It's pretty hard to kill 33 people at a time with a knife.

 

have you ever tried?

 

No, can't say as I have.

Of course, I've never been hit in the head with a brick, either...but I'm pretty confident I wouldn't like it. Some things are just self-evident.

 

My prayers go out to their families. This is just sickening.....

 

I have been bombarded as we all have by media surrounding this and other violent acts here and abroad. It is astounding how many people advocate gun control, and argue about how it should be illegal to obtain such effective weaponry. I think the weapons in these cases are simply the most effective tools the perpatrators can obtain with the resources they have.
In many cases the guns are obtained illegally which blows the gun control argument out of the water. I think in order to address the root cause you ultimately need to examine the state of mind of the individual, and how they came to be in that state of mind. we can argue about gun control all we want, but isn't it a finger that pulls the trigger? should we then manditorily remove the fingers of all people so they cannot pull triggers? sounds ludicrous, but the gun control argument is basically just as ludicrous.
It is the mind that controls the fingers that operate the weapons, and to mitigate disasters such as this one we need to better understand peoples state of mind. In many cases the people who go on the rampage and kill are distrought, and suicidal. How many times has a little concern from a stranger, or maybe the smile of a pretty girl turned your bad day around?Our society's unwritten rules are not very conducive to caring for your fellow man, but more the contrary and quite impersonal. we need to change the way we treat or fellow man if we are to improve the future.

just my 2 cents....or maybe that was a quarter

 

I do not believe all guns should be banned from law abiding citizens, but I don't think the average Joe needs an automatic or semi-automatic weapon either. I see nothing wrong with background checks or certification. I do feel safer knowing the shotgun is nearby when I'm home alone. Once, while out waterskiing with another girl, a boat with a couple of guys in it kept hanging around. It really gave us the creeps.I commented to my friend that I hoped my pepper spray keychain was in working order. She said not to worry-she had a handgun wrapped in her beach towel. I felt more secure. I really can see both sides, but badguys will always find a way, and goodguys need protection. My heart goes out to all who were killed or injured and to their families. I wish we were not afraid to report suspicious people/acts and I wish these reports were taken more seriously. I'm not saying anyone in this case knew anything, but sometimes there are signs.

 

More individual freedom = more risk, I think.
I'm really torn on gun control. I think the first 10 years of prohibition would show that all the guns are now in the hands of the criminals.

 

We need to do something about the desensitization of our youth. They see so much violence and destruction in their daily lives and on the evening news that it all becomes "just another killing". Just think about what's going on over in Iraq. It's usually the 3rd or 4th story in that another dozen soilders were killed. It's so common place that no one thinks twice. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's the truth. I'm of the opinion that just because something happened doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be covered 24/7 in ridiculous detail. The problem is the media realizes people will be drawn in and watch this stuff which inturn will boost their ad revenue.

I think rather than gun control we need to look at ammo control. Make the bullets cost $5 a piece rather than $5/1000 (guessing here). If you want to go fire off a few rounds at the local range you buy and use the ammo there. If you're going hunting, you're not buying 9mm shells for your Glock. No one needs to buy cases at a time (in urban areas anyway). Of course the counter argument to all of this is that if someone is determined they'll find a way. But, if it was just a little harder I bet it would have some measureable impact.

 

i just made this same point a few days ago in another thread but i cant find it to re-post here

 

Good points. I think school security and workplace security should be to some extent the responsability of each individual as well as the securty teams, and authorities. if one guy with two pistols got mobbed by 40 people chances are he wont be able to do as much damage.

 

The problem is that there are not 40 people willing to risk their lives to do this. Yes less lives would be lost but 1 or more of the those 40 would likly not survive.

 

you are right. but if it were addressed in class discussions, and people had the idea in their mind that if someone came in the classroom armed it would be in the best interest of everyone in the room to do something to address the threat (throwing books, rushing the shooter, etc) it would save lives.

