On September 17, 2025, students at Legacy High School walked out of their classes in protest of gun violence. This came one week after the shooting at Evergreen High School, which wounded two and killed one. The tragic shooting struck the hearts of many. In a show of solidarity, high school students across Colorado organized school wide walkouts.
The word about Legacy’s walkout was spread through social media posts, flyers, and word of mouth. On the Tuesday before the walkout, it was not uncommon to be asked by a friend if you would be participating in it.
The day of the walkout, at 1:30pm, hundreds of students met in front of Legacy’s main office. A sense of community filled the air. Many students were relieved by how many people showed up to the protest. “I saw a lot of people there; more than I thought there would be,” Emily (17) commented after the protest.
Starting to make their way around the school, students help signs with phrases such as, “Bullets are not school supplies,” “Protect kids not guns,” “We stand for those who fell,” and “Do something!” The students then marched around the student parking lot, and after that along 136th Avenue, a busy street in the area. As cars passed, some honked their horns. This was met with applause from the crowd.
As the march continued, chants began to form. Some clusters of students chanted, “Books not bullets,” while others screamed, “End gun violence! Am I next?” Near the end of the walkout, when the protesters were brought back together in a group, they called in unity, over and over, to “End gun violence.”
Students at the protest had many ideas of what ending gun violence looks like. Antonio (16) called for more gun restrictions, stating, “If there is more gun control, then there are less shootings overall.” Cayden (16) had a similar point of view, but added that schools need to improve their security measures. She voiced that within schools, “There needs to be stronger protocols in place, stronger security measures, more security, (and) less leniency on bad behaviors with students.”
Cayden’s friend, Lakota (17) expressed that it’s also important to realize that gun violence can be prevented by caring for the people around you and getting them the help they need. She called for her peers to, “Support everybody around you. If you can do anything, just make sure they’re okay.”
As a last call to action, Kai (16), a student at Legacy who helped organize the walkout, declared, “I want people my age and adults to listen to us and speak out about (gun violence).” She highlighted the importance of using your first amendment to make your voice heard about the change you want to see in the world.
With these intentions in mind, the question of how much of an effect the walkout had on the community arises. Assistant Principal Sierra Hoover stated, “Anytime that young people can assemble and get together for a cause that they feel passionately about . . . I think it always makes an impact.”
To keep updated with Legacy students’ fight against gun violence, you can follow lhs.walkout25 on Instagram.
