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Students set to march 50 miles + to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s hometown in support of gun laws, Civil Rights style

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Kids, teens in particular, are fired up across the country and want to see change, especially when it comes to gun control laws. Last weekend it was the March for Our Lives, which centered in Washington, D.C. and included many major cities across the country and millions of mostly young people. Coming up on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine, Colorado, shooting, there will be more demonstrations. But it’s not just major cities… it’s small town America as well. A group of high schoolers from a small town north of Milwaukee have organized a march of 50 miles to the hometown (Janesville) of Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the House, to advocate gun reform. The kids from Shorewood High School say they organized the march to demand lawmakers such as Ryan take action to curb gun violence. According to the Huffington Post, Ryan is one of many Congressman and House members who accept money from the NRA and worked to block gun legislation. The leaders of the group say they are inspired by the Civil Rights marches of the ‘60s. “We started 50 Miles More to keep the national demand for gun reform going after the March 24th March for Our Lives events are over,” according to the movement’s website. “Our generation has grown up watching school shootings destroy lives and then get swept out of the spotlight. We refuse to let this happen again.” It’s no coincidence that the four-day, 54-mile trek from Madison began Sunday ― exactly 53 years after Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of civil rights activists into Montgomery, Alabama, to conclude a five-day, 54-mile march that began in Selma. “We looked to history and an earlier generation of young leaders who fueled real change,” the 50 Miles More website says. “In 1965, civil rights leaders organized the multi-day, 54-mile Selma to Montgomery marches. Those 54 long miles took us a long way toward progress, and are the inspiration for our march.” At the end of every mile, the marchers honored a victim of gun violence. The march ended today (March 28) with a rally in Janesville, the hometown of Rep. Paul Ryan. “We’re definitely a little sore in the feet and in some of the joints, but our spirits are high,” Brendan Fardella, a 17-year-old student at Shorewood High School, told HuffPost by phone Monday as he marched through the “middle of nowhere.” “This is definitely what I’d like to be doing on my spring break,” he said. “It wasn’t my original plan, but I’m much happier doing this and effecting some change with my fellow students than just being on a beach somewhere.” The marchers have been subjected to a few negative statements from passing drivers and bikers but overall have felt supported, said Alemitu Caldart, who also attends Shorewood High School. “We just respond by saying, ‘Spread love, not hate,’” Alemitu, 15, told HuffPost. “[We hope] to show people that we’re not done until actual change is made,” added Alemitu, who plans to participate in a spoken-word performance about gun violence at the rally in Janesville. “We’re still here. We’re stubborn. We’re going to keep on fighting for our lives to be safe every single day.”

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