One Father’s Words
May 5th, 2007
Darrell Scott who lost his daughter Rachel and whose son was injured that fateful day eight years ago at Columbine High School, accepted an invitation to speak before a House Judiciary sub-committee just a month later.
I do not recall this hearing or Mr. Scott’s compelling testimony, (there may be those who do), but whether reading for the first time or refreshing a memory his words are dynamic yet sobering.
Since the dawn of creation, there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and women, and we all contain those seeds: We contain the seeds of kindness and we contain the seeds of violence. And the death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joyce Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other 11 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 his heart. In the days that followed the Columbine tradgedy, 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’m not here to represent or to defend the NRA, because I don’t believe they are responsible for my daughter’s death, therefore I don’t believe they need to be defended by me. If I believed that 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 tradgedy, it was a spiritual event which should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies. Much of that blame lies here in this room – much of that blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves.
“I wrote a poem 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!
This brave, grieving man had the courage to speak what many may feel…please continue reading.
Written by Sue
Posted in 3 Responses to “One Father’s Words”
I don’t recall seeing this man’s testimony before Congress, but I have read what you have quoted many times in emails and wondered if it were really true. Your link tells me it’s true that he said that.
In his time of great sorrow and grief he still knew because we had taken God out of our public schools we were bound to have tragedies such as this. He knew that the NRA wasn’t the cause of the problem, and just as a lock on a door keeps out an honest person, tougher gun control laws only apply to the honest person. If someone wants to kill, he or she is going to find a way to get a weapon and all the laws passed by all the Congresses and legislatures in the world won’t stop it from happening.
We still said the “Lord’s Prayer” daily when I was in school until it was outlawed when I was in high school. It never hurt me to say it and it was a reverant time for all. Those who did not want to participate simply stayed quiet for the few seconds it took to say this prayer.
Now we can’t even teach Creationism because it’s not science. And we wonder why we are not as blessed as a nation as we once were.
J: I checked it out at this link http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bldarrellscott.htm too before posting..I just did not remember it at all although there was so much info at that time it is difficult to know what we were really processing..
From actual testimony given by Mr. Scott: “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.”
I find it interesting that e-mails have dropped the above lines from Mr. Scott’s actual testimony.
Now, I offer you a challenge. Forward to me the wording of any law that forbids a child to pray in school. There is no such law. Organized prayer is forbidden; however, prayer itself is not forbidden. Yes, Mr. Scott is in error when he states in his poem that simple prayer has been outlawed.
I have never experienced the type of pain that Mr. Scott, and many others, have had to suffer. I fully accept his right to express his feelings. I am not upset with Mr. Scott, I am upset with those who have chosen to use his pain to promote their own agenda.