On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, a vigil will be held to remember the 12 students and one teacher who lost their lives in the tragedy. The event, organized by gun safety and other organizations, will be a subdued occasion to honor those impacted by the shooting. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a gun safety advocate who survived a mass shooting, will be among the speakers at the vigil. The event will also feature Nathan Hochhalter, whose sister was paralyzed in the shooting, and will not be a political gathering, according to the organizers.
Tom Mauser, who lost his son Daniel in the Columbine shooting, decided to set up the vigil after learning that school officials did not plan a large community event for the 25th anniversary. Mauser, a gun safety advocate, wanted to provide a space for people to gather and reflect on the passage of time since the tragedy. The event was scheduled to be held at a church near the state Capitol in Denver but was moved indoors due to expected rain. Mauser was instrumental in passing a ballot measure in 2000 in Colorado that required background checks for all firearm buyers at gun shows to close a loophole that contributed to the Columbine shooting.
The failure of a national proposal for background checks after Columbine led to a shift in Democratic Party politics, with the issue of gun safety being largely abandoned after it was seen as detrimental to Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000. However, the conversation around gun safety was reignited after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, prompting action at the state level. The victims of the Columbine shooting included a teacher who sacrificed himself to save students, as well as students with bright futures ahead of them, such as one aspiring music executive and a senior captain of the varsity volleyball team. Their memories remain etched in the minds of those who knew them.
Sam Cole, another Colorado Ceasefire board member, emphasized the importance of remembering the victims of the Columbine shooting and preventing their memory from fading away. He noted that the students who lost their lives would now be adults in the prime of their lives, possibly with families of their own. Cole expressed sadness at the fact that they will always be remembered as teenagers, frozen in time at the moment of the tragedy. The vigil serves as a chance for the community to come together and honor the lives lost, reflecting on the impact of the Columbine shooting 25 years later.
