From Metro Calgary:
Evan Todd has seen the worst that can happen when teens head down the wrong path. On April 20, 1999, the sophomore at Columbine High School found
himself at the mercy of two fellow classmates-turned-mass murderers,
pleading for his life.
Dozens of fellow students weren’t as lucky in the 46-minute shooting
rampage by Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, in their Littleton,
Colo., high school, which ended with both shooters and 13 others dead.
Twenty-four more, including Todd, were injured.
“I was the first student shot in the library and the last one to
speak to the murderers before they ended up killing themselves,” said
Todd, now 27.
He realizes that the horror he witnessed, which left four of his
friends dead and others unable to walk, could have given him a negative
outlook.
“School life was forever different,” he said. “But we chose as a school to try and take a negative and make it a positive.”
Now he speaks to teens, parents and teachers about the dangers of
bullying and violence if left unchecked, and the importance of
acknowledging potential victims.
“I really encourage students to watch what they’re saying and doing,”
said Todd.
Now, he is talking his cause to the President of the United States, Barack Obama...
Mr. President,
As a student who was shot
and wounded during the Columbine massacre, I have a few thoughts on the current
gun debate. In regards to your gun control initiatives:
UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND
CHECKS
First, a universal
background check will have many devastating effects. It will arguably have the
opposite impact of what you propose. If adopted, criminals will know that they
cannot pass a background check legally, so they will resort to other avenues.
With the conditions being set by this initiative, it will create a large black
market for weapons and will support more criminal activity and funnel
additional money into the hands of thugs, criminals, and people who will do
harm to American citizens.
Second, universal
background checks will create a huge bureaucracy that will cost an enormous
amount of taxpayers’ dollars and will straddle us with more debt. We cannot
afford it now, let alone create another function of government that will have a
huge monthly bill attached to it.
Third, is a universal
background check system possible without universal gun registration? If so,
please define it for us. Universal registration can easily be used for
universal confiscation. I am not at all implying that you, sir, would try such
a measure, but we do need to think about our actions through the lens of time.
It is not impossible
to think that a tyrant, to the likes of Mao, Castro, Che, Hitler, Stalin,
Mussolini, and others, could possibly rise to power in America. It could be
five, ten, twenty, or one hundred years from now — but future generations have
the natural right to protect themselves from tyrannical government just as much
as we currently do. It is safe to assume that this liberty that our forefathers
secured has been a thorn in the side of would-be tyrants ever since the Second
Amendment was adopted.
BAN ON MILITARY-STYLE
ASSAULT WEAPONS
The evidence is very
clear pertaining to the inadequacies of the assault weapons ban. It had little
to no effect when it was in place from 1994 until 2004. It was during this time
that I personally witnessed two fellow students murder twelve of my classmates
and one teacher. The assault weapons ban did not deter these two murderers, nor
did the other thirty-something laws that they broke.
Gun ownership is at
an all-time high. And although tragedies like Columbine and Newtown are
exploited by ideologues and special-interest lobbying groups, crime is at an
all-time low. The people have spoken. Gun store shelves have been emptied. Gun
shows are breaking attendance records. Gun manufacturers are sold out and back
ordered. Shortages on ammo and firearms are countrywide. The American people
have spoken and are telling you that our Second Amendment shall not be
infringed.
10-ROUND LIMIT FOR
MAGAZINES
Virginia Tech was the
site of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho used two
of the smallest caliber hand guns manufactured and a handful of ten round
magazines. There are no substantial facts that prove that limited magazines
would make any difference at all.
Second, this is just
another law that endangers law-abiding citizens. I’ve heard you ask, “why does
someone need 30 bullets to kill a deer?”
Let me ask you this:
Why would you prefer criminals to have the ability to out-gun law-abiding
citizens? Under this policy, criminals will still have their 30-round
magazines, but the average American will not. Whose side are you on?
Lastly, when did they
government get into the business of regulating “needs?” This is yet another
example of government overreaching and straying from its intended purpose.
SELLING TO CRIMINALS
Mr. President, these
are your words: “And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law
enforcement as it does its job. We should get tougher on people who buy guns with
the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. And we
should severely punish anybody who helps them do this.”
Why don’t we start
with Eric Holder and thoroughly investigate the Fast and Furious program?
Furthermore, the vast
majority of these mass murderers bought their weapons legally and jumped
through all the hoops — because they were determined to murder. Adding more
hoops and red tape will not stop these types of people. It doesn’t now — so
what makes you think it will in the future? Criminals who cannot buy guns
legally just resort to the black market.
Criminals and
murderers will always find a way.
CRITICAL EXAMINATION
Mr. President, in
theory, your initiatives and proposals sound warm and fuzzy — but in reality they
are far from what we need. Your initiatives seem to punish law-abiding American
citizens and enable the murderers, thugs, and other lowlifes who wish to do
harm to others.
Let me be clear:
These ideas are the worst possible initiatives if you seriously care about
saving lives and also upholding your oath of office. There is no dictate, law,
or regulation that will stop bad things from happening — and you know that. Yet
you continue to push the rhetoric. Why?
You said, “If we can
save just one person it is worth it.” Well here are a few ideas that will save
more than one individual:
First, forget all of
your current initiatives and 23 purposed executive orders. They will do nothing
more than impede law-abiding citizens and breach the intent of the Constitution.
Each initiative steals freedom, grants more power to an already-overreaching
government, and empowers and enables criminals to run amok.
Second, press
Congress to repeal the “Gun Free Zone Act.” Don’t allow America’s teachers and
students to be endangered one-day more. These parents and teachers have the
natural right to defend themselves and not be looked at as criminals. There is
no reason teachers must disarm themselves to perform their jobs. There is also
no reason a parent or volunteer should be disarmed when they cross the school
line.
This is your chance
to correct history and restore liberty. This simple act of restoring freedom
will deter would-be murderers and for those who try, they will be met with
resistance.
Mr. President, do the
right thing, restore freedom, and save lives. Show the American people that you
stand with them and not with thugs and criminals.
Respectfully,
Severely Concerned
Citizen, Evan M. Todd
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