Q&A with Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard

Colin Goddard is the assistant director of federal legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Goddard is also a survivor of gun violence. He was shot four times during the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 — the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history, in which 32 were killed.

Since he graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008, Goddard has been advocating for legislation that would require a background check for anyone looking to purchase a gun.

He is the subject of the documentary “Living for 32,” in which he goes undercover with a hidden camera to show just how easy it is to obtain a firearm in America.

Staff writer Lillian Evans spoke with Goddard, who will talk on campus today at a showing of the documentary at 7 p.m. in Student Union 3408.

Daily Tar Heel: Why did you start coming to speak on college campuses?

Colin Goddard: I think speaking with young people is always a smart thing to do — it’s a way to engage in places with young people who are voting and coming up in the world.

DTH: What is the usual reaction to your screenings?

CG: They’re usually good conversations, sometimes they’re a little more heated — but I don’t like the ones that are over quickly, so to speak. I like the ones that go on longer — I like people to talk.

DTH: What has been the best moment in the last six years?

CG: The moment still hasn’t happened, which is why I’m still doing this. It has been a roller coaster over the last six years. The moment I’m ultimately searching for is when we require a background check for gun sales — making that the standard and having a law like that is the goal. This isn’t something I plan to do forever. This is something that I need to get done to make the world a better place on a very fundamental level.

DTH: You’ve said before that you don’t want to be known as “Colin Goddard, the Survivor” anymore. What would you prefer to be known as?

CG: Well, first of all, I’d prefer to be thought of as a survivor than to be called a victim. But I feel like there will be a point in my life when it’s, “Here’s Colin Goddard, the teacher,” or “Here’s Colin Goddard, the diplomat,” or “the lawyer” — well probably not that, actually.

But they’ll say that, and then maybe they’ll say, “Oh yeah, and did you know when he was younger, this crazy stuff happened?”

DTH: What do you say to critics who claim that people behind the recent Boston events, or the Aurora theater shooting, couldn’t have been stopped, no matter how strict the gun laws?

CG: So what, we should just let it happen? That kind of argument is a call for no laws. I don’t understand that — so since we can’t stop anything, we just don’t try? Ultimately, the argument the Senate used against background checks is that they are an inconvenience. What we’ve found, though, is that most good gun owners are in favor of background checks. Responsible gun ownership is the solution to our problem. The background checks are a question of responsibility — there is only one way to do that, and it’s a five-minute background check.

DTH: What is your key message to UNC students?

CG: The key message is that we have a problem and it needs resolve. It could help save lives, and your engagement in the issue by getting involved is the missing piece — students are the missing piece.

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com