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Columbine Survivor Pens Bold Open Letter to Obama Rejecting Gun Control: ‘Whose Side Are You On?’

Feb. 20, 2013 10:10am Billy Hallowell

Columbine survivor Evan Todd released an open letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday in which he offers a point-by-point analysis of proposed firearms control initiatives, dismissing them as ineffective and dangerous to Americans’ rights.

He recently outlined why he fervently disagrees with the gun control policies that have been proposed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. TheBlaze interviewed Todd earlier this week and subsequently detailed how his experience being shot back in 1999 has shaped his views on the issue.

The letter, which speaks directly to the president, covers a number of key facets in the gun control debate. On universal background checks, Todd expresses his fears that “universal registration can easily be used for universal confiscation.” Additionally, he says his belief that assault weapons bans are ineffective and argues that the first law did little to stop violence when it was in effect from 1994 until 2004; he cites Columbine as a prime example.

“It was during this time that I personally witnessed two fellow students murder twelve of my classmates and one teacher,” he writes. “The assault weapons ban did not deter these two murderers, nor did the other thirty-something laws that they broke.”

Columbine Survivor Even Todd Rejects Obamas Gun Control Initiatives in Open Letter

President Barack Obama uses a cell phone to call supporters during a visit to a local campaign office, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 in Henderson, Nev. Credit: AP

Of particular note in the letter is the survivor’s insistence that Obama’s proposed regulations impede the rights of Americans and endanger them by capping magazine sizes and restricting the types of guns that are available to law-abiding citizens.

“Why would you prefer criminals to have the ability to out-gun law-abiding citizens?,” he asks the president in the text. “Whose side are you on?”

Read Todd’s open letter to Obama, below.

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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 can not 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 tax payers 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 that 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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Be sure to also read TheBlaze’s exclusive interview with Todd about why he opposes gun control.

Editor’s Note: The author of this article regularly works on speaking tours and educational projects with Evan Todd.

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Editor’s Note: The author of this post, Billy Hallowell, was on Wednesday’s BlazeCast to discuss Evan’s letter with Blaze Editor-in-Chief Scott Baker:

–

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Comments (383)

Buster5104
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:08pm
Universal registration leads to a universal database which allows the fed’s to selectively ban weapons and universally send letters… confiscation letters…..followed by universal visits if you don’t turn ‘em in.
JUST AS WAS DONE IN CANADA !!!!

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batmanroxus
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:08pm
“Whose side are you on?” indeed. It’s painfully clear that Obama is NOT on the side of America, Mom and apple pie, or the constitution… so whose side his he own? It’3 certainly evident that he is on the side of radical Muslim terrorists, he has made that painfully clear as well. Democrats have made it clear that they intend to prolong slavery as long as possible. It was heir goal from the beginning and still is, but the enslaved are too ignorant to see what is happening to them. So whose side is your legislator, your public servant own? …and why do they believe they deserve to make more money than the average American… who are their boss?

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neverending
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:07pm
Great job done by him. Sadly though he probably could have saved himself a lot of time and the cost of the postage because trying to make sense with this sorry sob and get him off course from transforming America is an impossibility.

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PlanetReality
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:03pm
Amen brother!!! well spoken as a true american and survivor of violence for the law abiding!!!!
Too bad our we dont have a party speaking up for the people , a party who are elected and paid for to PROTECT THE PEOPLE and OUR RIGHTS as they r sworn in by the constitution they must uphold!!!

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Voter713
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:03pm
Good letter – hope he read it.

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Diogenes71
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:50pm
Scott Baker will never be asked to be a guest on the Mr. Ed show becase he is a citizen of Realville and not securely tethered to magical thinking like Mr. Ed is..

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discus02
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:42pm
The young man actually has a brain and common sense which most liberals don’t have! The dumb leading the dumb.

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obamagirl
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:42pm
the sheer lack of brain power exhibited here every day is frightening – where do all you uneducated paranoid people come from and how do you ever sleep at night- you’re all so scared of nothing

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- Buster5104
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:28pm
  Do you think for one minute that the founding fathers designed the second amendment to protect the rights of deer hunters? It was to protect against tyrany from the government. Don’t start with the “you need to register your car and have a license to drive” argument that liberals ar famous for. In case you didn’t know, driving is a state granted privledge…gun ownership is a Constitution granted RIGHT. No where does the second amendment say you can own a gun except for………
  
  Report this comment
- yoshik
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 2:28pm
  We are afraid of the danger in letting the American N egro culture continue to run the country. This is what happens when the dum best laziest race on earth gets a license to drive a sure power. Plain and simple.
  
  Report this comment
bharris0
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:33pm
The young man described Obama and the progressive intents to a T.

Tyranny is exactly what they have in mind. They want the citizens to become subjects and to shut up and do what they are told. They also know that as long as the citizens are armed, they can’t get away with it.

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Ricolip
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:31pm
The President and Congress have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. He has no business working to dismantle the 2nd Ammendment.

