and utter luck who cracks who doesn't who takes the opportunity to come in and shoot up a school and we become the next victim another statistic point on an ever-growing trend will my family suffer tragedy will I never get a chance to fulfill my dreams will I have never told my sister I love her because we were having a fight this morning and I didn't tell her that before she went to school and I don't have an opportunity to contact her before I my blood paints the walls red Vermont is a leader in a number of ways we have taken ownership on so many things whether it be gay marriage legalizing marijuana freeing slaves before any of the other states did it's so easy to convince oneself that because we have so many less incidents on the scale of the national school shootings but they do occur just last month my school and the community took the lead on yet another key political statement raising the black lives matter of life but just before just a couple weeks couple days before we experienced just shooting on the school grounds well the man who was shot was not actively trying to get into the school he had rather robbed the bank just across the street my adrenaline had still kicked in my heart was pounding like I had run a marathon and I was shaking I was in a classroom carefully shepherd it away from the end of the school with where the man was and I was told to sit there quietly that the police were handling it that everything was be was going to be okay but still on the social media rumors flew whether it was my friend from another school district miles away saying I heard there was a school shooting are you okay or you know just my friends down the hall reaching out to me saying have you heard anything we haven't heard what's the news what is going on and I cannot help but wonder if this is what it's like for those people who's the luck has run out if this feeling that this pounding this trembling this this absolute confusion and wonder why does this person have a gun why are they outside my school why is the place where I just go to be educated to get a head start on living my life to the fullest why is this where someone has chosen to take violence and make it a part of my life my generation is the one to stand up after Parkland and we're applauded for it everybody who spoke out there said we applaud you for standing up why are the but why are we the ones standing up for it it is because my generation's blood is the blood that is being spilt it is our blood that is running down the steps of our schools that is flowing in the hallways because politicians sit still twiddle their thumbs and do nothing it's so easy to just vote yes and make these things harder to get for the people that think that they need them why do you need a military grade weapon after all why do you need something that the military whose only job is is killing other people for various reasons but their job is to kill so why do the civilians our job is not to kill why do we have those weapons then our generation should not have to stand up so that our schools become a safe place thank you Naskara Abdulahi followed by Zenevia Wilcox Hello my name is Nesteha Abdulahi I'm an 18 year old senior from Burlington High School I came here today with one other friend to support one of our high schools representatives and to testify I'm here today not just to represent Burlington but to stand with my peers from Montpelier my family fled from Somalia in 2008 because it was a war-stricken and constricted country I've seen an experience living in a place where there are no gun restrictions I've seen the worst of the worst so yes I do pray every day and every night for being in Vermont for being in America I'm here today because there is this assumption that Vermont is this clean anti-violence state but according to Gunsense Vermont we have the highest gun deaths in New England twice the that of Massachusetts I'm shocked by the 12,000 gun homicides in America a year what Montpelier High School has demonstrated today and in being here to testify is the first step and that is to call on our Senators and representatives to ask them to face these issues head on it is time to act students are dying at devastating rates and it's time to stop this cycle of mourning and praying if I die tomorrow in my English class I do not want my family and friends and the sympathetic nation to weep and pray for me I do not want them to forget what has happened a life has been taken a person dead a student with dreams and hopes now just a rotting body who's only remembered by their loved ones we walk out of our classrooms and honor the parkland victims for 17 minutes what is 17 minutes to an entire lifetime and why is this why is our country so wrapped up in terrorism and building up walls to stop immigration why don't you build a wall to stop the terrorists that are right in our schools the ones who are mentally ill only after killing 17 students I can't sleep because every night I remember the looks of the students in my school being careful to be nice to everyone because how do I know a mass shooter isn't sitting up that same night planning to take lives it feels as if we're sitting on the edge of our seats like everyone is waiting for the next huge shooting to happen and as scary as it seems I'm not surprised I feel like no real change will happen until something so devastating happens I beg you please not to let that be followed by we do have some empty seats that people would like to filter into the room and grab one don't feel you have to but should you want to my name is Navy Willcox I'm a junior at BHS and I'm here to support this very relevant and important topic as well as support these very strong bond players sitting behind me much like to say hi I moved to Vermont 12 years ago because our mother didn't want us to be racing in a gang and gun related environment that was instilled as prevalent in Miami Florida I'm very familiar with this feeling because I felt