going on, we heard our door get kicked open. was, butt know who it thankfully it was the swat team coming to save us. when they came to get us, they made us lineup in a row, and as we walked out, we had so many police officers and swat members around us, and having to hold my hands above my head in my own school and knowing that something was wrong, that have been building right next to us, it was horrific -- that happened in the building right next to us, it was horrific. telling us to run for our lives without hands above our heads -- and one host: we're joined -- above our heads -- host: and we're joined now by winter hennessy. she is the national student , whor for women's march will put this thing today's march for our lives in washington, d.c. us in the studio.

thank you so much for joining us, winter. guest: thank you for having me. host: how did you get involved with empowered? tell me about your journey? guest: actually, i am the cofounder of the women's march of the congressional black caucus here in d.c. a scholarship to coordinator.e the you think the main message should be from the protesters, the students who organize these protests? what would you like lawmakers or the president to hear? guest: the power of our voice. the youth are out. an estimated 2 million students are dissipated in our national school walkout, and with the march today, you are expected to see hundreds of thousands of students, so definitely expect that youth are a force to be reckoned with. host: when you go to school

every day, do you feel safe? dear classmates feel safe? guest: we have seen many mass shootings, severe is a sense of uncertainty. we definitely have drills, we do the practicing, but when these events happen, it makes it more real, so we are feeling the intensity of the park when shooting in the aftermath of that, and we are all wondering -- who is next? host: what do you think of some of the critic's of this movement who say some of the students might be walking out in order to avoid class or that this is really an effort being funded by people on the left and are just sort of using the students as props? guest: our national watch out with -- walk out in completely youth led, and even the march is youth led. we are taking our safety. we will be in charge of that, and we want to make sure that we are safe in goals, and this is an issue that is accessed, so it

is not really an agenda. keith is calling from chicago. hi, keith. caller: hi, winter. i am so proud of you. guest: thank you. caller: your generation is going to save us from ourselves. i really believe that. and you kids grew up with obama as president. you are articulate, you are smart, you are engaged, you are active, let me get to the point here -- i will be marching in chicago today, and i can't wait. 11:00 a.m. but what i have seen is you guys understand critical thinking. it is very important. you are looking for a common denominator, right? so when we talk about gun violence, what is the common denominator? it is guns. hollywood

movies, it is not violent video games, it is not rap music, it is guns. host: i want to give winter a chance to talk about that. is the primary goal, the outlook you are sitting here, a change in gun laws, or are you looking for other things? guest: especially in the women's march, we released our platform and our demands the mother there is also a culture of violence that has plagued america. america was founded on gun violence. so we want to force congress to declare gun violence in public health crisis, because that immediately moves funding to schools, intervention-based programs, counselors to help alleviate that. we are definitely adamant about common sense gun laws. no one should be able to get an ar-15 at 19 years old. host: we have a twitter viewer viewer who asked a question on therer, who said "i think is no progress without compromise, and no compromise among the gun control crowd. afraid it is therefore

fruitless. sad." do you think there is a place for people who are concerned about too many restrictions on their gun laws in those who really want to see change? is there a place for compromise, opinion? of course in life you have to make compromises, but i do not think we are ready to compromise our livelihood. our lives are on the table, and that is not something i am willing to cross the line on. host: cap mike calling in from west virginia. hi, mike. caller: hello. i am in my 70's, and i serve my country in the 19 60's, and i have fully supportive of the road for this weekend. are our teachers, this is our future, these young people. want to protect them. the gunnt to fix

problem, it is real simple -- it will just take a few minutes. all we have to do, our congress, as though back and look at bill clinton's assault rifle ban. 1994 toe it was from 2004. and then president bush let it expire. during that time, there were 60 assault rifles that you could or anything., if that law was in effect today, if he did not let that expire, you would not have these 3 million, 4 million, 5 million ar-15's in today's public. it would not be here. you would not have the violence that we have today. when i was in the service, i was 18 when i enlisted. when i went to basic training, i 16, and id and i m- felt the power when i pick that rifle up for the first concert i m-16 what an image team --

can do. it is devastating. and ar-15 is similar. host: right, and the ar-15 a is what was used in the parklandshooting -- shooting to winter, do you think the focus should be on the type of guns that are restricted, or is this something different? other types of school violence that you see in school often use handguns. handguns are easier to conceal in a school. what do you think the issue is? i do call for a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines geared assault rifles is toir only purpose kill, so they are not needed in general, and life in terms of the normal handguns, we are not trying to erase the second amendment, but we do need common sense gun laws.

