(WTXL) - An unexpected friendship in Central Florida is taking two women to the halls of Congress.
Despite a generational gap, their friendship, and a journey to the nation's capital, is fueled by their love of firearms and the second amendment.
As Florida and other states grapple with the fallout of recent mass shootings, they say their message to Washington is one of unity, culture and safety.
Chloe Deaton, a high school student, said "I've been shooting for 6 years, since I was 9."
The fifteen-year-old grew up around firearms, spending time around the local sheriff's department and hunting with her parents
So when her Florida high school joined schools across the country for a walkout to protest gun violence following the Parkland shooting, Deaton decided to organize a walkout of her own - a pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment walkout.
Barbara Rumpel, a member of A Girl and A Gun Women's Shooting League: "I was just so proud of her and I connected with her through her mother."
Rumpel found her love for guns later in life.
"I like shot guns, I like sporting clays, I'm not really good at it but I keep trying," she said.
Rumpel invited Chloe to washington to meet with legislators as part of the D.C. Project: Fifty women from fifty states meeting with lawmakers and rallying in support of preserving America's gun culture.
They are preparing to head to the nation's Capitol next week.
Both acknowledge there's a problem with violence in schools
"It has a lot to do with mental illness, people not listening to students about their problems, and bullying," Deaton said.
"It's not about the guns," Rumpel said. "It's about the failures in the whole system in letting it happen."
Deaton says she's even felt nervous at her school and supports arming some teachers. The rising high school junior knows her opinions aren't the same as all of her peers.
"I'm my own person," Deaton said. "I am who I am."
