“No more! No more!” was the chant of more than 200 people who gathered at the Minnesota Capitol after the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis last week. The shooting left 23 people injured, most of them children, and claimed the lives of an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old.
The rally was organized by Students Demand Action and Minnesota Teen Activists just one day after the attack. Organizers and participants called on Governor Tim Walz to hold a special session to pass stronger gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as the creation of a state office dedicated to violence intervention.
For many, the issue felt deeply personal. Timberlyn Mazeikis, a University of Minnesota graduate student and organizer with Students Demand Action, is a survivor of the Michigan State University shooting. Speaking at the protest, Mazeikis described how she had hoped to find peace and safety after transferring to Minnesota, only for those hopes to be shattered by another school shooting. “I’m here to call on our leaders to take action and to stop standing in the background when these things happen,” she said.
Chaplain Howard Doston, who was at Annunciation School during the attack, told the crowd that the problem of gun violence goes beyond party lines. “We need a bipartisan solution because those guns don’t know red or blue,” he said. “I have seen too many mothers’ tears. No more of this.”
Among the young people in attendance were high school students Jamierre Davis and Jatyus Beasley. Both said they came to show support and raise their voices. Davis, a freshman at DeLaSalle High School, explained that the tragedy felt especially close because some of his friends who once attended Annunciation were devastated by the news. “I feel like, as a young person having a gun, it’s always gonna end up bad,” he said, calling for restrictions that would prevent 18- and 20-year-olds from owning firearms.
Beasley, a student at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, said the steady rise in school shootings has created constant fear. “It’s just a feeling of concern, like, can this happen again? What school will it be? Can it be my school? It is just really scary,” he said. He also called for stricter background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
Jose Perez, co-founder of the youth-led group Good Trouble, argued that mental health and gun control must be addressed together. “This is absolutely a split-screen crisis where we must both have America face its weird relationship with guns and our youth’s mental health crisis,” Perez said.
Lawmakers also spoke at the rally. Rep. Dave Pinto, a Democrat from Minnesota, said while investments in mental health are important, the bigger issue is access to deadly weapons. “Do we need to invest more in mental health? Sure, but ultimately we need to get to the fact it’s about guns,” Pinto said.
Governor Walz later announced he would call a special session for lawmakers to vote on a gun control package. Minnesota already has background checks, allows concealed carry, and bans bump stocks, but advocates argue those measures are not enough.
Not everyone agrees on how to solve the problem. The Minnesota Gun Caucus released a statement arguing that banning assault weapons would not work. Instead, they suggested strengthening mental health resources, increasing community support systems, and improving school security.
Even as debates continue, students are not slowing down their push for change. Minnesota Teen Activists announced a school walkout scheduled for Friday to demand action from leaders.
Reflecting on the large turnout at the Capitol, Mazeikis said she was grateful but heartbroken. “I think it has made our community really come together, which is a beautiful thing, but this shouldn’t have to happen,” she said.
The rally ended with the same cry it began with: “No more!” A demand from young people, parents, teachers, and community members for an end to school shootings and a safer future for all.
