By Marie Pfeifer
Colin Goddard purchased the same kind of gun, at a gun show, that shot him four times at Virginia Tech in 2007.
No background check was performed.
Why is that legal?
That’s the central question of Living for 32, a documentary about the massacre that traces Goddard’s story. He spoke on Saturday after a screening at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in Morris Township.
The film’s title refers to the number of people slain by a deranged student on that fateful April morning six years ago. It also corresponds to the average number of Americans killed by guns every day.
Goddard’s French teacher and several classmates were among the victims. In the documentary–and in our video interview above–Goddard describes the terror he experienced, and the eerie feeling of returning to Norris Hall after the bullet-riddled walls had been plugged.
Now fully recovered, the athletic 24-year-old lobbies for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. As assistant director for federal legislation, he is striving for stricter background checks for gun purchases.
Goddard encouraged everyone at Saturday’s screening to call their elected leaders in Washington on Tuesday, April 9, as part of a national campaign to close the loophole on background checks.
December’s massacre of schoolchildren and teachers in Newtown, CT, was a “tipping point” for many, he said.
An armed citizenry is not the answer, he added.
“More guns only create more violence.”
The former ROTC student also supports strict limits on the size of ammunition magazines. A few Virginia Tech students escaped while Seung-Hui Cho re-loaded his weapon, Goddard said. Larger clips enable shooters to kill more people before reloading.
‘Living for 32’:Shooting survivor Colin Goddard in Morris Township
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
0:55 About the movie title.
1:15: Every day 32 Americans murdered with guns; 80 counting suicides and accidents
1:44: ‘There’s a Virginia Tech every day.’
2:23: Rather than let tragedy define you, be defined by ‘how you choose to get up, and move forward.’
2:40: Promote idea: Background checks before selling gun to anyone.
2:52: The 1994 Brady Bill has blocked two million gun sales.
3:47: Virginia Tech: A record not sent to the right place.
3:53: ‘Guy who shot me was told to get outpatient therapy, not in-patient…’
4:18: When learned that, ‘pretty shocked.’
4:22: States must enter more missing records into system.
5:00: Need background checks on all gun sales, not just some.
5:17: ‘Why is it legal for me to give $500 to a stranger, walk out with gun?’
6:11: Made film to have conversation about this.
6:32: Outrage fades after mass shootings.
6:45: Cannot let things fade this time…Newtown a tipping point for many.
6:49: Binghamton shootings personal tipping point…police, candles, tears.
7:25: Background checks make most sense for most people, most support in Congress.
7:51: Lowest-hanging fruit…will make biggest impact.
8:20: Not seeking sympathy; seeks help. Can’t do this alone.
8:57: Other issues make sense; need to focus on this now.
9:02: Hopes to make loss less likely for other families.
OUT-PATIENT LOOPHOLE
Goddard managed to call 911 before the gunman broke into the classroom. He was shot while laying on the floor of his French class. The gunman attacked him twice, before killing himself.
Police needed help to enter the room because so many bodies were piled against the door, Goddard said.
He re-lives his painful story, he said, to put a face on our “woefully inadequate gun laws.” If the gun lobby could hear the horrible screams of victims as the shots ring out, he believes they would feel differently about stricter laws. Law-abiding gun owners are the Brady Campaign’s biggest potential allies, he said.
Goddard convinced the Brady Campaign to allow him to go undercover, wearing a hidden camera, to buy guns at gun shows. He purchased weapons without undergoing a background check or presenting a driver’s license.
Only licensed dealers are required by law to perform background checks on buyers, while private sellers can make gun-show sales without making checks.
A loophole enabled Seung-Hui Cho to obtain his semiautomatic handguns. His mental illness never was reported to a national system that would have precluded his purchases. That’s because he was an outpatient. Had he been an inpatient, reporting would have been mandatory, Goddard said.
The Rev. Alison Miller welcomed several dozen visitors to Saturday’s screening. Guests included Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman and Pam Hasegawa, co-founders of the Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence, and Morristown Police Chief Pete Demnitz.
Critically acclaimed at Sundance and other film festivals, Living for 32 can be seen for free at Princeton University on April 24, and at Seton Hall University on April 25. For details, contact the New Jersey chapter of the Million Moms March at 609-882-3711 or mercemmm@gmail.com.
Carole Stiller, president of the Million Moms state organization, urged citizens to call their senators and representatives on Tuesday. Phone numbers are listed at FaithsCalling.org.
Trailer for ‘Living for 32’
Stupid thinking. Um, criminals don’t follow the laws. Gun laws only affect law-abiding citizens and leaves them unprotected.
Idiots at work.
That more guns create more violence should be an obvious conclusion.
I have since learned that the NRA blocked attempts to place tracing chips in the materials used to make the bombs, used in the Boston Massacre. We all rely on our police to protect us. Why do we support these efforts to make their jobs more difficult and their lives placed on the line when it was not necessary ?
How could the Senate defeat the attempt to improve our background check system? We need to elect officials who have the courage of their convictions and make the actual safety and well being those they represent their first priority.
The American people accomplish all kinds of amazing things. We need to fight even harder on this issue for the sake of us all.
This is excellent coverage of probably the most urgent domestic issue we have today.
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.
Please share this with everyone you know who has not seen the film yet.