Days after the deadly shooting at Florida State University, students are dealing with the fear they felt — and still feel.
"When I transferred to Florida State University just last fall, I never thought I'd find myself locked inside a classroom, texting loved ones, unsure if I'd ever see them again,” said Andres Perez, a junior from Orlando, his voice breaking.
The president of FSU’s Students Demand Action, which advocates against gun violence, Perez, was one of a group of students who spoke at a state Capitol press conference on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: FSU student recalls running for her life, seeking shelter during deadly shooting
They called on lawmakers to devote more money to mental health services and pass more gun regulations, including strengthening gun storage requirements.
The current statute applies to parents with kids younger than 16. But the alleged gunman in the April 17 shooting on FSU campus was 20 years old and got access to a firearm through his mother, which he was still too young to buy himself.
The students on Tuesday also demanded that lawmakers not pass legislation that would lower the shotgun and rifle purchasing age from 21 to 18.
Such legislation has already passed the House but currently appears to have stalled in the Senate. The pistol-buying age is already 21 under federal law.
The Legislature raised the long gun-buying age following the 2018 massacre at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“Our generation deserves better,” Perez said. “We deserve to feel safe in our schools, our communities, and we deserve a safe future.”
The students also called for increased protections on campus, such as more locks on doors and faculty training.
An online petition with more than 30,000 signatures is calling for “functional locks” to be put on all FSU classroom doors.
ALSO READ: Florida lawmakers may lower the gun-buying age they raised after the Parkland shooting
“In a state where gun violence is as normalized as it is in the state of Florida, there is no reason why our doors do not lock and why our professors do not know how to respond when there is someone with a gun less than 100 feet away,” said Madalyn Propst, a freshman who’s also from Orlando.
Some students have reported those doors not locking following the shooting. The university has told news outlets that doors lock automatically from the outside during emergencies.
The students joined House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa during the press conference.
“There are two people who are dead who shouldn't be,” said Propst, who is the president of the FSU College Democrats.
“Six people [injured] who shouldn't be,” she continued. “Thousands of students who no longer feel safe on campus and a community that is still reeling from a senseless act of violence, and no amount of thoughts and prayers is going to fix that.”
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
