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Maryland Students Walk Out Of Class, Call For Gun Control In D.C.

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- Students walked out of their Montgomery County classrooms Wednesday morning and took the Metro to D.C. to call for gun legislation.

WUSA-9 reports that students from Richard Montgomery, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Blair and other Maryland and D.C. schools are taking part in the walk-out, which began at 9:30 a.m.

This demonstration comes one week after 17 people were killed in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Students who survived that shooting prepared to flood the Florida State Capitol Wednesday, pushing to ban the assault-style rifle used to kill their classmates and teachers and vowing to make changes in the November election if they can't persuade lawmakers to change laws before their legislative session ends.

The Parkland students plan to meet Wednesday with top legislative leaders, including House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron.

As the grieving Florida students demanded action on guns, President Donald Trump on Tuesday directed the Justice Department to move to ban devices like the rapid-fire bump stocks used in last year's Las Vegas massacre. It was a small sign of movement on the gun violence issue that has long tied Washington in knots.

"We must do more to protect our children," said Trump, a strong and vocal supporter of gun rights. He added that his administration was working hard to respond to the Florida rampage.

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(TM and Copyright 2018 CBS and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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