A tragic mass shooting claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher, and wounded more than 20 others in a previously unheard-of school – Columbine High School. It’s considered by many as the unofficial start of the U.S. gun violence prevention movement.
Since the tragedy occurred in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999, dozens of other towns and schools have been added to an unforgettable list – including our own Newtown, Connecticut. Thousands of family members and friends across the country still feeling the far-reaching ripple effects of mass and school shootings.
The popular assertion “and still nothing has changed” echoes throughout the media on every remembrance. Yet, though it might not often feel that way, immense progress has been made.
Among the biggest changes are the advances in school shooting prevention. In fact, a school shooting plot that was planned around the remembrance date of Columbine was averted. A man was arrested after law enforcement received a tip from a concerned community member. The man was planning to reenact the Columbine shooting at State College High School in Pennsylvania. Thankfully, a community member saw the signs and got help – preventing a deadly attack.
Families, students, and activists from Columbine that laid the foundation for the modern gun violence prevention movement. We at Sandy Hook Promise are only here and able to do this work to honor our loved ones because of them.
What’s Changed Since Columbine?
Truly, much has changed since Columbine.
We now have a nationwide, youth-led movement for gun violence prevention that is saving lives because of the tireless efforts of families and survivors of Columbine, Newtown, Parkland, Uvalde, Covenant, and countless others.
In Colorado, more than 250,000 people are supporting Sandy Hook Promise’s gun violence prevention movement. What’s more, there are over 500 Promise Leader volunteers who help raise awareness and engage community members.
5 Ways Gun Violence Prevention Evolved After Columbine
Here, we look back at the progress the movement has made in honor of those we have lost, and what you can do to get involved and add your voice to protect our kids and stop gun violence.
1. Survivor Movement Takes Root And Gains Strength:
- Now, in a much more connected world, and with dozens of communities suffering similar school or mass shootings, survivors, and activists have found hope and healing in each other. Survivors have worked on state and federal policy initiatives, passed legislation in dozens of states. They’re and are carrying on the legacies of their lost loved ones by making our communities and schools safer.
- A Teddy Bear’s Dream PSA launched, jump-starting critical conversations about gun violence prevention and school safety.
- School shooting survivors bravely tell their stories, sharing how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting.
2. The Youth Voice Continues to Grow:
- SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) Promise Clubs grows to over 5,000 clubs embedded in elementary, middle, and high school, including over 275 in Colorado. They’re empowering over 153,000 students nationwide to prevent violence in their communities.
- We are seeing the largest increase in voter engagement in decades. Young people are registering to vote in record numbers, driving structural change in gun violence prevention on the local, state, and national level.
- Youth are publicly testifying in front of Congress, serving on gun safety panels and roundtables, and attending Congressional briefings in support of school safety.
3. Activists Push Policy Changes That Save Lives Nationwide:
- The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act was passed in 2022, ensuring $10 million for youth suicide prevention. The act also makes more available lethal means storage for families, which helps to keep young people safe from harm.
- In 2022, Congress passed a monumental bill addressing gun violence in America. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act goes further than any federal legislation has in almost 30 years.
- The bipartisan Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act of 2021 encourages states and tribes to implement and expand evidence-based suicide prevention training in schools.
- At the state level, policies have been enacted to address gun safety, including background checks and extreme risk protection orders, mental health, including suicide prevention and active school shooter simulation bans, and violence prevention, including model school safety legislation and the STOP School Violence Act. Learn more about state policy progress from our Action Fund.
4. Gun Violence Prevention Programs Become Best Practice in Schools Nationwide:
- Less than one year after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sandy Hook Promise partners with threat assessment experts to develop four, evidence-based Know the Signs programs designed to help youth and adults recognize the warning signs of violence toward oneself or others, and act immediately to get help and prevent tragedy. To date, more than 35 million people have participated in these programs in 34,000+ schools across all 50 states.
- In March of 2018, the federal government passed the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act. Sandy Hook Promise partnered with Democrats and Republicans to write and pass this legislation that allots millions of dollars in funding for states and school districts to implement violence prevention and intervention programs, suicide education, anonymous reporting systems, and more.
5. Business Leaders Commit to Ending Gun Violence in America, Funding Awareness and Advocacy Efforts:
- Through our Protect Our Kids Pledge, corporations are uniting to prevent gun violence and safeguard children. Learn how your company or employer can get involved.
- The Walt Disney Company helped support the expansion of the youth violence prevention program Start with Hello. CEO Robert A. Iger, a strong supporter of gun reform and creating safer communities for America’s children, was honored at Sandy Hook Promise’s 10 Year Remembrance.
- “As business leaders with power in the public and political arenas, we simply cannot stand by silently when it comes to the issues that threaten the very fabric of the communities where we live and work,” wrote Chip Bergh, Levi Strauss & Co. president and CEO, in an op-ed for Fortune. “While taking a stand can be unpopular with some, doing nothing is no longer an option.” The company commits more than $1 million to nonprofits and youth activists advocating for gun reform.
5 Ways You Can Take Action Against Gun Violence Today
1. Take Action
- Learn about gun safety issues and take action on what matters most to you. Explore the issues.
2. Engage on Social Media
- Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for the latest updates, stories, and breaking news. When online, avoid engaging with hateful comments and keep your platform positive.
3. Learn the Warning Signs
- At Columbine High School, the shooters exhibited warning signs leading up to the massacre. Recognizing these signs and speaking up saves lives.
4. Safeguard your Local Schools
- Does your local school have a community safety plan to ensure policies are in place to protect students? Learn more and get involved in your local community.
5. Make the Promise
- Join us in promising to protect children: “I promise to do all I can to protect children from gun violence by encouraging and supporting solutions that create safer, healthier homes, schools and communities.”
We can prevent shootings and keep our children and families safe, but it will take each and every one of our voices.
Decades of work by families from Littleton and other communities across the country have shown us that gun violence prevention work is not hopeless, and we are not helpless. Honor those we have lost and those we can still save by keeping these families close to your heart on this difficult remembrance, and by adding your voice to the movement to protect our kids from gun violence.
