Yes, but cars aren't meant for killing people.

yes but cars have a practical purpose other than killing people. Guns don't.

That isn't my point, it was merely a mockery of Negative85's point.

Guns aren't the problem. People owning guns isn't the problem. The problem is people flipping out suddenly and going bat-**** insane. It is impossible to control what people will do. The biggest problem is not guns or laws, it's people. People are evil. If he didn't have a gun, he would have made a bomb. If he didn't have a bomb, he would have used a knife. Or a car. Or a a length of rope. What it all comes down to is this: people are evil. He was insane. He wanted to do something evil, and found a way to do it. If different laws or cirumstances were in place, he still would have found a way to do it.

People who claim "guns are at fault" are no better than those who claim "video games are at fault." It's often a symptom, but it's not the root of the problem. The root of problem is people. Wherever there are people, there will be tragedies and evil.

This and the Trolley Square incident really makes me want to wear a kevlar vest at all times. Trolley Square was scary because it was only a few minutes from my home, my parents weren't home and I had no idea where they were. I cant imagine what it would be like to be going to VT, or even living in that area, right now. I really hope I'm never close to anything like this in the years to come.

Ban guns and you open a whole new battlefield for crimelords. The innocent won't be buying guns with which to defend themselves but the criminals will still buy guns from other criminals. All you're doing is taking away any defense the innocent might have.

As for Tech, the administration and security screwed up bigtime in minimalizing the casualties.

So Americans are considerably more evil than Britons, then?

HOW DARE YOU SLANDER THE AMERICAN EMPIRE SIR.

PREPARE TO FACE THE MIGHT OF OUR ARMY.

I fail to see any connection.

Hmm.. Obviously, she's really fat too...

Shall I point out that there is a higher incidence of violent crime in, as an example, the UK, as opposed to the United States, despite the fact (some argue BECAUSE of the fact, I think that's silly) that we allow concealed carry in most states? Edit: Open carry in others..maybe only AZ)

I have to say that i dont think that guns should be banned outright. but there should be some sort of program to go along with purchasing a gun, that would have a mandatory education program that you need to sit through before you can get one.

Also, i think that you should have to proove that you have a need for one. Because someone who lives in a gated comunity that is within a city that has a low crime rate to begin with has far less need for a gun for self protection (if they did, then they should take the security company that looks after their comunity to court for not doing their job) than someone who lives in an apartment in a place with very high crime and gang related activity.

The same thing goes for hunting. I have nothing against it, but how can someone who would only plan to go hunting less than once a year have a legitimate claim to buy a hunting rifle if the hunting club they go with has the option to rent a hunting rifle.

And with sport shooting, if that is all you use it for, you should be keeping your gun in a locked safe, with your ammo locked in a different safe.

/rant

Not to mention it would be several orders of magnitude more difficult to get rid of guns in the US.


EDIT:

Honestly, stuff like this makes me want to get a conceal carry when I'm 21.

Yeah, try to send someone to take away all the guns, then see how guns kill people.

Why? In case the gun decides to load itself and shoot someone?

Tiny ants.

Perhaps. In order to get a concealed carry license you have to go through a program like this.


Like killing people is the only use of a gun. What if I don't feel unsafe, I just want to have a gun collection? Or I want to go target shooting or go out shooting with friends? I think this is a silly idea.


Uh what. Because I want my own damn gun. Why would you own a boat if you're only going to take it out every once in a while? Probably because I want a nice one, that I picked and suits me, and that hasn't been screwed with by other people. Also, not everyone goes to a "hunting club". My friend Chris just goes out hunting when he feels like it, for whatever is in season. Buys himself the tags he needs if necessary.

Oops, missed this:


Where are you getting your facts? Show me where the violent crime rate is lower there than it is here. Not gun crime, violent crime of any kind. Gun crime will almost certainly be higher because, you know, we have guns all over the place here.

Also, most hunters don't go to "clubs."

.....UK crime rates are higher.

Guns arent to blame for this massacre, but I dont think you could argue that America's lax firearms laws didnt at least partially facilitate it.

Firearms are a much larger part of American culture than they are in the UK or Australia, and that's just the way it is. You'd have more luck trying to convince the Pope that there is no god than trying to convince Americans that gun control is a good thing. The whole thing just makes me glad that I live in a country and culture where firearms are a tool farmer's use to sustain their livelyhoods, not something I feel the need or desire to protect myself with.