we need to make sure that the people who are getting guns are qualified to have a and also checking th culture of violence. talk a little more about the issue of gun violence in school when it is not a mass shooting, when you have students in schools to see violence in on theirools and campuses on a regular basis, to show the majority of students to see that our students of color. do you think they are getting the same type of attention in this debate about school gun violence as people who have been a part of mass shootings? guest: that is something i've been passionate about, and one of the reasons why i jumped on the national attention in parkland students are getting -- we want to make sure there are other voices entered in this conversation, because gun violence also affects communities of color at astounding rates, right?

i have personally seen the lack of that representation. i was at a town hall yesterday with the parkland students in chicago. , but itoing a great job needs to be centered throughout this whole conversation. that is something very important. host: are there solutions different? are they solutions that will address the parkland interests? guest: i do when we were talking about solutions about passing legislation. black and brown communities seem to be at the brunt of legislation. earlier, they were talking about more police in schools, more armed teachers, which sounds ok, right? technically be more safe having an armed police officer, but it isn't, and it will not be that case, especially in communities of color, where there have already been police influences at the school. they have already been turned into prisons in certain ways.

that is something we didn't have to jump on and make sure we were addressing policy and legislation. we have to listen to those voices come otherwise they will implement legislation that will better the community is. host: jeff is on the line from port richie, florida. hi, jeff. caller: how are you all doing today? host: we are good sure you are on with winter. caller: hi, winter. guest: hi. caller: hi, c-span. i am not very good at this. but today that miami happened, , my son was in a car, and his friend got shot in the head. excuse me. give me a second. shootings --ool nobody has ever gotten together like the kids have, and this is

the biggest cry for help i have ever heard. and i know this -- the bigger the problem, the simpler the solution, the better the results. every singledemand gun owner -- a fatal don't have that gone on them, they have to gun on if they have that them, they need to have a trigger lock on it. ae first time it is fine, the second time it is jail. they can get their hands on a gun, but they cannot drill the trigger lock out. make decent material, the sensors that are around town, when the gun is shot -- excuse happy, am actually because my son is still alive. of trouble with

it. the biggest help he got was the counselors for my son and the resource officers. host: jeff, i appreciate your call today. winter, what can you say to jeff? guest: i am so sorry. and also it shows that gun is something that is so pervasive in our culture, and it affects everyone. i give you our word that we will and our until congress elected officials listen to us, and we demand that they take action. we are registered to vote. my generation will register, and we are ready to take our power to the polls this year. if our elected officials do not listen to us, come november 6, they will not have a job. take that as something positive when you see the protests that have been happening and see all of us out today, just know that change is coming, and it is coming quick. host: we have had a lot of focus on this movement t, army marchig

on the organization -- on the march and on -- the protests, we have seen me pieces aboutost" the students who have seen it, who have witnessed that your dog but your people, your peers, those who have witnessed gun violence in their school, those who are afraid of entered that can be traumatic. how are you doing? how are you and your peers doing to deal with that trauma? guest: i think we are turning our great interaction, and that is something that has definitely helped us cope with the climate of today, and that is something we are holding onto, and we have been able to help the emotions by focusing on something with a positive outcome. angry, but we are demanding that congress take action, and we are ready to fight for it. jerry is calling in from

saginaw, michigan, also under 25. you are on with winter minisee. caller: hi. this is the first am i had ever called in on anything, but i think this issue seriously, because i am more on the side of the second amendment. the reason i called is because i look at these shootings, and they are absolutely horrible, but these kids, a lot of them that have them that have done these things, have had histories of mental issues, have taken pills or are off their , ors for some bipolar deal as a have taken a gun from parents or a friend. we have these laws in place. i understand that they can be better, but i have never seen a byphole where you can't get a background check. for example, there is a guy that had failed a background check and still managed to go find one

