LITTLETON, COLO. ? The families of Columbine school shooting victims pledged Friday to appeal a judge’s decision to seal information about the two killers, saying the information may have helped prevent the Virginia Tech massacre.

Roger Kovacs and his wife, Lesli, visit a memorial to the teacher and 12 students who were killed at Columbine High School, at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, in Littleton, Colo. Friday was the eighth anniversary of the massacre at the school.

Columbine High School was closed Friday, as it has been every April 20 since the 1999 attack in which two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves.

To mark the eighth anniversary of the slayings, Gov. Bill Ritter asked state residents to join a bell-ringing and moment of silence for the Virginia Tech victims on Friday.

In the years since Columbine, Colorado has become a better place, Ritter said during a solemn ceremony outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, moments before the cathedral bells tolled.

“It’s a place of healing, it’s a place of unity, a place of hope because we got there together,” the governor said.

Still, it’s been difficult for some families to understand federal Judge Lewis Babcock’s decision earlier this month to seal for 20 years the testimony of Harris’ and Klebold’s parents about the boys’ home lives. They feel the information could help prevent future school rampages.

“If we can find a way to finance it, we are going to appeal,” said Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Daniel, was killed at Columbine.

At a news conference, Rohrbough called on the Jefferson County sheriff, the Columbine principal and Babcock to release all information on the killings immediately.

“I am absolutely convinced that the information here would have prevented other school shootings, most likely the most recent one,” Rohrbough said of the shootings Monday in Blacksburg, Va.

Much information about the Columbine killers is available on the Internet. Authorities learned that Harris and Klebold played violent games, made violent videos at school and were bullied.

Michael Shoels, father of Columbine victim Isaiah Shoels, was at Virginia Tech on Friday to urge officials to avoid secrecy and keep families informed during the investigation.

“I don’t want them to get caught up in what we got caught up in Colorado,” he said. “They need to let these parents know that they are going to do whatever they can to get to the bottom of this.”

That may not only prevent some lawsuits, but it will help other schools learn and change, he said.

“The child that killed their children, he’s dead also. There’s no prosecution here. So why not open up and let it be a lesson to everyone?” he said.

In the Columbine records ruling, Babcock cited a need for confidentiality and concerns that releasing the testimony from the killers’ parents could encourage copycat crimes. The judge declined to comment.