Gun Violence Prevention
talia Rentsch never used to be fearful or going to school.
Now, the McMinnville High School student told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici Monday, she lives with a heightened sense of fear.
"The fire alarm went off once recently, and my gut dropped," she told Bonamici, who represents McMinnville in Oregon's First Congressional District. "I said, ‘I am not going outside.'"
Natalia Rentsch never used to be fearful or going to school.
Now, the McMinnville High School student told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici Monday, she lives with a heightened sense of fear.
"The fire alarm went off once recently, and my gut dropped," she told Bonamici, who represents McMinnville in Oregon's First Congressional District. "I said, ‘I am not going outside.'"
Don Watson, a retired McMinnville math teacher, told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici at a town hall Monday he is concerned about gridlock in Congress.
"What can we do to increase bipartisanship, even with an administration that's wacko?" he asked, drawing a chuckle from the 100 or so people gathered to speak with Bonamici at Chemeketa Community College's McMinnville campus.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici says student safety will be enhanced by a combination of restrictions on firearms, increased access to counseling and improved security in schools.
The Oregon Democrat was asked about the issue four times during an hourlong town hall meeting Saturday, March 10, at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton.
"There are a lot of things we can do, rather than saying that kids have to go to schools wearing bulletproof vests," she said to an audience of about 80. "They are already in fear right now."
A Hillsboro activist group against gun violence has seen an upswell in new members in the weeks since the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead.
The Hillsboro chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America had to move its monthly meeting on Friday, after more than 100 people RSVP'd to attend it.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici met with gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action in Hillsboro Friday.
The group has been especially active since the deadly school shooting in Florida last month. MAD is a nation-wide organization with several Oregon chapters.
HILLSBORO, Ore. -- A local group called Moms Demand Action says their mission is to start a conversation and figure out how to protect children.
One of the organizers said initially only about five people were expected at a pre-planned meeting. But on Friday, about 100 people showed up.
That number spiked after the recent school shooting in Florida that left 17 kids and staff dead.
Sharri Anderson knows, what it's like to fear for her child's safety. She said four years ago, her daughter had a lockdown at her high school.