Gun Protests: Texas School District Warns Students Against Participating In Them

A Texas school superintendent threatened to suspend students who planned to stage a protest against gun violence.

Needville Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Curtis Rhodes wrote a letter to the families of the students and informed them the school would suspend their children for a period of three days if they took part in the protests that were scheduled to be held following the mass shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida.

The superintendent also posted a copy of the letter on social media, the Houston Chronicle reported. The post has since been deleted.

According to the report, Rhodes said the school is “very sensitive” toward any kind of violence in school.

In the letter, Rhodes wrote: "Please be advised that the Needville ISD will not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness. Should students choose to do so, they will be suspended from school for 3 days and face all the consequences that come along with an out of school suspension. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved. All will be suspended for 3 days and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline."

"Respect yourself, your fellow students and the Needville Independent School District and please understand that we are here for an education and not a political protest," the letter added.

In his letter, Rhodes also said life is all about choices we make, stressing on the point that "every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative."

Rhodes' letter comes in the wake of the recent mass shooting incident that took place at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. A gunman stormed into the school on Feb. 14 and randomly started firing rounds at children and school staff. Identified as Nikolas Cruz, the gunman opened fire on students with an AR-15 rifle. Cruz, a former student at the school, is facing 17 counts of premeditated murder. He is going through a trial at the Broward Circuit Court in Florida.

Meanwhile, survivors of the mass shooting staged a protest at the Florida State Capitol on Wednesday. Hundreds of teachers, students, and gun reform advocates took part in the protests. Students carried placards and signboards with messages that read “#NeverAgain.”

A 16-year-old student named Alfonso Calderon who was one of the survivors said: "Trust me, I understand. I was in a closet, locked for four hours with people who I would consider almost family, crying and weeping on me, begging for their lives. I understand what it's like to text my parents, 'Goodbye, I might never ever, ever get to see you again. I love you.' I understand what it's like to fear for your life."