Impact As a result of the Columbine massacre,
many police departments changed their tactical
doctrines so that police would act immediately
against an active shooter. A number of schools elimi-
nated Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) or
sports shooting programs and severely enforced
zero-tolerance policies regarding weapons, even
punishing elementary students for drawing pictures
of guns.
Concerns about violent media and video games
(such asDoomandWolfenstein 3D, which Harris and
Klebold often played) intensified. Movie theaters
more strictly enforced the age limits for R-rated
films.
A number of programs for surveillance and con-
trol of teenagers, especially in schools, were ex-
panded. The goth teenage culture was a prime tar-
get, based on initial (and incorrect) reports that the
killers belonged to Columbine’s “Trenchcoat Ma-
fia,” a dozen friends who liked to wear black trench
coats. (The gunmen had worn such coats on the day
of the massacre.) Many schools and community or-
ganizations implemented or augmented antibully-
ing programs, based on allegations that Klebold
and Harris had been bullied by a “jock” elite at Col-
umbine.
Subsequent Events Columbine inspired Demo-
cratic political operative Donna Dees-Thomas to or-
ganize the “Million Mom March,” which held large
antigun rallies in Washington, D.C., and other cities
on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2000. Efforts to expand
federal gun control laws failed, in part because Dem-
ocratic strategists hoped to use the issue in the presi-
dential election.
In November, 2000, Colorado voters passed an
initiative imposing special restrictions on gun shows,
after the legislature had defeated all five items in a
gun control package proposed by the governor and
attorney general. In an October 11, 2000, presiden-
tial debate, Democratic candidate Al Gore blamed
Columbine on insufficient gun control, while Re-
publican candidate George W. Bush pointed to cul-
ture. Michael Moore’s filmBowling for Columbine
(2002) won the Academy Award for Best Documen-
tary Feature in 2003 but was also criticized for factual
errors and fabrications.
Further Reading
Brown, Brooks, and Rob Merritt.No Easy Answers:
The Truth Behind Death at Columbine.Brooklyn,
N.Y.: Lantern Books, 2002. A conversational ac-
count by Brown, a student who knew the killers
and who blames bullying as the ultimate cause.
Governor’s Columbine Review Commission Report. May,- http://www.state.co.us/columbine/. The
state of Colorado’s official investigation and re-
port.
Larkin, Ralph W.Comprehending Columbine. Philadel-
phia: Temple University Press, 2007. Blames the
“jockocracy,” evangelical Christians, and paramil-
itary mythology for the massacre.
Lindholm, Marjorie, and Peggy Lindholm.A Colum-
bine Survivor’s Stor y.Littleton, Colo.: Regenold, - Self-published autobiography of a student
who was in the school during the attack.
Nimmo, Beth, Darrell Scott, and Steve Rabey.Ra-
chel’s Tears: The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr
Rachel Scott. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000. Bi-
ography of one of the victims by her parents that
focuses on Rachel’s kindness toward others and
her spiritual strength.
Salazar, Ken.Report of the Investigation into the 1997 Di-
rected Report and Related Matters Concerning the Col-
umbine High School Shootings in April, 1999.Darby,
Penn.: Diane Publishing, 2004. Colorado attor-
ney general’s report on the Jefferson County
Sheriff’s Department’s numerous contacts with
Harris before the murders.
Zoba, Wendy Murray.Day of Reckoning: Columbine and
the Search for America’s Soul. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Brazos Press, 2000. A Christian journalist’s explo-
ration of the problems in American culture that
she believes led to the massacre at Columbine.
David B. Kopel
See also Antidepressants; Censorship; Clinton, Bill;
Crime; Gore, Al; Gun control; Internet; Marilyn
Manson; Reno, Janet; School violence; Video games. Comedians
Definition Performers of humorous material on
stage and in film, television, and recordings
During the 1990’s, an ever-increasing demand for televi-
sion and film entertainment allowed many stand-up come-
dians to cross over to comedic acting.
A number of successful television and film comedi-
ans were able to reach huge audiences in the 1990’s.212 Comedians The Nineties in America