Evan Todd is a Columbine survivor -- a student who was shot and wounded in 1999 during what is still the deadliest school shooting in American history. With an open letter penned to President Obama, Todd dove head first this week into the gun control debate.
Unless you look at right-leaning media,
though, you have likely never heard of Evan M. Todd. To the supposedly
"objective" media, he's what you might call an inconvenient victim.
Therefore, he'll receive little to no attention there. You see, Todd not
only opposes President Obama's gun control measures; through his
letter, he makes a respectful, thoughtful, rational, and compassionate
case against the president's proposals:
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. …
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?
Everything else being the same, Mr. Todd would be a cause célèbre today -- if he would just know his place politically.
P.S, I am only using the word "victim" to make a point. It's obvious Todd in no way sees himself as a victim.