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crystalsky
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:30pm
has any1 heard of identity theft of names and people. Plus some people don’t want you to have guns, They don’t want you to have money they want full control of your life.they don’t want you to have kids and the 1′s you have they will help turn them against you. You don’t comply they will kill you but if you do exactly what they want you can live as long as you don’t look at them wrong or say anything to piss them off. They know exactly what there doing they are trying to get rid of God which will never happen but any thing that GOD says is good in the bible they will make it evil, And there evilness will be in there eyes good and they will reward people for there evilness. They need all the money to start the system of no buying or selling without a mark on your forehead or right hand. They will know your every move they will know when you sleep, eat, who is in your bathroom and your bedroom, what you say where you go etc. There putting themselves as GOD not wanting the real live LORD around no more. In God’s time he will allow it to happen, The mark will be damnation to those who take it. You ask how do you know this is true? Look around you and then look in the Holy Bible that has been here for a long time. GOD DOES NOT LIE. Look in the Holy Bible and ask the LORD to show you.He tells you the truth.

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- ChiefGeorge
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:14pm
  Heres more how they put themselves as God.
  
  1. They have said that if your out of work, then we have the answer…here is some money and if you never find work…more money. They call taking money from others is compassionate. That of course is not biblical. When Adam fell, he was cursed to WORK. Satan, through men has been trying to undo this curse.
  
  2. Woman! Satan through man has allowed her out from under her curse of child birth but not having the child in the first place and giving her birth control which also goes against what God has said…be fruitful and multiply. God also said that she would go back to her husband again and again, but they once again were very successful in getting women out from under that part of the curse by allowing her to change her husband at will when she tires of him.
  
  3. Satan wants to rule from on high…like Nimrod! He wants to see everyone but he is not omnipotent like God, he cannot be everywhere at the same time, but through man he devised the internet and has begun making all the connections needed to see us all.
  
  4. God gave us food from the vines, the trees and the fields but this is not good enough for man, so he has sought to create his own genetically modified foods.
  
  5. God has said that he is the Alpha and the Omega, but man says there is no God and that we are gods.
  
  Everywhere you turn, you find man thumbing his nose at God and hating anyone who admits they love and revere God.
  
  Report this comment
mcsledge
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:27pm
I started reading a couple of books written by Barton. I am amazed at the clarity of statements made by the Founders, the early courts and state legislations that are not only not taught, but are completely dismissed.

It was noted that one of man’s first natural laws is self-preservation. That man has a right to defend himself, his family and his property.

Others noted that it was the right of the individual to protect themself from immediate attacks as well as attacks by a rogue government.

Don’t be fooled. The founders saw the right to owning a gun as an individual right, not solely the right of the militia. It is written in black and white, yet progressives dismiss its existence as though they were looking at the sun and claiming that it was not there.

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BoyScout_Mom
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:23pm
I’m willing to bet William Petit in Connecticut (Sandy Hill Killer state) would have given anything for a gun the morning he was bludgeoned with a baseball bat, bound, and forced to listen to his 11-yo daughter being raped, his wife being raped, then his 17-yo daughter, 11-yo daughter, and wife were doused with gasoline and set on fire, still alive, and burned to death. This assault took 7 hours. I wonder how many of those hours passed that he was wishing he had a gun… had accessible guns for his daughters and wife.

By the way Biden stated yesterday to fire warning shots. Warning shots are a crime that will land you in jail. You should check with your local and state laws regarding warning shots.

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- mcsledge
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:32pm
  Next he will tell the rich that they really should allow the poor to steal from them. After all, it is not fair that they have riches due to their hard work, education, risk taking, etc.
  
  God’s Law: Reap what you sow.
  
  Obama/Biden Law: Reap what others sow.
  
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dogday
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:12pm
That was a fantastic letter! Thank you Mr. Todd for so eloquently writing a letter that reflects how the majority of Americans feel. You are a hero.

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BarackInsaneNobama
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:03pm
This guy is awesome, will Obama listen?Probably not. He will just sign an EO to pass his great laws….I dislike Obama and he truly scares me. I am just glad that hI did a poll in Idaho for the nIdaho National Guard. I asked our ING, If the president signed an executive order to enter peoples premises to appreahend their weapons, would you follow your Commander in Chief I can happily say that 98% of our Men in the Idaho National Guard responded to me with confidence saying: NO, when hI take my oath it goes as fiolows, I will uphold the Constitution and then follow my commander in chiefs orders. But it scares me that hObama thinks the Constitution is ‘OLD” and ‘OUT-DATED” and “NEEDS TO BE REVISED”. We need to put our Govt. in check, I am happily armed to my teeth and with a babyh on the way I feel bad that he will have to be braught in to the country we still try to call America, and I will train him how to use a weapon as soon as he is 4-5 yearsold. Teach him the importance of gun saftey and the many dangers, uses, pros and cons to owning and posses a fire arm. Call me a crazy right wing nut job. I will still protect you when and/or if the timecomes. GOD BLESS AMERICA! My fellowcitezens and I hope that our country gets sick of this far to Huge GOVERNMENT.

