La Cañada High students stand together in first of many protests against gun violence

A small but dedicated group of La Cañada High School students led hundreds of their fellow Spartans Wednesday morning in a passionate call to action against gun violence, casting their lot with countless other schools participating in a nationwide walkout.

Activists with the Women’s March organized events to begin at 10 a.m. and last 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims of the school shooting that took place one month earlier at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

While Wednesday morning protests centered on remembrance, other events planned for March 24 and April 20 will focus on lobbying legislators for stricter gun control laws and participating in antiviolence demonstrations.

The La Cañada High protest was organized entirely by students, many of them members of the non-school affiliated club Activism USA, who planned the event around speakers, chants and songs but also provided ways for students of all ages to make their voices heard.

“It’s kind of like our Vietnam — students are getting involved in something they think needs to be changed,” said LCHS senior Jack Weirick, who founded Activism USA. “My goal is to get these kids out of their comfort zones and start speaking for themselves, regardless of their partisan beliefs.”

Worried about kids incurring unexcused absences to leave their classrooms, and potentially the campus, high school administrators extended a morning break to run from 10 a.m. to 10:24 a.m. As a result, hundreds of kids gathered on the quad to check out the action.

On the sidewalk fronting campus, two dozen parents and elementary school students, technically not authorized to be on campus, held up signs and posters supporting gun control. LCHS senior Abi Lidar addressed the crowd, speaking through a megaphone.

“I know that it feels scary and unsafe to speak out, but violence will never win against cohesive, united people action,” she said. “Taking action can mean something as simple as joining a social media movement. Online engagement may seem trivial while we watch tangible actions occurring on Capitol Hill, but by using our social media voice, we’re garnering the attention of media and of lawmakers.”

A large banner sign let students and faculty write messages to be delivered to the local office of U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). There, LCHS freshman Samira Iqbal picked up a marker and wrote: “Too many lives have been lost. It’s time for a change.”

Iqbal said she was glad to see hundreds of students out on the quad, listening to speakers and talking about the issues. She hoped politicians would see student walkouts across the nation as a call to action to advocate for more gun control.

“Just because we’re not old enough to vote doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a voice about what’s going on,” the 14-year-old added. “We’re the next generation, so we should be able to create what we want the world to be like when we’re older.”

Nearby, student organizers manned a table with a number of laptops where students could pen swift letters to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and even register and pre-register to vote.

Senior Max Kinsel, 18, sat down and was registered in just a few clicks. He said while he supports some gun limitations — against automatic weapons and rules that allow 18-year-olds to purchase rifles — he supports Americans’ 2nd Amendment rights.

“I think every person has a right to own a gun, a handgun at least,” Kinsel said. “[But] 18-year-olds shouldn’t have rifles. We’re still young and too immature to handle those kinds of weapons.”

Organizer and LCHS senior Ethan Crane, 18, said the protest was intended not to embrace any partisan ideal but to give students a voice and a sense of personal empowerment.

Later Wednesday, students planned to attend a 5:30 p.m. candlelight vigil at Memorial Park. On March 24, Activism USA members are chartering a bus for anyone who wants to join them at the March For Our Lives demonstration in Downtown Los Angeles. On April 20, students will lead a march from campus to Memorial Park in remembrance of the 1999 Columbine school shooting.

“What we’re doing here is the start of something big, and it’s not going to happen right away,” Crane said. “We’ll have to keep pressing our demands from next week to the next. But vigilance now is important, because the more we wait, the more lives will be lost.”

To learn more, follow “Activism USA” on Facebook or on Instagram at “ActivismUSA.”

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine