This wasn't a "drum beating" for more cops by any means, but it doesn't surprise me that you missed the point.
I don't think anybody here is trying to trivialize the victims. On the contrary, people are discussing ways to prevent a repeat because of the loss they feel. I don't carry a gun everywhere I go because I feel weak or spineless. I'm in much better that average shape and train regularly in hand-to-hand tactics. If I get in a situation over my head, God gave me two feet that work very well. But if I run away from the guy trying to rob me at the ATM, that leaves him available to rob the next person who might not be as aware of their surroundings or a fleet-footed as me. If I stand by and watch somebody get beat in a robbery at a grocery store, stabbed in an assault in the mall, or shot by a deranged nut targeting a church, I have failed to fullfill my responsibility to society. It's the responsibility of every law abiding citizen to do what is in their power, whether it be act as a good witness, or carry a gun and take the fight to the dirtbag. The shooting at the Mall in Utah, most recently, shows how effective a well trained individual with a firearm can be. Anti-gun groups regularly point out the number of lives lost at the hands of criminals with a firearm. They fail to reveal that many more lives are saved through the use of firearms. BTW, my first call today was an activation to aprehend a murder suspect in a motel. The suspect broke into his neighbor's house to burglarize it, and murdered him when the victim returned home early. If only the victim had been armed...
And then it's the anger at being afraid, at being weak and spineless without your gun and a god when its the biggest and most powerfull. just for you, here's some of my personal facts. i do NOT have a CCP. nor have i ever applied for one. i do NOT carry. nor have i ever. i have one pistol but it's a .22 Hammerli Trailside w/6" barrel so it would be a poor carry/personal defense choice for several reasons. don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic range/plinking gun and i love it but CCW is not it's designed purpose. i HAVE faced a loaded weapon in my life. twice in fact. once working night shift at a 7-11 and several years later at a Fri evening stag BBQ an acquaintance decided that noone had any respect for him because he hadn't finished high school. i guess he took special umbrage at my two year tech school Associates degree because i'm the one he pointed the gun at. here's the interesting thing. both times i was unarmed. both times i faced the assailant down (not with aggression, but by remaining calm, ignoring the gun and staring them in the eyes). both times they backed off and left without getting what they wanted. will this work every time? certainly not. but i was constantly evaluating the situation, trying to determine if they had gone from 'attempting to intimidate' to 'physical threat'. and the instant i would have estimated them as having gone to 'physical threat' i would have attacked them barehanded. would i have survived? maybe not. but i was within arm's reach in both cases and i would not have been fixated on the gun, but on crippling or killing the assailant. as Larissa's 'rock' story makes so clear, surprise can be an invaluable advantage. so the next time you want to start throwing around comments like "Get over your fear, outlaw guns designed to kill people!", why don't you just stick it up your @$$ sideways. not to mention which, i'd be very interested if you would point out to me the gun which ISN'T "designed to kill people!" i've never seen such a thing ... or is this a tacit admission on your part that you have no intention of stopping until all guns are outlawed. the problem with these situations is that they keep happening, over and over, AND STILL the victims won't do anything but cower under their desks. hell, at least the one VT guy didn't even make it out of his chair. it's altogether too obvious that the vast majority of the population are not psychologically suited to dealing with an armed assailant if they are not armed themselves. THAT is the problem that we are trying to address. you can discuss or debate the reasons for this cultural passivity in the face of a lethal threat all you want, and it may even be a worthwhile discussion. but addressing that issue would not produce a useful result for a minimum of 10yrs and more likely 20. and that's assuming that a workable solution could be implemented in today's touchy/feely, Dr. Spock "oh my god, we mustn't emotionally damage the little darlings" society that we have today. But if I run away from the guy trying to rob me at the ATM, that leaves him available to rob the next person excellent point. refusing to deal with a criminal to the best of your abilities is, in itself, an act of cowardice and a shirking of your duties as a free citizen. allowing them to run free, to threaten/mug/murder/rape someone else later that night/week/etc is inexcusable and makes you, morally, an accomplice to their subsequent crimes. This wasn't a "drum beating" for more cops by any means, but it doesn't surprise me that you missed the point. 'giving' cops scholarships would be redundant though, the Corps of Cadets already trains there. there isn't any reason Cadets in the upper classes couldn't carry, openly, all the time (excepting that idiotic statewide college gun ban VA instituted). given the kinds of situations likely to be seen by Cadets continuing into the military they should already be getting instruction in urban warfare, small unit tactics and clearing/securing buildings.
I figured finding a way to get more police on campus would be easier in the long run than arming those who are not sworn. Provided they could pass background checks and were willing to attend realistic, periodic training, I'd be all for arming the professors who wanted to carry, too.
