50 Miles More students arrive in Paul Ryan's hometown and rally for gun control

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A crowd of about 200 parents, grandparents and supporters watched Wednesday as 40 Wisconsin students finished their 50-mile march from Madison to Janesville, House Speaker Paul Ryan's hometown.

In a rally at Traxler Park, the students spoke eloquently and emotionally about their experiences marching, the support they received and their passion for the cause of gun reform.

"Kids may be only 25% of the population, but we are 100% of the future," said Katie Eder, a student organizer from Shorewood.

Wisconsin students marched from Madison to Janesville, House Speaker Paul Ryan's hometown. The march ended with a rally in Traxler Park. The students had slept in high school gyms and other predetermined locations on the trip.

The group, called 50 Miles More, was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.'s 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965.

Eder called for other young people across the country to follow in the Wisconsin students' literal footsteps. She challenged students in every state to march 50 miles to the hometown of a congressman or politician between now and the November mid-term elections.

Hundreds of thousands of students across the nation participated in the March for Our Lives Saturday in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

These 40 students started walking from Madison Sunday and arrived in Janesville a little after noon Wednesday. The students had slept in high school gyms and other predetermined locations on the trip.

The students called on Ryan and other congressmen to introduce meaningful gun reform, specifically background checks, a four-day waiting period on gun purchases, a ban on assault rifles and accessories that change a semiautomatic gun into an automatic gun (like a bump stock), and for the legal age for gun buys to be raised to 21.

Students finish a four-day, 50-mile march to the hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Wednesday, March 28, 2018. The rally follows the nationwide March for Our Lives events.

The march drew students from schools across the state and included students as young as 11 and up to 18.

Supporters chanted as the marchers approached the park. Two young women taught the crowd chants such as "No more silence, end gun violence."

Maria Amendola, a student at Ryan's alma mater Craig High School, teared up when she spoke, saying, "I am standing here so my voice is heard."

Three girls recited a spoken word poem, and one, Milwaukee Rufus King student Tatiana Washington, read an open letter to the speaker. "We are pissed off, Paul," she said.

After the rally, Tatiana said, "I hope Speaker Ryan was listening. I will continue to reach out."

Amaii Collins and Jynise Foley of Rufus King High School in Milwaukee join a rally after students finished a four-day, 50-mile march from Madison to Traxler Park in Janesville, hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. The rally follows March for Our Lives events in Washington, D.C., around the nation and in the state to address gun violence.

Pardeep Kaleka, whose father was killed in the 2012 Sikh temple mass shooting in Oak Creek, spoke about valuing love over fear. All the students vowed to vote, although many of them won't be old enough by the 2018 mid-term election.

Ryan spokesman Jordan Dunn said: “The congressman respects those making their voices heard. As he has said, violence has no place in our schools. That is why just last week the House enacted laws that take concrete action to keep children safe without infringing on constitutional rights.”

Randy Bryce, who is running against Ryan in the November election, was at the rally. He watched from the side. Afterward he said, "This is the entire reason why I'm running. He's not listening to what we need."