it through my mother my mother telling me why we can't move back or why we moved in the first place many people ask why we act now we act now because there should be no later we act now because we have the privilege to be living now we act now because we don't want to wish we had when we're hiding behind a desk or trying to find the words that some of how much we love our family as we shake with fear in the corner of our history class we act now because fear cannot be put on the back burner we act now because I'm tired of tensing up with fear when the fire alarms go off or thinking of every possible way to escape when I enter a new building in my classroom these bond player students also inspired BHS students to race Black Lives Matter flag we are here to further more implement that message the message that we are all important we all matter and our lives matter we ask for a further background check and yeah, so we ask for further background checks and the banning of automatic session military grade weapons but more importantly, we ask for you to care we ask for you to value our lives we ask for you to act now because this is why we act now Liam Fry, followed by Greta Alexander Park good afternoon this is Liam Fry and I'm a senior attorney in Mokulir High School we are here to talk about gun safety this topic is extremely important to me and my fellow students as we are the ones most often put in harm's way in my government I want to see people taking action and changing laws surrounding gun control because we are sick and tired of being scared while going to a place that's supposed to be safe especially in a place where we are forced to go to learn but under the same regulations we cannot guarantee safety they cannot keep us safe in a place that is the responsibility to keep us safe as we cannot do this only help you're doing fine only help this will become a higher priority as it's deciding the lives of many people at such a young age that should never be put in this position in the first place it has been crazy to grow up in a lot grow up in a society where gun violence is normalized we are forced to go to a place to learn by law but in these same laws we are not guaranteed safety I call to you here that the students that are asking for change is your responsibility to make the change I know you know what needs to be changed so change it thank you for listening and have a wonderful day Greta Alexandra Parker followed by Hannah Frazier Hi, my name is Greta Alexandra Parker and I'm a freshman at Essex High School I took part in organizing the walkout at Essex and I also spoke at the walkout I told my peers that across our nation mass shootings continue to increase while our neighboring countries have laws for guns we are nowhere close to succeeding in solving this problem it is time for a change I told them that cars kill many people when our parents are growing up there were no seatbelts in cars this forced a social change to happen because people didn't want their kids dying in cars anymore I also said that we have a president who accepts over 30 million dollars from the National Rifle Association and I continue to say what really bothers me is that our president is not the only politician who receives money from the NRA in fact we have politicians that represent the state of Vermont that receive money from the NRA we might be a progressive state and I'm lucky to live in Vermont but we have a lot of problems that need to be solved we need longer waiting periods and we need to raise the minimum age for buying guns and we need to abandon assault weapons because assault weapons are made to kill people you do not hunt with assault weapons and you do not shoot them for fun they're made to kill people and that's why people are dying just like many other students here today said because this is a real fear and this could happen in my own high school and other high schools across the nation and in our state this could be your children and your grandchildren this is a time for action not for talking thank you Hannah Frazier followed by Amelia Pfeiffer good afternoon my name is Hannah Frazier I'm from Franklin Valley Union High School and I helped to organize our walk out the message that we put forth was our opposition to legislative and action in response to school shootings in a nation where children are victims of mass murder legislators such as yourselves must not be complicit in our deaths as members of the House and senate education committees I implore you to take action on behalf of the hundreds of Vermont students who walked out of their schools and personally proposed legislation to be put forth that would ban the cell in exchange of semi-automatic firearms out of all mass shootings in the US including those at schools between 1982 through 2017 over half of weapons used were that kind semi-autic guns have a rapid firing ability which allows them to kill multiple people within seconds there is a reason that shooters use that kind of weapon specifically yet what is terrifying is that most were obtained legally as you can do in Vermont I myself a 16 year old could purchase that kind of weapon although the rights of their arms is protected both within the state and national constitution we must acknowledge that rights come with responsibilities what's justifiable, civilian purpose exists for owning a weapon that is made solely for mass murder and that American school children has become commonplace what can be said of the state and of a nation which will not take responsible measures to protect its youngest and most vulnerable the safety of my life of the students in this room is at risk any day we could walk into our school bus in the morning being driven to our death I do not want to tell my parents I love you without knowing that it will be the last time to see the last look upon my friends faces the existential terror too long have the bones of school children been tread upon without hearing the crunch