What would you do about Virginia Tech? - Page 3

samsonite2100 · #21 04-16-2007, 02:32 PM

It's only an accurate assertion if you assume that in all these killings, the gunman will go to any length to acquire firearms, so more stringent laws wouldn't make any difference. I have no idea how true that is in this case, but it clearly isn't always, or even often, accurate across the board.

ArtMonkRules · #22 04-16-2007, 02:33 PM

What exactly can we do to prevent something like this? Nothing! The fact of the matter is when there is a random unforseen act of violence like this, there's nothing you can do about it! If a crazy person wants to get some guns and go on a killing spree, how can he be stopped? He gets to choose the time and place. I'm sure after this there will be much better security at Va Tech. But what about the local mall? What about the public library? A hospital? Unless you want to live in a police state with armed guards on every corner, this sort of thing will always be with us.

I'd say the average person has a better chance of getting struck by lightning than being killed in a random killing spree. In the VAST majority of murders, the two people know each other.

samsonite2100 · #23 04-16-2007, 02:36 PM

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I think they're saying he had two 9MMs and lots of clips of ammo.

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well, we already have laws that limit the number of shells for some of the high capacity automatics, so he probably had some from before the bill was passed which I believe were still legal.

so I doubt more laws will make a difference.

rb

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If you possess high caps purchased before 2000, they are legal. That being said, no college-aged kid today can own those legally.

Dids said it best in another thread, that no amount of gun control could have stopped this.

IMO, this situation highlights why a 100% ban on firearms doesn't work. Criminals don't care.

How would this story be changed if a gun-toting responsible student put an end to the gunman's life?

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I find it interesting that the first conclusion many people are drawing about this is that no amount of gun control would have made a difference.

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How many gun laws are on the books now? 19,000? 29,000? Something like that. They were obviously effective in this case, weren't they? Gun control laws do virtually nothing to curb gun violence.

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This is a terrible argument.

onthebutton · #24 04-16-2007, 02:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
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I think they're saying he had two 9MMs and lots of clips of ammo.

[/ QUOTE ]

well, we already have laws that limit the number of shells for some of the high capacity automatics, so he probably had some from before the bill was passed which I believe were still legal.

so I doubt more laws will make a difference.

rb

[/ QUOTE ]

If you possess high caps purchased before 2000, they are legal. That being said, no college-aged kid today can own those legally.

Dids said it best in another thread, that no amount of gun control could have stopped this.

IMO, this situation highlights why a 100% ban on firearms doesn't work. Criminals don't care.

How would this story be changed if a gun-toting responsible student put an end to the gunman's life?

[/ QUOTE ]

I find it interesting that the first conclusion many people are drawing about this is that no amount of gun control would have made a difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

How many gun laws are on the books now? 19,000? 29,000? Something like that. They were obviously effective in this case, weren't they? Gun control laws do virtually nothing to curb gun violence.

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This is a terrible argument.

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Thanks for your convincing rebuttal.

MoreWineII · #25 04-16-2007, 02:43 PM

Needs more info but there are those who are going to use this as an excuse to argue more people should own guns. I guess in their minds if a bunch of other students also had guns, that somehow the increased bumber of bullets flying would have been safer...or something.

samsonite2100 · #26 04-16-2007, 02:46 PM

Okay, well by your logic, since they weren't effective in this instance, let's get rid of all gun control laws. Do you see why this is a lousy argument?

Obviously, if this guy had had an extremely hard time getting his hands on a gun and had gotten past his psychotic episode, or whatever, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I have no doubt this has happened before thanks to gun control laws, and would happen more, if existing laws were stricter.

Metric · #27 04-16-2007, 02:47 PM

Why does a particular bullet need a "government stamp of approval" to increase your safety? If it kills the attacker, how much does it matter if there was a cop on one end of it?

samsonite2100 · #28 04-16-2007, 02:48 PM

Also, note that I am not calling for a nationwide ban on handguns, or for the 2nd amendment to be repealed.

Edited to add: I'm not going to post any more for a while on this--it feels kind of unseemly arguing politics so soon after such a tragedy. Peace and good luck to those actually having to deal with the aftermath.

Grasshopp3r · #29 04-16-2007, 03:10 PM

Who are these madmen and how much education they possess?

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020...=krueger062402

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/busine...agewanted=print

tehox · #30 04-16-2007, 03:14 PM

I think that it is obvious that these types of shootings could be limited if guns were banned or more tightly controlled in the U.S. This kind of stuff doesn't happen in England or Europe, and I'm sure there are plenty of crazy people there.

And yes obviously people can still build truck bombs, or fly airplanes into buildings, personally though I would say I would feel safer if guns were outlawed or restricted more.

However, this is not going to happen. These school or workplace shootings happen pretty rarely, so to be honest I don't spend much time thinking about them. I think gun use in normal run of the mill crime use is more distressing.