Columbine student's father 12 years later !

jjoerger

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Army
I normally stay our of The Soapbox but this was forwarded to me today so I thought I would pass it on.

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, 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. What he said to our national
leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully
truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received
well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every
politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called
expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful,
penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this
man 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


Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech.
Please send this out to everyone you can.
God Bless
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
As transcripts of the proceedings demonstrate, Darrell Scott did make the statement attributed to him in the account reproduced above, but virtually everything framing his statement in that account is false. Mr. Scott wasn't speaking to national leaders present at a "special session of Congress," people who were "not prepared for what he was to say" and "did not receive it well."

He was simply one of eight people who presented statements to a small House subcommittee meeting in an office building; his statement wasn't received differently than any of the others and didn't prompt outrage from an unreceptive audience. Moreover, unlike the other persons who testified before the Congressional subcommittee that day, Mr. Scott presented no facts or statistics relating to the issues of gun control and gun law enforcement; he merely gave his opinion that gun control laws wouldn't have stopped the Columbine High School shootings and that those shootings were somehow related to a lack of religion in schools (repeating along the way the mistaken claim that prayer has been "outlawed" in schools).

Finally, contrary to the coda of the e-mailed account, the "media" did not prevent anyone from hearing Darrell Scott's words. The subcommittee hearing at which he spoke was covered by the Associated Press and reported in several big-city newspapers; in fact, due to intense media interest regarding everything related to the then-recent Columbine shootings, the event actually received much more general media coverage than a House subcommittee hearing typically would have.

"send this out to everyone you can", or words of a similar nature, is generally a red flag to let you know that you should do... just the opposite.

Darrell Scott Testimony @ Snopes Dot Com
 
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