our blood has stained the ground long enough we need action and we need it now at this moment it was due long ago but witnessing these deaths seeing so many mass shootings as I'm growing up knowing that this has become part of my life seeing youth murdered it is imperative that action must be taken thank you my junior at Hartford high school and I was one of the two organizers for the national school walkout at Hartford Hartford's walkout was organized to be in clues beds possible for all students of all political opinions it was a show of solidarity for those affected in Parkland and a student Amber de Ford spoke about her friend who was killed in the Parkland shooting last month I'm here today to ask for action and for change it is easier to buy a gun in this country than it is to get a driver's license a pet from an animal shelter and even some prescription medicines we need to raise the age of legally buying a gun to 21 we need to make sure that every school is safe that every student is comfortable going to school in the morning fear has no place in our schools no one convicted of domestic abuse should be able to own a gun dangerous people should never have a gun in their hands just yesterday in Hanover, New Hampshire right across the river from Hartford, Vermont there was a school shooting threat we cannot sit here and tell ourselves all day that this will never happen to us it will never be our school however for action, we aren't doing anything at all we know what needs to be done we just must have the courage to do it I will be marching in Montpelier on March 24th with students and teachers from my school supporting Parkland and continuing to demand action thank you for your time Madeline Koff followed by Samoa Rolokai my name is Madeline Koff and I'm a senior at Hartford High School and an organizer of our log out hundreds of students and staff members walked out with us my friend Amelia just spoke about our high schools walk out and what we are here to ask for the students here today and the people who participated in the walk out on March 14th are or will be voters we care we are invested in these issues of school safety and we will be heard it is devastating that time and time again our safety and lives are being compromised in places that are supposed to be dedicated to our growth being passed around the pictures from our walk out they got a little bit crumpled but we hope that you will see what we did thank you Samoa Rolokai followed by Jackson Markham thank you for having me today my name is Samoa Rolokai and I'm a junior at Essex High School my fellow students and I have come to the State House to appeal to you politicians and parents alike for change a change that would bring our nation's solace a change that would prevent more names from being added to the list of the nearly 20 schools that have already endured great tragedy at the hands of gun violence within 2018 including one just yesterday in Maryland a change that would mean that our young lives take priority over the millions that special interest groups have invested in our representatives at both the state and federal level a change that means that firearms are no longer available for purchase to those who have criminal and domestic violence records a change that means more stringent background checks and a longer waiting period for those attempting to obtain said firearms a change that raises Vermont's own bare minimum rifle purchase age from 16 to 21 a change that bands the possession and usage of semiotic weaponry by civilians a change that would make both our education and childhood no longer a risk but a right as students as children and as citizens of the United States we must join together to petition for the stronger friend control laws that so many politicians have ignored throughout the decades today my voice is strong just as it appears across the country today we call on you those with the power to do what is right to be brave as we are and choose change Jackson Markow followed by Hazel McMillan Good afternoon I'm Jackson Markow I'm a senior at Montpelier High School I may echo these sentiments of my fellow students' testimonies today but I'd like to call attention to an epidemic that is far less spoken of than the main focus of the debate today but has an incredible magnitude which should never be trivialized that of gun suicides suicides make up a tremendous share of gun deaths 61% of all gun deaths and for those roughly my age guns guns and gun suicides are even a greater concern according to a CDC analysis nearly 5,800 minors are injured every year and 1,300 are killed making guns the third biggest cause of death among minors above pediatric anomalies, heart disease influenza and many illnesses that millions of dollars and countless hours are being spent on every year by our government so I ask those who are above me why are we not spending time and money and energy fixing this problem of man-made machines not natural things like influenza and cancer and the flu that are killing us but man-made machines that are all around us so of those 1,300 yearly gun deaths of minors over 500 are suicides these are deaths of fellow humans and so many of which would have widely regretted their actions had they been given more time to consider the worth of their own life but by making guns so incredibly easy to access when in Vermont a 16, 17 or 18 year old can walk into a gun store and purchase one my government has effectively said that the precious time and the worth of their life is less than the fun of sport for others I have hope because I know you are my government and I know that you have the power and the initiative to take change against this issue you can take action to reduce the availability of guns by passing background checks for all guns, mandating, waiting periods safety courses and other measures all of which have been shown to reduce not only this continual epidemic of gun suicides among young people including