Faced with this situation you have choices. some are better than others, but there are things that can be done. all I am saying is addressing this in the schools system just like a fire drill, or stop drop and roll class would help.

lying on the floor waiting to be shot is just not a viable option. There were kids playing dead, jumping out windows, running, etc. these are all things that were split second decisions. I am just saying that these events while horrible are real and happening more often. the possibility is there and the situation should have some kind of mitigation plan that is better than the current one which has been proven to fail time and time again.

the campus security team is not going to step up, the local cops are going to show up within several minutes if that, and the swat teams are not going to just rush in. that leaves the immediate threat mitigation plan to the students and faculty unfortunately. any plan is better than no plan. I am just throwing it out there for discussion.

what could 20 students do to deter a shooter in a classroom?

 

I actually work "in the business" with regard to security and surveilance systems. We have tons of solutions that could aid in just such a situation with panic buttons, electric door strikes, cameras and the like that could quickly isolate a perpetrator in the event something went down. The big nut to crack is the cost. Some schools/districts are willing to do it while others simply can't afford it. In the grand scheme of things, these cases though well covered are very random and statistically few. It all boils down to money and calculated risk I'm afraid. The folks posting that people need to step in and take action are right to an extent, but there aren't very many people willing to risk their own lives for everyone else's sake. Maybe they should outfit teachers with safety gear and guns so they can be the first responders if just such an event were to occur. I really don't have a solid answer. When some deranged soul has it in their mind that they want to go shoot some people there's little that can be done to stop them.

 

That campus is a "gun-free-zone", as many campuses are. The shooter was a low-life coward and knew he would be walking into a "gun-free-zone." When I saw the video footage and heard the gun shots coming from inside, Oh how i wish someone on the inside could have had a CCW permit and could have dropped that dirtbag.

 

Totall goof up especially when it was the same fire arm in the morning as well as the fatal weapon there after , Someone screwed the pooch on this one ! The right to bear arms huh. and in some states its way to leanient on that PERIOD. no flippin wonder poor familys as well all that has to deal with this.

 

I heard a report that immediately following the first shooting the police stopped the girl's boyfriend driving from the campus. I think they initially thought he might have been involved which very likely drew the attention away from the actual shooter. These sorts of things usually are domestic in nature, so the boyfriend would be pretty high on the list of suspects. While the outcome was horrific, I'm not so sure it could have been prevented.

 

If people HAVE to have guns, perhaps the law should make it MUCH tougher to get them, i.e. mandatory waiting periods; broader background checks; psychological profiling, etc., etc. And I like the idea of making handgun ammunition way more expensive for average citizens.

Anything to slow down the process for an impulsive nutjob contemplating mass murder. The fact is that this guy just walked into a store, plunked down three pieces of I.D., and after a superficial background check went home with his new lethal toys. It's assinine when you really stop and think about it. Sure, anyone who really wants one will find a way to get one illegally. But for crissake, let's not make it as easy as buying a bottle of pop.

 

Yeah being able to walk out the same day with the weapon is crazy. Maybe if there would ahve been a waiting period he would have thought it through form the time buying and getting it that he might not have done it.

 

yeah, i think it's harder to get alcohol or a driver's license than to get a gun at age 18.

but i find it interesting that the topic of the VA Tech tragedy always ends up in a discussion about gun control.

my prayers go out to the families.

 

before you can even say copycat a kid brought a gun to school in huntsville yesterday..
the kids out there who play the horrendously violent video games for hours on end or go to movies equally as bad are setting yourself up for the exact same mindless slaughtering without compassion .. you graduate from joy killing small animals with soul less pleasure to purpously trying to run over animals on the highway and killing every snake or bird or anything for the " thrill " of the kill .. you viciously hack up and blow away victoms on your game players and dont realise it is makeing you every bit as capable of evil as the "player " you are acting out.. i was raised on the andy and mayberry show .. gomer pile .. bugs bunny cartoons .. society as a whole is in the gutter .. one can only hope GOD will stop us before we destroy ourselves .. jsut random banter ...