Columbine Father 12 Years Later… In the Wake of Another Tragedy

As the details of another tragedy were just unfolding at a high school in Chardon, Ohio involving a young shooter, ending in 3 dead, 2 wounded and many traumatized, we were already hearing the cries from the gun control lobby and anti-second amendment Progressives.  We were also hearing the craziness of calls to install TSA type monitoring systems and magnetometers which create Electromagnetic frequencies that can even harm and distort basic DNA, at all high schools and colleges so that Big Brother can monitor every movement our children make.  (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

What we should be looking at is what is causing these violent behaviors from bullying, to cyber-harassment to shootings.  We should be looking at what is lacking in our society, in our method of parenting and in the security programs and supervision and counseling staffs already in place at all schools, which is what David, Cullen, author of Columbine has been doing. 

David Cullen: The Columbine Tragedy – NY Bestseller: Columbine

Video: The Columbine Tragedy – An American social tragedy NOT a reason to attack the second amendment!

Dr, Keith Ablow weighs in on the latest tragedy in Cincinnati.  Warnings were out there, even posted on the Internet; vigilance and depression screenings are solution considerations, not turning your school or our cities and airports into Big Brother observation centers.

Since this article was first written, just hours after the tragedy, we have learned that the Chardon shooter, T.J. Lane, was a troubled teenager who did not attend Chardon High School, but rather a special school for troubled youths; highlighting the absurdity of the opportunistic calls for unreasonable Big Brother security installations at the high school as well additional gun control legislation.  

T.J. Lane, 17, admitted taking a .22-caliber pistol to Chardon High School along with a knife and firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table Monday morning, Prosecutor David Joyce said.

The hearing came hours after the death toll rose to three, and as schoolmates and townspeople grappled with the tragedy and wondered what could have set the gunman off — a mystery the court appearance did nothing to solve.

He did not know the students but chose them randomly, he said.

T.J. Lane brought a knife as a back-up and many shooters also bring homemade bombs.  And since the victims were random, he might just as well have gone to a park or another area. We cannot wrap ourselves in cotton and stay behind led-lined walls living in fear!  Nor can we allow terrorists and crazy people to dictate how we live our lives… as we have with airport security and allowing cameras to watch our every move on city streets and public buildings.

When we allow random acts of violence to be turned into a reason to allow the government to turn our country into a police state while taking away our personal liberties and freedoms, we give terrorists and crazies far more power and reach than the single violent act they committed.  We should always choose liberty over tyranny and freedom over security.  As Benjamin Franklin said, “He who chooses security over liberty, rarely gets (or deserves) either.” 

The left’s first reaction is always to take away more freedoms and to create nanny states and Big Brother programs to control us instead of building free and independent citizens who can make good decisions for themselves.

And the facts that school shootings, although horrific are rare, and that it has been proven that you are less safe in gun-free environments because they are actually magnets for attacks is just an annoyance to the left!

Speech by a Columbine Father

Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee 12 -years after the Columbine shootings. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. It is a speech he has been giving for years now… it never varies much because Darrell Scott speaks from the heart.  It also isn’t a speech that our government and progressive leaders were expecting.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well, but it needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, every counselor, every security officer and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating. moving and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man to us as a voice crying in the wilderness… The following is a portion of the transcript:

Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA – because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!”

Darrell Scott

Related:

Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For

Video: Father Of 9 Year Old Murder Victim In Tucson Does Not Want Restrictions Of Freedoms!

Latest Move Against Second Amendment and Gun Owners