​

 

​

 

to say and thank you ladies and gentlemen for for hearing my heart at  this very moment in the cemetery and

 

southern Denver Chapel Hill Cemetery

 

they're erecting the 13 crosses that I

 

think are well known across the country

​

as a permanent memorial at the head of

 

my daughter's grave and my heart really

 

longs to be there with my children

 

Bethany and her husband Don Dana Craig

 

and Mike but it's with their blessing

 

that I'm here today and I appreciate

 

that I realized that I'm a mere pawn in

 

today's hearings but I'm a willing pend

 

because I dare to believe that I can

 

make a difference every once in a while

 

a pond has been used to checkmate a king

 

and I have no hidden agenda

 

and of course I have no political

 

aspirations I simply speak to you as a

 

broken hearted father and only ask that

 

you allow your heart to hear me for the

 

next few minutes

 

since the dawn of

 

creation there's been both good and evil

 

in the heart of men and women and we all

 

contain those seeds we contain the seeds

 

of kindness and the seeds of violence

 

and the death of my wonderful daughter

 

Rachel joy 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 at the NCAA the National Club

 

Association the true killer was Kane and

 

the reason for the murder could only be

 

found in his 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'm 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're

 

responsible for my daughter's death

 

therefore I don't believe they need to

 

be defended by me if I believe 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 focusing us to look

at where the real blame lies much of

that blame lies here in this room

much of that blame lies behind

pointing fingers of the accusers

themselves

I'll wrote a point just four

nights ago that expressed my feelings

best and it was written before I knew

that I would be speaking here today and

I'd like to read that

 

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 have a body and we have a soul and we

have a spirit and I believe we fail to

recognize that third element that really

does need to be recognized by the

legislative bodies of this country

that's been ignored for so long

​

spiritual influences were present within

our educational systems for most of our

nation's history many of our major

colleges began as theological seminaries

and we know this is a historic fact

 

what has happened to us as a nation we've

refused to honor God and in doing so we

open the doors to hatred and violence

and when something is terrible as

columbines tragedy occurs

politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA

they immediately seek to pass

more restrictive laws that continue to

erode away our personal and private

liberties we don't need more restrictive

laws

​

Eric and Dylan would not have been

stopped by more gun laws or metal

detectors no amount of laws can stop

someone who spends months of 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 and there is a spiritual awakening that's taking place that will not be squelched

we don't need more religion we don't need more gaudy television evangelist spewing out verbal religious garbage we do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people are there basic needs are being ignored

 

we do need a change of heart and humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle

of simple trust in God

​

when my son Craig lay under that table

in the school library and saw his two

friends murdered before his very eyes he

didn't hesitate to pray in school and I

defy any law or politician to don to

deny him that right

 

I challenge every young person in America and around the world to realize that on April 20th 1999 at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools

 

don't 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 conscience and denies your god-given right to communicate with him

and 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 you cast the first

stone

 

my daughter's death will not be in vain

the young people of this country

will not allow that to happen

and remember that even a pond and a

master's hand can accomplish much