Michael W. Aldrich, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee Published 11:01 a.m. CT June 13, 2018
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Protesters and student activists staged a "die-in" at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville Tuesday, on the second anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Michael Aldrich, The Tennessean
Buy PhotoStudent activists participate in National Die-In Day on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, in Nashville. The event included students from Marshall County, Kentucky, who are survivors of the high school shooting there in January.(Photo: Mark Zaleski / For The Tennessean)Buy PhotoTwo years after 49 people were gunned down at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, local student activists gathered outside the state Capitol on Tuesday to participate in National Die-In Day, a demonstration paying homage to the victims of mass shootings.The “die-in” lasted for 12 minutes, as participants lay down for 700 seconds to represent the approximate number of lives lost due to mass shootings since the Pulse Nightclub massacre.“I think mass shootings are becoming normalized and as a result, people are losing their empathy and becoming more apathetic towards them,” said Grace Jewell, 18, a recent graduate from Battleground Academy. "It’s becoming a part of our everyday lives and that's not OK."More: James Shaw Jr. meets with Parkland shooting survivors[1]More: Opinion | Why I walked out of school and spoke to my peers about hope[2]Schools have been the focal point of a nationwide gun debate after several fatal mass shootings, including February's shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school.‘We can’t just be numb to mass shootings and gun violence or it’s going to start happening more and more," said Sydney Coyle, 16, a student at Independence High School. “We’re not here to fight with lawmakers or the NRA. We’re 