As we all know, on Feb. 14, another high school was subjected to the unthinkable violence that is a school shooting. The lives of the students and their families at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were forever changed by the brutality of one heinous student and his gun.

On the one-month anniversary of this shooting, a national walk-out has been planned as a means to protest gun violence in the United States. The walk-out, which was planned by the group Women’s March Youth Empower, is an attempt to “demand Congress pass legislation to keep us safe from gun violence at our schools, on our streets and in our homes and places of worship.” While the original intent of this walk-out is of course in good faith, it seems like this is the most ineffective way of pursuing the gun reform we want.

If executed successfully, a walk-out would have the effect of creating solidarity among those seeking gun reform in the country and also drawing a decent amount of media attention. However, a school walk-out would not be able to provide any tangible changes to current gun legislation in the U.S.

If the almost yearly scene of innocent children being murdered in school shootings is not enough to make Congress reform gun legislation, then it is highly unlikely that a few thousand kids walking out of school will suddenly make the legislators see the error of their ways.

The only way to attain the legislative changes that the majority of Americans want is to install people into office who support these ideas. As it stands right now, we are dealing with a Congress that seems to mainly be concerned about the interests of high-spending lobby groups like the National Rifle Association or Gun Owners of America.

Members of Congress like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have more incentives than just the Constitution to uphold loose gun regulations when they are receiving $362,103 and $176,030, respectively, from gun lobbyists groups.  The financial connection to these lobbyists makes it nearly impossible for us to get the changes that we want to see within the gun debate. The only way to circumvent this problem is through the electoral process.

This advice comes as especially true for anybody in higher education who is considering the walk-out. Walking out of class is a relatively easy and passive way of protesting the current state of politics. It does not take very much effort to walk out of class, and because of this, the action provides very few tangible effects.

If millennials would like to truly make a difference in the political landscape, we must drop the slacktivism and actually put people out of office. By going to the polls in force, we could force legislators to heed our political demands or install new public servants.

Primary elections for North Carolina are rapidly approaching, and they are one of the best tools we as citizens have to voice our opinions. On May 8, we will have the opportunity to shift the debate around gun legislation by choosing who we want to select from during the general election.

Voters can get a head start on learning about the candidates already through their campaign websites and sources for collective candidate information like Ballotpedia.  In our district, NC-04, two remarkable candidates — Michelle Laws and Richard Watkins — are currently in the running in addition to the incumbent who is already a strong supporter of gun control, David Price.

It already seems as though 2018 is trending to be a huge year for people on the left side of the political spectrum, with a Washington Post midterm forecast showing Democrats seizing control of the House of Representatives.

In addition to the early forecasts, many have been buoyed by the results of special elections in the country, with much enthusiasm being drawn from the attainment of a Senate seat in Alabama by Doug Jones. Furthermore, the sudden surge of Republican retirements — three in the Senate and 35 in the House — has opened even more opportunities for change.

The path to reforming America’s gun legislation has been clearly defined. It will not be through walking out of class, but rather walking to the polls.