What would you do about Virginia Tech?

[bkholdem]

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I saw this one episode of 90201, where David Silver's friend killed himself by accident with a gun.

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I've heard this happens with kids and guns sometimes in real life too, not just on tv. An inexpensive child-safety trigger lock requirement on guns might have saved some of those kids, but who needs more annoying regulations?


Brady Campaign kids and guns facts


Interesting news article about international reaction to shootings

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I personally invite you to implement as many annoying regulations in the privacy of your own home as you see fit.

[inside??]

There is really nothing that should change. People tend to have knee jerk reactions everytime a castastrophe occurs. I think beyond having a plan in place for how to handle emergencies and notify the students that there isn't a lot more that you can do. You are never going to have enough police or laws in place to always be safe.

[punkass]

First, and maybe only venture into the politics forum. I read most of this big thread because the shootings at VT really hit home to me, for no apparent reason. I didn't know anyone involved. I went to college for a couple years, I'm in my 20's, and I'm Korean. Those are my only ties to this. I will preface my remarks by saying I'm generally liberal, but I don't follow any "suggested" guidelines. I will be the first to say that I don't know enough of a subject to form an opinion yet. This topic is one of them.

For those countries that do not have guns and have gun control laws, the laws work. It's much easier to enforce the ban of something when there was very little to begin with.

Obviously there are guns aplenty in the US. A universal ban on guns will never work now or in the immediate future of this country. All the law-abiding citizens will follow, and the criminals will still have them.

There's no easy fix. The massacre that occurred at VT was an act of madman. There is nothing in our laws that will prevent an act of madman. Neither less guns nor less violent videogames would prevent such an act. The only thing that could have made this carnage avoidable may have been an early detection of his unstable mental well-being. And I believe the shooter did receive counseling. But the damage was done and possibly irreversible.

These things are going to happen. The count is now 32 victims, the most ever to die at the hands of a shooting spree. Will this number be the all time high? No. There will be more in the future. I only hope that these occur few and far between, but there will always be unstable people, there will always be access to violent weapons, and there will always be access to people. I do not understand what makes someone do this kind of drastic harm to so many people, but I am glad I do not understand. I would be afraid if I did.

So I sit here, having listened, watched, and read about the many many stories that stemmed from the shootings. This is what we as a people, as a country, as a society, should focus on. The heroics of many that we've heard already, and many that we have not. I am encouraged by the unselfish acts of the few who tried to save the lives of the many. This is what our country is about. This is what the story should be now.

Should the laws be changed concerning guns? Maybe. I do know that everyone having guns is not the answer. But neither is trying to get no one to have guns. As with almost all aspects in life and politics, the optimal place to be is the middle.

Thanks to those who read the whole thing. It was not all about politics, so I apologize. But I think we should be careful about the ideas that are so freely being suggested here. I am afraid our leaders will show the same knee-jerk overreactions protrayed here. And that is the last thing we need. I hope discussions and debate is spawned. I still have hope that our government can do that.

[John Kilduff]

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I saw this one episode of 90201, where David Silver's friend killed himself by accident with a gun.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard this happens with kids and guns sometimes in real life too, not just on tv. An inexpensive child-safety trigger lock requirement on guns might have saved some of those kids, but who needs more annoying regulations?


Brady Campaign kids and guns facts


Interesting news article about international reaction to shootings

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A child-safety lock is exactly what you don't need on a gun if you are suddenly surprised by an intruder in your home.

Those who want a child-safety lock on their own guns: fine, great - put it on. They shouldn't try to pass laws that everyone else must have the same thing, though.

[She]

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so most here believe that college students owning and legally being able to carry handguns to and from class..in their dorms..to frat parties..house parties etc....would be a good thing?

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No, I prefer only people intent on murdering masses of unarmed innocents have the guns.

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Here may be a good practical comparison:

"In January 2002, a student at the Virginia Appalachian School of Law, Peter Odighizuwa, shot three people dead before other students were able to retrieve guns from their cars and put an end to the carnage before there was more bloodshed. Over thirty victims at VA Tech yesterday were denied that right as a result of a campus gun control law that helped the shooter pick off his targets at will."

Link

[HeavilyArmed]

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so most here believe that college students owning and legally being able to carry handguns to and from class..in their dorms..to frat parties..house parties etc....would be a good thing?

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No, I prefer only people intent on murdering masses of unarmed innocents have the guns.

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Here may be a good practical comparison:

"In January 2002, a student at the Virginia Appalachian School of Law, Peter Odighizuwa, shot three people dead before other students were able to retrieve guns from their cars and put an end to the carnage before there was more bloodshed. Over thirty victims at VA Tech yesterday were denied that right as a result of a campus gun control law that helped the shooter pick off his targets at will."

Link

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The most interesting part of this story is the study that followed finding that a large majority of the media coverage refused/ignored reporting how the situation resolved. That is to say they ignored positive gun use in this case. Didn't fit their agenda, I'd guess.

[Misfire]

We can cite statistics about accidental shootings, mass murder, and the EU all day long. At the end of the day, all you have to do is consider the following:

You are in a room where dozens of people have just been executed by a suicidal nutjob. You're next in line. In your final moments, are you comforted by the fact that, by carrying a gun, the shooter is breaking the law? Are you comforted by the fact that the other victims waiting in line aren't breaking the law?

[Dan.]

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We can cite statistics about accidental shootings, mass murder, and the EU all day long. At the end of the day, all you have to do is consider the following:

You are in a room where dozens of people have just been executed by a suicidal nutjob. You're next in line. In your final moments, are you comforted by the fact that, by carrying a gun, the shooter is breaking the law? Are you comforted by the fact that the other victims waiting in line aren't breaking the law?

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Appeal to emotion. Nice work.

[TomCollins]

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We can cite statistics about accidental shootings, mass murder, and the EU all day long. At the end of the day, all you have to do is consider the following:

You are in a room where dozens of people have just been executed by a suicidal nutjob. You're next in line. In your final moments, are you comforted by the fact that, by carrying a gun, the shooter is breaking the law? Are you comforted by the fact that the other victims waiting in line aren't breaking the law?

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Appeal to emotion. Nice work.

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Fighting fire with fire.

[Misfire]

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Appeal to emotion. Nice work.

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Sorry I didn't express the idea in terms of EV, but in this case I believe one's emotional reaction to the situation is based on the logically obvious result of not having any power to resist a homicidal maniac intent on killing everyone in the room.

The entire anti-gun movement is based on emotion. Guns are scary, so wouldn't it be great if there were no guns? They don't think of the feasability of physicially eliminating firearms or preventing violent crime. All they do is pass laws and pat themselves on the back for making people feel safe. I'm merely turning the tables.