A Father Speaks About Columbine - You May Be Surprised About What He Said (NRA Mentioned)

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.

"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 forthe 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'smurder 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."

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, 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 ofour 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. Theyimmediately 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 ofgun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre.

The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing andrestrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We do not need more religion.

We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God!"

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his twofriends 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.

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 thiscountry will not allow that to happen!"

Snopes:

Great Scott

Claim: The media suppressed Darrell Scott's testimony to a House judiciary sub-committee about the Columbine High School shootings.

Status: Multiple — see below

Darrell Scott, father of student killed in the Columbine High shootings, gave testimony to a House judiciary sub-committee. True.
The media worked to suppress his testimony. False.
Parents of other children murdered that day also gave testimony. True.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 1999]

On Thursday, May 27, 1999, 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 sub-committee. 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 and 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 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. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

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, soul, 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 influences 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.
Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers.
The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched!
We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored.
We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God!
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!

Be courageous enough to do what the media did not — let the nation hear this man's speech. Please send this out to everyone you can!!!

Origins: Darrell Scott is the father of Rachel Scott, one of the Columbine High School students murdered during the killing spree of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in Littleton, Colorado, on 20 April 1999. (His son Craig — who helped turned Cassie Bernall into a martyr by mistakenly claiming one of the killers had asked her if she believed in God and then shot her for answering "Yes" — was also kneeling in the school library next to two students as they were shot to death.) On 27 May 1999, Darrell Scott spoke before a House judiciary sub-committee during a hearing on "Pending Firearms Legislation and the Administration's Enforcement of Current Gun Laws" and delivered the comments quoted above.

That Darrell Scott spoke the words attributed to him is fact. However, the opening and closing comments appended to the Internet-circulated version of them are misleading and erroneous.

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.

Darrell Scott didn't say anything to our "national leaders," nor is it true that his testimony was "not received well." Scott was not delivering testimony to a crowded House chamber full of incredulous, unprepared, and shocked Congressmen; he was talking to a few sub-committee members and a stenographer. He was only one of many people who gave testimony to the Subcommittee on Crime, and it's unlikely that most Congressmen heard what he said, or even knew that he had testified. His words certainly didn't prompt outrage from an unreceptive audience, as implied here.

It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert!

Why does everyone need to hear these words? Darrell Scott didn't say much of anything of substance beyond offering the opinion that gun control wouldn't have prevented the tragedy at Columbine, an opinion that had already been aired and debated by thousands of pundits in the weeks after the shootings at Littleton, and while his status as the parent of a murder victim may lend his words extra poignancy, it doesn't necessarily give him any special insight into the reasons why people kill. As well, much of his testimony was directed at creating the misleading impression that prayer is banned in public schools. (It isn't — only prayer organized or led by school officials is prohibited. Students in public schools can pray whenever they want, so long as they don't disrupt ordinary classroom activities.)

Be courageous enough to do what the media did not — let the nation hear this man's speech.

"The media" didn't prevent anyone from hearing Mr. Scott's speech; most news outlets simply didn't give it much coverage because it wasn't particularly newsworthy. As noted above, Mr. Scott really didn't offer much of substance, and what he did have to say had already been said earlier and louder by many others. Also as noted above, Mr. Scott was merely one of many people who gave testimony in front of the House Subcommittee on Crime in the wake of the Littleton shootings. Other parents of shooting victims spoke as well, but you won't find that fact acknowledged here, much less any indication of what they said. Why should their words be any less important than Darrell Scott's? (Perhaps the reason they're not mentioned is because their opinions didn't agree with Mr. Scott's, and therefore didn't agree with the opinions of whoever wrote the prologue and coda to this piece.) In spite of all that, Darrell Scott's speech was reported by the Associated Press and picked up by several big-city newspapers, hardly evidence of a hostile "media" conspiracy to suppress it and thereby prevent the world at large from hearing it.

When someone speaks words that we truly need to hear, it isn't necessary to lie about them to get our attention.

Last updated: 30 July 2001

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