and do what he needed to do. laws thatke all the you want -- like drugs are illegal -- but these guys who do these things do not care about that, so how do you make laws that will affect the people that don't abide by them in the first place? host: winter, what do you say to gary? to takee are not try away the second amendment. we just want more common sense, comprehensive gun control. the mass shooting could have been prevented a certain laws were implemented. when it comes to policy and stuff, we also again have to address the culture of silence. our first demand in our toll not to ban guns, it is a resolution to curb the violence, because that can alleviate some of the social and cultural pressures inside that

can often make people act in a certain way. our other viewers who also have concerns about the second amendment protection, one on twitter says "marching is not really doing the hard work of preventing mass murder. in fact, i get a sense that it is a smokescreen, because you are attacking the wrong people. the mass murderers are not even affected by your efforts. abiding gun owner is." i know you are making the point that you're not going after the second amendment, but a lot of people are concerned that once you start restricting access to guns, it will be a slippery slope, and people who -- whether they have mental problems, whether they are just evil, they will perpetuate violence if they want to perpetuate violence. what do you say to that argument? guest: i have to say again our demands are online, and they are pretty comprehensive. it is not going to take just banning gun laws, it is not

going to take regulating things, but something for common sense. a 19-year-old should not have aness to an a rfid team -- ar-15. --also have to demand rise two d miller to rise -- d thelitarize police as well. talking about gun violence, it is an intersectional conversation. it is not just mass murder, it is not just mass shooting commands also everyday gun violence that communities of color and many people have fallen victim to. host: we are joined by winter minisee, the national student leader of the women's march in youth and power, and she is here for the march in washington to protest gun violence. i want to ask you a question. i was hosting the day that the women's march happened as well. we saw lots of people here and

protesting, and it was a major impact on washington. i may gradually, that is in the rearview mirror, and we did not hear about it anymore. what can you do to make the impact of today's march longer-lasting? guest: vote. voting. literally could generations are turning 18 this year. we're taking our power to the polls. as far as the women's march, we have a 2018 initiatives, and we are traveling across the country voters,ter one million so our work has gone maybe a little bit in the background, but it is making a huge impact. host: all right. dave is on the phone from baltimore. caller: i would say of the second amendment side here, while i would not want to deny the students their first amendment rights, they also need

to recognize that the second amendment is included in the bill of rights, and that when someone says well, we don't want to take away the second amendment, when you infringe someone's right to bear arms, that is what you are doing. either you are taking away the guns or you are not. that does not make sense to say we will ban this gun and this gun but not this one over here. you should ban them all -- which i definitely do not agree with -- that would be a more honest approach, and that is the wedding leftists and the democrats would deftly get voted out -- or you do not ban anything. such as ational pleas 19-year-old should not have access to an ar-15? why? because kids say so? how many kids in america have died because of the ar-15? is it tends, is that hundreds, is it thousands, is it tens of thousands? 19-year-olds, 20

euros, 22, 23-year-old should be the access because of, with a number, 10, 100, what is it? your emotional pleas, and i understand, especially when the government was very close to the violence, that do not resonate voice, i would not say the students -- well, a few of them are politically involved. i have a lot of common sense and logic. i do not think it is just emotion. but we are literally fighting for our lives, and that is something that has to be valid for how long do we have to keep pushing for our livelihood to be validated by members in congress, by americans in general? us asking to ban ar-15's because in monthed 17 people ago -- that is common sense to me. it is literally our lives on the

line, and all we are asking us for our lives to be protected. host: ok, winter minisee, national student leader of the women's march of use and power, thank you so much for joining us today. guest: thank you for having me. march or the attack , floridand last month is not the first time that we have seen lawmakers react to a horrific school shooting. following the shooting at sandy in 2012,mentary school president obama came to a white house briefing room to speak about the tragedy. let's take a look at what he said. [video clip] obama: we have endured too many of these tragedies years, andfew each time i have heard the news, i react not as a president but would -- as a

parent. and that was especially true today. i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. they had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams, so our hearts are broken today for the parents and