Columbine 25 years later: Parents still fighting for gun reform

Saturday will mark 25 years since Columbine High School, just outside Denver, Colorado, became synonymous with a national tragedy. Twelve students and one teacher were killed in a mass shooting that gripped the nation.

Tom Mouser, who lost his son Daniel in the massacre, appeared at the U.S. Capitol this week to remind lawmakers in Washington that there is more work to be done to prevent school shootings.

Data compiled by Education Week found that there were 38 school shootings in the U.S. that resulted in injuries or deaths in 2023.

"I came here this week to remind the nation of the lives that were lost," he said.

The Biden administration recently announced a new rule that would close the so-called gun show loophole, which for years did not require background checks in some transactions outside of gun stores.

"It took 25 years to get here," Mouser said. "We cannot wait another 25 years to get significant gun safety legislation."

SEE MORE: New Biden administration rule aims to end gun show 'loophole'

Any serious debate about additional gun reform at the national level is not expected to happen until after the November election — at the earliest.

Reforms are happening, however, at the state level. In New York, there is even an active debate over how frequently lockdown drills should happen and how the drills should be conducted.

New York state law requires four lockdown drills a year, one of the highest mandates in the country. New York Assemblywoman Jo Ann Simon told Scripps News that she believes the number is too high.

"There has been more trauma caused to children because of the lockdown drills they are forced to practice," she said. "Sometimes there is somebody who is role-playing an intruder. There had been one where they played sounds of guns going off."

As lawmakers navigate the issues, Mouser wants them to think of the victims.

"It's important for people to know that for the people who lived through gun violence, the story is never over," he said.