all gun deaths including the myriad of types that threaten us daily and yearly that my fellow students have talked about you have the power to make this change and on behalf of my fellow students and anyone whose life may someday be taken by a bullet I ask you to do so my name is Hazel Macmillan I'm a junior at Harwood Union High School I would like to start my testimony with a perspective unique to me and the students in this state one that many of you may not be familiar with for as long as I can remember I've done active shooter drills in my school at Harwood these are called lockdown drills at any point in the day we will hear the voice of our principal say secure the building three times over the loudspeaker our teacher will send students around the room to pull the shades and turn off the lights as they lock the door then everyone in the class clusters together in a corner not visible from the window a procedure that now feels almost as absurd as hiding under a desk during a nuclear bomb drill we sit silently cross-legged or with our knees pulled to our chest throughout these 10 minutes thoughts range from thinking about our day our next class and practice after school to wondering if a shooter broke the small glass window in the door and weighed it in would I hide behind the bookshelf or I try to run out the door or hide behind my best friend I don't think I need to say that students should not have to think about these things in a place where we come every day to learn schools are not safe as long as a threat of a dangerous person with a gun remains and with this I say we cannot allow more guns, more security and more fear to enter our schools that is not the solution students need to feel safe again the concept behind universal background checks is preventing a greater portion of dangerous but gun buyers from obtaining guns anyone who wants to buy a gun legally will have to prove that they are fit this is common sense gun control an entire world of gun sales exists unregulated, unchecked and untrapped these private sales which make up 40% of gun sales need a universal background check bill of the 17 states with UBCs in the United States the firearm suicide rate is 49% gun trafficking drops 48% and 38% fewer women are shot dead by their intimate partner that fact alone should get our attention given that half of Vermont's homicides are domestic violence please consider the effectiveness of universal background checks for the safety of students in Vermont thank you my name is Ian King I am a junior at Montpelier High School and I would just like to say that we've heard fear in this room from my peers it's been expressed many ways but they are all similar it's fear now some people would say that we live in a complicated time a dangerous time even and that we should be able to move past this fear just move on toughen up move on with our day I'm here to say that this fear can be easily solved common sense gun legislation is a way that this part of fear can be removed simple and easily so that we can all move forward with our lives that we can live our lives we can live to reach old age this is being a first year and I'm an eighth grader at Willis Concentral School and I helped organize the school walk out at our school along with walking out to honor the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting we also held a presentation demonstrating all the different ways that the Parkland shooting touched different political topics I represented our school that since 2013 has had over 300 school shootings that's an average of one school shooting shooting per week in a civilized first world country I should not have to be scared that every morning before school when I say goodbye to my parents it's the last time I see them but it's not the fact that in our country you can own a weapon that makes me mad it's the fact that a 19 year old man was allowed to get a hold and I can't run for office but this is my way of making a difference I'm standing up here asking American voters and congressmen and women to change our gun laws this stretch of terror cannot go on any longer so I stand here and ask all the men and women of America is it really worth it to have a gun if every day millions of kids go to school worried that they could get shot recently I was told that even though kids can't vote they have a voice I'm standing up to the people in congress and the people in America who value their guns more than their future and this is my message to those people just think that every time a child dies from a gunshot it's your fault for being too stubborn to give up your assault weapon so I say this is enough I understand we may have the two student representatives from the state board of ed here they're on their way they should be here at this point let me ask because we've run out of listed witnesses is there anyone who having her testimony has decided they'd like to that being the case I know that senator bell has something she'd like to make sure everybody knows so for any of you who are planning to go down to DC or the march or if you know other folks who are going down to the march senator levy will be hosting any vermonter will be in DC for saturdays march saturday going from 9 to 11 just need to call senator levy's office for the details about where to meet up so I know the senator would love to meet with any students especially who are coming down and certainly your families as well and if you would spread the word on social media that would be great, thank you I can get you the phone number before we leave your office you can call a burlington office 8 6 3 2 5 2 5 you want to say that again 3 1 you can call a burlington office 8 6 3 2 5 2 5 if you're going to DC so maybe you would love to so if I got that right it's 8 6 3 2 5 2 5 so thank you all for coming I want to thank representative for spearheading this and making it happen the voices of students is so important and I want to thank you for making