CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Guns have been a hot button political issue since the Parkland, Florida high school shooting in February. On Sunday, politicians got to hear what students felt about them.

The University of North Carolina's "reverse town hall" featured four state lawmakers -- Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake), Rep. Cynthia Ball (D-Wake), Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) and Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford) -- asking questions to a diverse group of high school and college students.

The high school students came from all corners of the state and the college students represented organizations such as College Republicans, Young Democrats and the UNC Black Student Movement.

While the students had a variety of opinions on gun control, most agreed that their generation has changed after what happened in Parkland. They say that is evidenced by the waves of school walkout protests that have happened since the shooting.

"You're seeing these kids starting to get civically engaged and taking part in these discussions that affect us today," said Raina Lee, a sophomore at Green Hope High School in Morrisville who helped organize a walkout at her school. "That's so powerful to legislators. It keeps you on your toes because you have to be up to date on all the issues that are affecting us."

Most of the students also told lawmakers that beefing up school security was not the solution they wanted either.

"When you add firearms to a classroom, it inherently brings risk," said Clayton Covington, a senior at Lake Norman Charter School. "We're put in an environment where most people on how to use firearms and are not comfortable with firearms."

The lawmakers said they would use the student's feedback within their legislative committees focused on school safety.

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