Gun violence has become a Gen-Z problem. While most lawmakers have not experienced lockdown drills at school, young activists have stepped up the call for gun violence prevention. Children from kindergarten to senior year of high school have grown up in an age of fear over the reoccurring tragedy of school shootings, which have become more frequent since April 20, 1999: the day of the Columbine massacre.

Rachel Hill, a gun violence prevention activist, grew up in Littleton, Colorado, home to Columbine High School. She became involved in gun reform activism throughout high school and spent her teenage years balancing football games and testifying in the Colorado Capital about red flag gun legislation.

Hill said, “As students at Columbine, we got picked up by the media. There were always microphones around. The media really likes to talk to people who are in the Columbine community whenever any shooting happens”.

Her passion turned into majoring in political science at University of Colorado, Boulder. In 2021, her college town was devastated by a King Soopers supermarket shooting, which killed ten people. Hill was across the street at a nearby gas station and witnessed the shooting unfold as she fled. As an eyewitness of the event and a member of Boulder’s student government, Hill fought for a ban on concealed carry on the campus, hoping to create a safer community.

Hill’s passion for politics led her to a Domestic Policy internship position at the White House under Joe Biden’s administration. Her passion for helping those affected by gun violence has led her to today, an Executive Assistant to Gabby Giffords, former United States Representative and mass shooting survivor.