By Alec Woolsey
The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
March 27, 2018
http://herald-zeitung.com/news/article_b748b1aa-314c-11e8-9ef8-7f61f2035e3d.html
A local March for Our Lives organized protest, part of a wider event in cities across the United States. took place on the Main Plaza in downtown New Braunfels from about 2 to 4 p.m on Saturday.
The event centered on a series of speakers on the bandstand, including Molly Bursey with the local Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America organization, current teacher Becky Stich and Kendra Manning, an 11th-grade student at Premier High School.
According to Bursey, the event was largely planned by Manning while Moms Demand Action did the legwork promoting the event. Bursey said she is the volunteer local group lead for Moms Demand Action.
“She did this all on her own,” Bursey said. “Of course, you know, we spread the word.”
According to the official March for Our Lives website, the event was, “created by, inspired by and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar.”
The protests were, in large part, spurred by the shooting deaths of 17 students in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14.
Manning, who wore a Supergirl outfit at Saturday’s protest, said she wasn’t sure of the total number of people in attendance.
“I didn’t expect this much though, so that’s awesome,” Manning said.
The event involved a handful of speeches from the bandstand and a march around the plaza, which was followed by protestors standing along the outside of the Plaza holding signs as cars passed by on the roundabout.
Some cars honked in support, but there were also some boos from people passing by.
“This is about gun reform and fighting for better gun laws for our kids,” Bursey said. “Simple rules that don’t infringe on the second amendment, laws that don’t infringe on the second amendment, but also keep our kids safer and our communities safer. Things like background checks on every gun sale, closing those loopholes, removing guns from domestic abusers.”
Manning said she saw the event as an opportunity to help bring an end to gun violence in schools and public places.
“I go to school, I go to church, I go anywhere I feel unsafe,” she said. “You can feel unsafe anywhere at this point because of this. For me, it’s going to end up being schools around us. Obviously schools are already affected and that’s terrible, but if we don’t stop this then it’s going to be everywhere. It’s not going to end on its own.”
Manning said what drove her to plan the event partly came from visiting a 5-year-old victim of the Sutherland Springs church shooting in November 2017.
“I don’t know how to describe it,” she said. “I don’t want to say this is more serious than other things, but I visited Ryland Ward in the hospital and since that I can’t stand by. I can’t just watch that happen.”
Bursey said while the Moms Demand Action organization was present and involved with the event, the March for Our Lives protests were student-made.
“We’ve been in New Braunfels for like two years. … All the March for Our Lives across the country are student-organized,” she said. “Somebody just said hey, talk to Molly. Molly, meet Kendra and she told us what she wanted to do and she applied.”
According to Bursey, Manning attempted to reach out to several politicians and officials representing New Braunfels and the surrounding area to be present but many were unable to attend. A statement was release by U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett and read at the event by Manning.
“These massacres at schools and entertainment venues are outrageous,” the statement from Doggett read. “As the students from Parkland have been demanding, we need comprehensive background checks so that those with a history of violence or criminal wrongdoing cannot purchase a gun.”