This truly was a tragedy, I can't imagine what it must feel like to lose a child. I would not be able to breath if I got that phone call. But it is not the guns fault. Drowning kills more kids than all other forms of death for pre teens combined so pools, bathtubs, lakes, rivers, oceans should be illegal. People killed in auto accidents is almost 2-1 over guns, cars should be illegal. Cocaine is illegal, driving under the infuence is illegal, speeding and running red lights is illegal. What is your point in making guns illegal? Besides most of those killed by guns were doing something illegal at the time, go check your facts. We have to stop being sooooooooooooo politically correct and start addressing the fact we allow criminals and these nut cases to continue walking the streets. We don't want to offend anyone especially these terrorists and that's what he was. He fits the profile. If you don't want to be a part of this society then leave and go where you feel comfortable. But don't try to force your ideology on society saying it will cure our problem of someone taking innocent lives. If society really cared about society than we would fix it. No one is successful at rehab until they want to be. We don't want it bad enough yet. Mikey
The question I want answered is why if this guy was deemed unstable and a threat was he able to purchase a gun ? The law was surcimvented somehow and I bet its the " Hipa law" Someone should have had thgis guys name on a list of people not to sell to .
guns and bombs make killing easy. i guess everyone out ther wouldn't hesitate to shoot someone. sorry buddy. not true. it's really heard on a sane person to look down the barrel of a gun at another person and pull the trigger. even at a time when they are a threat to your life. the knowledge that you are or have taken something away that can never be replaced or given back is heavy load for anyone to bare. anybody who has seen the life go out of a person by there own hand would tell you that. i am going to be a father for the first time in a few months. i own guns. i also have scars on my knuckles from a lot of scrapes. mostly from a slipped open end wrench, but more than a few from teeth, noses, and other parts i'm sure. i don't fear a man walking this earth for my own safety. the thought of raising a child in today's world scares hell out of me. any parent fears for their children, i know. i haven't yet met my son/daughter and i already fear for their safety. i would take all of the things in this world that could hurt him/her and do whatever i could to be rid of them. promise me my child will be safe forever and i'll gladly hand over every gun i own and shake your hand for taking them. thing is you or no one else can ever do that. do i want guns for fear of being robbed? no. but it's hard to know anyones intentions that are about to rob you. if they're pointing a gun at me i'd have some serious trust issues with them. do i want guns for fear of being beaten up? no. i've been beat up before. a few occasions by the same dude. i don't want to shoot him. can't see what would that solve that a ass whipping didn't. we pretty much steer clear of one another and that seems to do the trick. the russians are already here. i work with a couple of them and there pretty cool guys. they left a country where they didn't have the right to protect themselves and came here. funny how that worked out, huh? am i angry? not especially. mad at taxes, mad at the way people always seem to know what's best for everyone else. other than that i'm good. am i weak and spineless? i guess if it makes you feel better about me owning a gun to protect my family from people with bad intentions and guns of there own, legally or otherwise obtained, fine by me. no gun will make you god. no matter how big. and all guns are designed to kill. and any of them can. any one of them will in the hands of someone who wants it for that perpose. i truly am pained and sorry for these 30 brothers and sisters. i could not imagine the grief and loss the parents are feeling right now. and god willing i hope i never do, nor you or anyone else that might take the time to read this. i don't think anyone here that i've seen is trivializing their lives nor the horrible way they passed. and don't think for a minute that i'll trivialize my child's safety. the saying goes "you can take my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands.." that ain't my thinking at all. but you or anyone else can have mine when you can make me believe without a doubt that the time has come that i'll never need one to protect my child. or anyone elses for that matter. you never know, some series of events could transpire to where your fate lies in the hands of someone like me. and if it was me, i'd be happy to do my best to protect you and yours from someone like cho seung hui. and lord willing, you'd shake my hand instead of demanding me to throw down my gun, and calling me a coward for using it in your defense. i might be wrong in all this, it's my opinion so i guess you'll interpret it in your own way. i don't mean this to start a flame war or anything. i just think you might want to see the opinion of someone who lives in the #14 state on the list posted above for deaths by shooting. i'll get over my fear when someone shows me they are no longer needed. till then i'll keep a cautious eye and a gun nearby. i'm all for keeping guns out of the hands of people like cho seung hui. are you all for keeping guns out of the hands of people like me too? i can't change your mind about it i know, but if you read this and look at the news and still don't think that my fears are warranted there's another saying i'm fond of- "there's a fine line between foolishness and bravery." you might aught to look and see if your on the right side of the line.
The individual that commited this act was given the option by a judge to check himself in for a mental evaluation, after being caught involving another type of crime (can't remember what it was). The judge didn't order him, and he was released. All other scenarios aside, all other what-if's aside, that judges' decision could (I said could) have prevented this occurence (he may have gone on to do something more heinous at a later date, who knows?). My personal feeling is that people will do what they will do, if they want to kill they will kill. You cannot predict or circumvent the actions of a person who is willing to kill or die. BTW- had the judge ordered him to undergo an evaluation, under VA State Law, he couldn't have legally purchased a gun.
This whole thing reminds me of the 5 Amish girls that were lined up and shot dead at their Nickels Mines school in Pa. last fall. That school is only a few miles from my uncles place. Where do these psychos come from??
