DeGette, Crow, Bennet, Hickenlooper Commemorate 25 Years since Columbine

WASHINGTON D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01), Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), Senator Michael Bennet, and Senator John Hickenlooper held a press conference with Columbine survivors and gun violence prevention advocates to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

"25 years ago, 12 students and a teacher were murdered at Columbine High School - a place where they should have been safe. This week, on what marks a quarter of a century since they were stolen from us, we remember those we lost and pray for their friends and families," said DeGette. "Since that horrific day, our country has failed to rise to the moment to ensure that no student ever suffers through what those students experienced that day in April. We have seen incremental progress, but only as a reaction to other devastating school shootings.

"To honor the memory of those we lost, we must act. Thoughts and prayers alone do not keep our students safe. We owe it to the victims, survivors, and all those impacted by gun violence to stop these tragedies and end the gun violence epidemic."

On April 20, 1999, two assailants murdered 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School. Twenty-four others were injured, and an entire community was left traumatized.

DeGette was joined by Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was shot and killed at Columbine High School.

The students who were also killed include Cassie Bernal, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, and Kyle Velasquez. Dave Sanders, a teacher at the school, also lost his life that day.

DeGette is a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and has introduced legislation that would help save lives and keep Americans safe.

DeGette's bill, the Keep Americans Safe Act, would ban high-capacity magazines and reduce the destructive capability of firearms. DeGette introduced a discharge petition, a procedural tool to circumvent the House Republican Leadership, to bring the Keep Americans Safe Act up for a vote.

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