- Press Release
Twenty-Five Years After Columbine We Remember Those Lost and Honor them with Action
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New York, NY — Today, twenty-five years after the tragic shooting at Columbine High School that killed twelve students and a teacher and injured 24 others, the searing pain of that loss remains. We continue to mourn with the Columbine community and hold them in our hearts. That terrible day marked a dark moment in American history, but also the spark of a movement for change that still burns today. Survivors and families spoke up, took action, and laid the groundwork for the movement we have today. As the specter of gun violence has grown since Columbine, so too has the movement to confront it—including the nationwide, youth-led movement sparked by March For Our Lives. Today, thanks to the tireless efforts of activists and survivors from Columbine, Newtown, Parkland, Uvalde, and countless other places, we were able to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which allowed the closure of the gun show loophole so that transactions like the ones that armed the Columbine shooters cannot take place without a background check. Together, we’ve also passed over 300 laws at the state level, and have won the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Change is happening, only because we stand on the shoulders of giants.
Even as we’ve made tremendous progress, however, challenges remain. Since Columbine, more than 360,000 students have experienced gun violence in school and guns continue to be the #1 killer of children and teenagers in America. We will continue to honor those we lost, the survivors, and their loved ones by working each and every day to combat this epidemic and being the generation that finally ends gun violence for good.
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