To be honest I don't think I've even seen a gun made before the 30s.

You do know there is such thing as hunter's safety course? Unless it is different with other states, I did have to go through one to even get a hunting license.

If anything, the law should require that every 8th house on the block have a trained military commander. Just owning guns isn't enough to truly make me feel like I own my country any more. Even the national guard couldn't do their job and overthrow the Govt. Brits just don't have the patriotism to understand guns.

There's a group of people that ruined the words "Patriot" and "Guns," but that doesn't mean the concept isn't still true. This issue is about psychotic and depressed teenagers. I'd love to blame sensativity and the lack of love education our parents and schools offer, but honestly, if someone's high risk, they're high risk. Plain and simple. There's no way to prevent something like this.

AOL | News posted Cho Seung-Hui's plays which have been mentioned pretty often in the news: here.

Also, one news source says the serial numbers of the guns were filed off, making it likely they were illegally purchased. I'll try to find the article again.

Interesting read. Clearly, the man had issues. But, let's assume the quality of the works is higher. What would make a script like that different than some disturbing work out of Hollywood? On some level, you have to wonder if, say, Tarantino is a little disturbed. I don't necessarily buy that this was the tell tale sign if his being horrendously disturbed, and that someone "needed" to say something.

I read reports that one gun was purchased at a gunshop in Roanoke. Apparently, he spent $500+ there.

What bothers me is that all these news sources and articles about the shootings describe the shooter as a south korean "immigrant", "national", etc, as if he was some sort of FOB/foreigner. I'm not sure what the motive is here - you can read it many different ways - but he was only a "foreigner" in that he was not naturalized. ****, I mean the guy has lived in the US since the age of 8. Though he was not an American citizen, for all practical purposes he most definitely was American.

Yeah, that's what I read too. What I do not get is why he filed the serial numbers off, unless he actually expected to get away with it all, which seems improbable, and I doubt he actually cared about the vendor enough to not want the gun linked back to him.

Open carry is legal with no permit of any kind in AZ, NH, VT, ME, AK, and probably others. [url]www.packing.org[/url] <- Excellent resource.

For those who would like to see firearms banned outright, I imagine you still want cops carrying..? What about retired law enforcement?

also, i am just reminding you that the second amendment of the united states constitution only stops CONGRESS from passing laws restricing the right to bare arms. there is nothing to stop a state from enacting a law on their own. And dont come over and tell me that it is impossible because i have seen many occurrences of US states enacting laws that would not have a chance in hell of becomeing a federal law.

and just a note, the second amendment to me seems to be more about the right to a well armed militia than just a basic right to own a gun. [ubersarcasm] but what would i know? im not an american.[/ubersarcasm]

The most lethal school-related killing spree only used a gun as a trigger for an explosive, and that was after the majority of the damage was done. It also happened in 1927: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_Disaster

There are a myriad number of ways to kill people, and I'm sure this guy woulda found one, one way or another. This isn't about gun control, and it actually sickens me to see everyone pin an agenda on this, from Jack Thompson to "Ban guns solve all crime" people. I don't own a gun, I don't plan to. I don't have a biased opinion on this, as I don't care one way or another. The only question that needs to be asked here is what could have been done to prevent this from occurring, and video games and guns are not the fundamental answer. Would the death toll have been lower? Who knows? It depends on what other methods could he have used. What could this person cook up? At this point it just seems like the usual opportunistic finger pointing.

Im amazed that ive never heard idiots ranting when some crime suspect is called "Caucasian" Yet every other race seems to get all uppety.

what are you talking about?

And now for something completely different?

I think it was more the combination of the guy's behavior and the disturbing plays that got them worried--if he was just kind of a bizarre but affable guy it wouldn't be the same thing.



Please never talk again

It's called the ignore feature people. It's beautiful, silent, and awesome.

You too

It's also a choice.

The ignore "feature" is about as dumb as trying to censor reality.

I just found out that one of my good friends here at William and Mary knows 2-3 of the kids that were killed yesterday. The gunman also graduated from his High School. He was pretty shaken up about it today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liviu_Librescu

What a brave man.

So were the other people that helped each other during this.

This just caught my attention.