Gun Control Background Checks; 10 years after Columbine

The mention of Columbine still strikes fear and brings back memories of the awful tragedy that befell on the victims on that fateful day. It is also now synonymous as being the worst school shooting incident in American history.

Colorado - April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a rampage and killed 12 students including a teacher. They were armed with guns, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and had propane bombs set up around the school. They later killed themselves forty-five minutes after the massacre began. It was later discovered that they obtained three of their weapons from an 18-year-old acquaintance at a gun show, where their friend was not subjected to any gun background checks.

The incident then sparked a national debate on gun control, and later resulted in mandatory background checks for purchases at gun shows. The "Gun show loophole" was one of many ways Americans could acquire firearms without the hassle of background checks and rid of any waiting time.

Shorty after Columbine, Colorado voters passed a ballot to close the "Gun show loophole" and required dealers to run criminal background checks to purchasers as they would if they were buying at retail stores, but even with the legislation approved there were still ways for potential gun buyers to purchase firearms at gun shows without going through background checks. Some patrons of these gun shows sometimes bring their own guns for sale and sell them to other attendees in private deals not involving any licensed dealer, therefore escaping any background checks that are supposed to be mandatory for any purchase.

A rally was held Monday to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of the incident. The event was sponsored by Colorado Ceasefire, a gun control group. The group is pushing for stricter gun controls laws as well as the strict implementation of current law specifically the mandatory background checks on purchases made at gun shows.

The Brady Campaign, also a gun control group is lobbying for stricter gun control laws. Numerous other groups have also come into being following the Columbine incident and the massacre two years ago at Virginia Tech where 32 people were killed by a lone gunman. A recent report has also shown that 32 people die in gun/shooting related incidents every day in America.