'Walkout' Wednesday: the essential information about the protests

Students across the US have planned “walkout” demonstrations for Wednesday, a month to the day after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed.

Participants say they are acting to memorialize those who were killed and to call for new gun safety legislation, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and the introduction of universal background checks.

At some schools, students plan to march outside. Elsewhere, students may congregate in halls or stand in classrooms. Organizers have encouraged students to work with school administrators and parents in planning the demonstrations.

Demonstrators hope to maintain a sense of national urgency around the need for gun policy reform, in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting at a US high school.

Source: theguardian