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John,Ever since my son was killed in 2012 as a 17-year-old high school student, school shootings hit me particularly hard. In fact, Parkland and the lack of a federal response was the catalyst that made me think I should run for Congress. So like many “shooting anniversaries” that nobody wants to have to “celebrate,” today’s 21st anniversary of the Columbine school shooting is a day that I mark with feelings of empathy, and of course -- frustration.
Empathy . I feel so much empathy towards the families who lost their children. Twelve high school students were shot and killed: Ages 17, 15, 16, 14, 17, 18, 16, 18, 17, 16, 15, and 17. Twelve lives that ended before they got the chance to really get started -- just like my son Jordan. I grieve for their families, and their unrealized potential. We also remember the heroic actions of teacher Dave Sanders who was shot in the back and killed, but managed to sound the alarm and save countless further lives.
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Frustration . Yes, 21 years after Columbine, I’m still frustrated beyond belief. Columbine wasn’t the first school shooting in America, but you’d think it was by the way the media covered it, and by the way future school shooters have used it as a “playbook.” The media’s wall-to-wall coverage, glorification of the perpetrators, and extensive attention paid to their manifestos and home videos created a whole litany of copy-cat shooters. From Sandy Hook to Parkland, killers who shot their classmates have studied and paid tribute to the Columbine shooters.
And yet in Washington, we’ve done very little to put a stop to these tragedies in the past 21 years -- March 2020 was the first March since 2002 with no school shootings. We shouldn’t have to close schools to stop these tragedies from happening. We need universal background checks, red flag laws, and other bills signed into law that are stuck on Mitch McConnell’s desk.
So, our fight goes on. We have public opinion on our side. We have you on our side, John . We will keep fighting tooth and nail for gun safety reforms in Washington, and I will keep telling the stories of victims. Jordan’s story . The 13 who died in Columbine. The 17 who were killed in Parkland. 26 in Sandy Hook. 32 killed at Virginia Tech. The hundreds of thousands of students who have experienced the trauma of a school shooting since Columbine. And the millions who are afraid it could happen in their classroom or on their campus.
They are the Columbine generation. And they deserve better from our leaders in Washington. We’re fighting to change that. I hope you’ll continue to be part of this fight, John .
WIth love,
--Lucy
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