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red_white_blue2
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:59pm
You want a bet O’Bozo never read this, or if he did, he ordered an audit right after

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amuzed_right_guy
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:53pm
Unfortunately, the writer’s impassioned appeal will be lost on the miserable fool to whom he has addressed his arguments. Obama has proven over and over that he has no grasp or understanding of American Constitutional imperatives, has no moral compass of his own, and could well actually be an aspirarant to steal power by any means possible , no different from the likes of Castro, Mao and Hitler. Mr. Obama is possibly more of a threat to our personal liberties than the terrorists he seems so satisfied in murdering one-by-one with anonymous drone fly-by assassinations. Any American who cherishes liberty, still believes in the American dream and appreciates the historical reality of American exceptionalism cannot in good faith support any of Mr. Obama’s agenda. It is critical that Obama be held accountable for his words and his actions. He appears to be a willing tool our nation’s enemies are using to destroy us from within (is it any wonder they funnelled millions to his campaign through uncontrolled foreign contributions? Our enemies are certainly getting their money’s worth even as generations of patriots who died for their country must be rolling in their graves over the presence of this malignant knave in the White House.)

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1ONE1
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:53pm
@TURKEY13 Don’t expect any guns to be bootlegged from Canada. Perhaps Mexico. Up here we don’t get guns like that, unless they have been bootlegged from the States. Just hand guns and like bolt action hunting rifles with maybe a 5 round mag.

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MAmax
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:51pm
Mr. Uppercut, in reply to your post about registration not leading to confiscation – ask the Canadians, or the Australians, or the English how that worked out for them. Governments, and especially politicians, have proven time and again that when it comes right down to it, they cannot be trusted on blind faith. This, good sir, is pure fantasy.

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AmericaMustBeFree
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:51pm
I am almost certain that Obama will never read this letter, He was not available for Benghazi.. so why would he be available for a letter especially when it goes against everything he believes. Not to mention I do believe that Obama is placing himself in a position to become a dictator!

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Mike Benton
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:47pm
The President is always talking about first responders….why can’t I be my own first responder?

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BlasberryStrat
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:43pm
Nice work and long letter, but fallen on deaf ears. Obama and the Admin. are only putting in “face time” right now, and not listening to a word of debate. Look, Obama is simply a “puppet” of the radical Left Progressive movement. These people control everything that’s going on. THEY put a “Black man” in the White House for reasons that we are now painfully aware of (he’s “untouchable”). The goal (that they are within months of achieving) is to have open borders between Mexico and Canada, for a “New America”. They HAVE to have Gov. health care and firearm control in place in order to maintain “peace” during the transition. Mexico border is coming down by this summer and we all know it. The Gov. HAS to get guns out of citizens reach or all hell’s going to break loose when the housing and employment markets are flooded with multi-millions of “newly legal citizens”. It’s the agenda of this hidden Progressive movement that in the end “AmeriMexiCanada” will be knocked down to be “level” with the other Countries, and at that time the U.N. WILL implement the “One World Government”. Hey, you thought we were “tin foils” until now you are seeing all we warned about coming true with your own eyes. If you think this World is going to be just like it is now – to 20 years from now – you’re a fool. There IS a reason that every Country is “magically” failing – all at the same time.

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candymanal
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:43pm
What Obama seems to want, is so many laws, that if convicted, they own you and everything you have.
How about this, for a wake up call?
Making new laws, does not deter crimnals.
Enforcing laws, does.
If the government is so awfully good, at enforcing laws,. Why then, am I barraged with calls from Racael, at credit card services, when I have been on the Do Not Call list, for years?
Right now, there are enough laws on the books. That, if enforced, they could take away your life, your home, and your family. Who then, shall protect you?
It’s all smoke and mirrors, to gain control. That is the essence.

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ECOMCON
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:42pm
Evan Todd for congress 2014.

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- Kelso
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 11:52pm
  I hate to respond, and rarely do Encrum, but, we know who you are. We see your Anarchist words that don’t make any sense…just meant to stir it up, deflecting from the subject at hand. You think you’re smart…because you think the same tactic that would work on you, would work on us. But the truth is, we have a common bond that you don’t want to understand, and deception and games you play are just childish, and easily spotted.
  
  Report this comment
BehindTheMouth
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:41pm
You know Obama is just going to go around and arrest everyone who speaks up against him. Just like the Nazis did

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- Kelso
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 11:49pm
  We know who you are. We see your Anarchist words that don’t make any sense…just meant to stir it up, deflecting from the subject at hand. You think you’re smart…because you think the same tactic that would work on you, would work on us. But the truth is, we have a common bond that you don’t want to understand, and deception and games you play are just childish, and easily spotted.
  
  Report this comment

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