Michael Bennet: “this Saturday marks a solemn anniversary in Colorado--the solemn anniversary of a moment that shattered our children's…”

“this Saturday marks a solemn anniversary in Colorado--the solemn anniversary of a moment that shattered our children's sense of safety and has forever scarred our Nation's memory. It has been 25 years this week since the Columbine High School shooting, where 12 students and a teacher were murdered and many others were left with life-altering injuries. None of us left without the impact of that day. Columbine changed our State forever. I think it changed the country forever. We all remember where we were the day it happened. I certainly do. We remember the lives that were lost on April 20, 1999. Twelve young Coloradans never had the chance to graduate from high school, go to college, get married, start a family. Rachel Scott was killed when she was eating lunch outside with a friend. She was planning on going on a mission trip to Botswana and dreamed of becoming an actress. She was 17 years old. Danny Rohrbough was 15. Every year, Danny saved the money he earned from working at his family's wheat farm in the summer to buy Christmas presents for his friends and family--just another American kid gunned down on his way to lunch, still holding the Dr. Pepper he had bought from the vending machine. Kyle Velasquez, age 16, was a new student at Columbine. He had developmental disabilities, and he had just started attending school for a full day. He would have been on his way home from school if the shooting had happened just a week earlier than it did.…”