things happen a year ago this discussion the possibility of passing something in the state house would not have been possible and it's because students have spoken up and continue to push for changes that things may happen and I hope to be part of that change so thank you very much for coming please continue to speak up in any way you can find to do thank you I guess we won't be able to hear from the representatives from the state more than that because we can't just sit in silence while they come I just wanted to add one thing before we let everybody go and that is there's a reason why traditionally politicians don't pay attention to people your age because first of all you can't yet vote and when you do have the ability to vote statistically you vote in much less numbers than people who are let's say 50 and older so what I would suggest to you is what you've done is fantastic the only way to make sure that this moment doesn't vanish is to vote in large numbers when you can vote and make that earthquake happen come election day be committing to signing the bills and sort of shepherding the passage of these bills and be committing to doing that right now I think I can declare that hearing is over and with that said and we're in a more casual frame I will say this as Senator Ballant said S-55 which left the senate with universal background checks and a rise in the age to 21 made it out of House judiciary today 6-5 they included bug stocks and magazine restrictions so those four pieces are now S-55 that goes as I said outside to the House for probably Friday and then that's when the House will make its determination if they send it back to the senate we will have the opportunity to concur at which point if we do it would go to the governor that's the moment where I think another burst of activism might be well positioned Senator Baruch I can add as well we've passed out senate bill 221 and the House has passed out 422 and those bills are crossing chambers and hopefully both of those bills will be passed as well and as Senator Baruch said it's important that the governor commits to signing on which he has in the last few weeks but I think it's really important for him to know that there is support in the public for that to happen let me just talk a minute about why your activism is so important and that is because there are many legislators trying to figure out what they can go for and what they can't go for and so as leadership works towards trying to put appropriate bill on the floor if it's made too restrictive then we lose people who want very loose controls over gun safety on the other hand if we make it too loose we lose votes on people who want it to be more restrictive so your voice is so important and your activism is so important and I kept an informal list of what you felt were the important elements of a bill that should pass and the more you make that known to your legislator to the community whether it's in a forum like this or a gathering at the state house steps or at your school buildings or letters to the editor or other ways of being active and involved in this discussion in this state at this point in time the more likely could that we actually pass some strong legislation please don't paint us all with the same brush on the website you can see who's voted for things and who's voted against things and I really want to put in a some praise for Senator Baruth because even before Markland happened and Fairfave had happened Senator Baruth for years this is my first term but Senator Baruth has been here for many years and he had a universal background check bill and he was very frustrated that it wasn't moving along and he really demanded that we have a debate about it even before Markland and because of the tragedy of Markland and the near tragedy of Fairfave and because all of you have risen up we finally created the environment in which Senator Baruth's wish came true we were able to not only debate it but pass it which is really remarkable so I really want to give kudos to him maybe you're from Chittenden County and one of your Chittenden County senators I just want to let you all know that your entire delegation voted in favor of all the bills so far that have been proposed and you know please look and see who does what and I would really appreciate it I'm Daniel Geomethe I'm the State Representative of Essex Structure so I have to acknowledge that part of the reason we're here today is that our students have reached out and you've made your voices heard and I know that as members of the Education Committee sitting on this table we really value having a robust debate hearing all sides and taking that into consideration as we vote but I also want to encourage you that after this day and it's not just on the issue of school safety or gun violence but on all the issues that confront our state our world your voices shouldn't stop because when we go quiet things change and it's not always free everyone around this table cares about kids we're not all from the same party we're not all from the same parts of the state and we all have very different experiences but we listen and when you speak we learn so I encourage you to keep showing up I encourage you to work with people who see things differently and to keep an open mind but here's what I'll tell you there is no way that we cannot listen to what is being said and not be moved it's not because it's emotional it's not because of the way you say it it's because this is an issue that demands action so I encourage you to keep acting as long as you put your voices out there as long as you show up we will listen thank you we said earlier why should we be doing this you do something let me tell you throughout history the groups that have been able to create change have been the groups that are affected by what's happening and members from the group will listen to leadership from within the group the black people Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and