Here's a follow-up to my conversation on the liberal-organized student walkout for gun control. There's no question in my mind that these are taxpayer-funded rallies supported by liberals in our public school system who hope these young voters will be voting for Democrats for the rest of their lives.
Here's the column to which I referred on the air and a key point:
Some schools are even aiding in the effort by coordinating with the walkout organizers, providing “safe spaces” for kids who participate in the walkout, promoting the event on school Facebook and Twitter accounts, and allowing school buses to transport kids to and from gun control rallies.
Considering that many public schools are helping to rally more kids to the cause and are even supplying school resources and personnel time to the effort, tax payers should ask: Is this an acceptable use of school funds? More importantly, why is a publicly funded school supporting one side of a very contentious and complex constitutional matter?”
Some of the pushback on my comments suggested that I was against these students' First Amendment rights. That's a distraction argument. My argument is that school districts wouldn't be doing the same for a pro-life rally. And they shouldn't.
Given that the Des Moines school district allowed a walkout after the election of President Trump, it's hard not to see these rally as anti-conservative rather than simply expressions of First Amendment sentiments.
Case in point:
While thousands of students on Wednesday peacefully protested against gun violence on National Walkout Day, that wasn't the case at one Tennessee school.
At Antioch High School near Nashville students ripped down and stomped on the American flag while others stomped on a police car. Videos posted to Facebook show general chaos on the school grounds.
A spokesperson for the school district said in a statement that no students were hurt and that the school safety officer "swiftly controlled the situation".
Is stomping the American flag a simple expression in favor of gun control? I think not.