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La Conner Middle and High School students walked out of their classrooms Wednesday morning, taking the first steps toward what many vow will be a lifetime commitment to civic involvement.

They organized a march down Sixth Street from the local campus to Morris Street to protest gun violence and promote school safety.

The La Conner march was one of hundreds that took place across the country a month to the day after 17 Florida high school students and teachers were killed by a teen gunman armed with an assault-style rifle.

There were school districts, many in the south, that did not sanction the nationwide event and threatened to discipline students who took part.

La Conner chose a different path.

Addressing a student movement that has often been linked to the Second Amendment, equal attention here was placed on the First Amendment’s right to peacefully assemble and to speak.

“I feel good about it,” principal Todd Torgeson said afterward. “Our students realized they have a voice. They were willing to take a stand.

“After lunch,” he added, “I saw a lot more smiles. There was a lot more interaction. Students were talking to one another and engaged with each other.”

Torgeson said leaders emerged from among the La Conner students and a structured plan for the walkout was developed beforehand.

With school safety a primary focus, Torgeson and staff members accompanied students on their three-block march, ushering them onto sidewalks and off traffic rights-of-way.

A Skagit County Sheriff’s Office unit began patrolling the campus area and adjoining neighborhood prior to the walkout, which enjoyed a heavy turnout despite chilly, drizzly conditions.

Students carried colorful, hand-made placards and signs and were soon joined by adults while gathered at Sixth and Morris, which several people noted was an ironic destination since a gun shop had once been located nearby.

“We’re here,” said Maralyne Powell, who carried a sign that read ‘Mothers Against Violence,’ “to support these students. These kids are great.”

La Conner has a tradition of student activism. High-schoolers here marched against the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Today’s La Conner students, who on Wednesday frequently broke into chants such as “Enough is Enough,” also took time to solemnly honor those slain in the Valentine’s Day attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the tragedy that has sparked a national dialogue on firearms access, school security, and mental health issues. At 10 a.m., gathered at all four corners of Sixth and Morris, the students observed five minutes of silence. They then started shouting “Enough is Enough” back and forth to each other.

Motorists passing through the busy intersection often honked their horns in support of the students.

They were further reinforced by drama teacher Lauren Hippenstiel, who in an impassioned voice vowed to protect La Conner students and keep them safe.

La Conner High junior Arlo Liddell implored fellow students to remain engaged.

“We’re the future,” he said. “We’ve got to change things. It doesn’t matter what you stand for, stand for something.”

And, almost as soon as it began, the march ended and students returned to class. It lasted just 17 minutes, one minute each for those killed at Stoneman Douglas.

Yet it was 17 minutes the La Conner students will likely never forget.