so forth the ability these groups have is that they can mobilize votes and that's what you have to do want to know more about that talk to one person a lot of my life is a changing in the public school system anyone else like to say a word before you there is ah is this the representatives from the state board we are ready to hear from you can we agree with you yes please feel free to come together okay can you use the microphone it's harder to do okay got it alright so hello my name is Connor Salamano I'm a senior at Rallam High School and I'm on the state board of education as a student member hi my name is Kallian Beck I'm a junior at St. Petersburg Academy I'm one of the state board of education so we've kind of missed out on what you've talked about before so please excuse us if we're repeating some things but I guess I'll just start off by talking about what my high school has done and then talk about the wider area of Vermont and then the whole national movement so at Rallam High School we actually had a snow day on Wednesday which was the planned day for the walk out and so with the cold temperatures we decided the next Monday to just kind of hold a memorial service to honor the lives of the lives lost in the massacre in MSD in Florida and so we held a nonpartisan ceremony just kind of trying to really just honor the lives of the lives lost and kind of we've seen across the state how so many schools have approaches differently some have had walkouts some have had memorials and it just really speaks to kind of the power that they've had in this issue and students have said that we're not willing to just kind of let this issue be swept under the rug to let another tragedy happen and not see legislative action in the form of gun control or in the form of different mental health reform and so there are just so many schools you can see with all the students here that have participated in this whether they're just holding memorials or holding walkouts regardless of their political beliefs it's clear that students really care about this issue and I think that's something that we need to take note of that this is an extremely important issue and I'd like to also kind of focus on just the leaders of this movement the people who really started this from the very beginning the students at MSD there were primarily five of them that kind of well a lot of students there actually took a lead but there were a group of five students that really took some initiative and got you probably saw their pictures all over the New York Times all over pretty much any news outlet and I'd encourage anyone here to watch a 60 minutes episode that aired this last Sunday that kind of had an interview with these five students and it went through kind of what they'd like to see from this national walkout movement what they hope and it detailed what they've experienced so far so I just I'd really encourage everyone here to kind of check that out I think it really details what the whole movement the walkout movement is about and students are definitely showing that we have voice and we really want to be heard and then at my high school prior to the date assigned for the walkout our headmaster spoke to our student body directly because he had safety concerns regarding students simply just walking out of class he felt that wasn't safe so he allowed students to come and meet with him during lunch block and discuss ways that they wanted to approach it and some students that upset because it was student led and they felt now teachers were getting involved and then on a positive side students who I've had class with they don't talk a lot they're definitely quiet or wet and they spoke to him directly and said this is what I believe this is what I stand for this is what we need to do and thankfully we had a delight not a snow day so it still took place and our school changed the schedule so no one really left class but you were assigned either to go to advisory and simply talk about it or you could go to where we have chapel and there was a memorial service and students even with those two options they still felt they needed to protest in some way so they went and they stood outside of one of our academic buildings and they just stood there in silence they didn't yell or hold signs there were a few signs that just said enough is enough because we didn't want to protest against any kind of gun violence because then someone could protest hate at the same time if you allow that to be fair and then it still continued to be talked about I mean I really think this isn't an issue that's going away anytime soon I really think students have found their voice in an issue and I think this is going to be something that's talked about in future in 20 years of history class it's this movement I think it's really huge and I think sometimes our generation has talked about us addicted to social media and technology and I think this is just a great step for our generation and we're using our social media to promote our voices in a positive way and I'm just really proud of what Vermont students have done across the state I saw several pictures of schools protesting and peacefully and I think it's a great way for Vermont to really have a voice and I just think it's really important Thank you I mentioned outside that my daughter was one of the organizers of Hunt Middle School and Burlington and Mary Walkout had how proud I was of her I have to believe that all of your parents are extremely proud of you today I'm proud of you as citizens of Vermont for coming out I know Chairman Sharp feels the same way I'd also like to thank Dylan for having the idea of this hearing it was a brilliant idea and we should do it more often I hope this won't be the last time you come to the State House Oscar has already been here twice for the last two weeks I'm sure we're going to hear more from Oscar so thank you very much and I hope everyone wanted to be very pleasant