I been following the story all morning but had not watched or heard the any clips till a few minutes ago. My heart just sank. You can hear the systematic popping of a gun every few seconds and now we know everytime we hear one of those pops someone is dying. My heart goes out to all the families devestated by this trajedy.
I know we all react in different ways; anger, sadness, humor. But regardless of everyone's stance on guns, political views etc. OUR peers just died. These were people who undoubtedly would of crossed many of our paths in the future. Lets show a little respect and save the constructive exchange of views for another day.
Peace be with all of you and thank you all for being great pseudo co-workers.
wouldn't it be great if the news stations donated the money they made from todays coverage to those who had to deal with this tragedy. This would at least make it bearable to keep abreast on the situation without the guilt of padding pockets due to awful circumstances.
Some of you have to understand that Virginia Tech is in a tiny little hamlet that doesn't really have a huge police force. The campus police and the town police are the same entity so they are not as prepared for this kind of thing as they would be in larger communities.
That said, Blacksburg is normally an an extremely safe place that I harldy ever even have to lock my appartment or car doors in. So this is all very shocking.
here's what i don't get. on the news they do a segment on the history of gun violence at schools. they show whitman and his sniping at texas, they show the nursing student that killed his profs and some other student who killed someone. and then they talk about columbine and some other shootups. well, then they go on to ask how could this unthinkable tragedy happen??? how ridiculous. it s not only not unthinkable it happens regulary.
I'm not sure why I'm drawn to the media so much in times like this. I think I just want to watch until I think everything is going to be OK, or maybe it's just to know that there are other people out there who are as confused or sickened as I am.
In any case, I watched an hour or so of CNN tonight, and as ridiculous as I usually find their broadcasts, I was amazed when they interviewed the young man who took the now infamous camera-phone video. My friend and I saw the video (that they have been playing relentlessly) and said to ourselves, "what was he doing? why the hell didn't he just run away?" But when they interviewed him, they asked, "Jamal, where are you from?". He said, "I am from the West Bank, in Palestine", and I teared up, because this poor guy probably grew up with fighting and the sound of gunfire, and all he did was come to the US to try to get an education.
I guess what's most upsetting is that while this is a horrible tragedy, innocent Iraqis die in droves nearly every day. We should be outraged about ALL innocent people dying, and we should be as outspoken about all senseless violence as I am sure we will be after today.
This is so sad, seriously I don't know how a human could take another humans life, especially this many?
I understand if its a i live or you live situation but it wasn't.
Don't get me started about the second amendment, I am American born and so is my brother and he talks about it like its god or something. He can't wait to move to America and get a gun which I find obssered, thank god that kid has mine and my moms heart and just wants to shoot birds, none of us could hurt a soul unless it was self deffence.
I litterly couldn't eat all day, which is like wow, I'm always eating something, usually granola bar or mini wheat crisp things.
You know what I feel like talking about the second amendment. What the fuck is th right to bear arms?! I don't think anyone should have any fucking right that they havn't earned, and I'm sorry but my the looks of it the americans havn't earned that right.
Not to bring up Family stuff or anything, but I have an uncle from new bedford in boston (where I was born) and hes all gangster and talks about how his "homies" shot this guy, or this guy shot his homies like its fucking nothing, hes like 35. I saw someone get hit with a field hockey stick and thaught that was the most vicious thing ever and you can like hear how upset I am when I talk about it. They youth are desensitized (sp?) thats just a fucking excuse. I watch gory movies, and my favorite video games are shooting games and I would never EVER even think of knocking out someone that didn't diserve it or hit me first. I don't think it is the games or the TVs fault I think it these gangsters like my uncles fault, these kids see it think its so cool and they want to do it too.
I also believe a lot of youth don't understand how unversable death is, seriously I'm lost 2 people in my life, one to AIDs another to being murdered (he got his throat slit over a gold chain some crack head wanted) and at times I still think I'm going to see my uncle when I go Portugal, then I remember death is permenant I won't see him. Same thing with my friend Matt, in the back of mind I think when I go to Dannys Matt will be there. But hes not and he will never be again. I think youth really don't have a complete grasp of death, and they are going to want those guns as long as they are available weither or not that kid plans sniper games.
today's event was a tragedy, and my hopes and prayers go out to all the families, students, and the entire community of Blacksburg. Man, to believe i just visited some friends there only months ago, who actually are in Engineering and are ok at this moment.
Apparently, he was going after the girlfriend who recently ended their relationship, and went on a rampage. I wonder if these are copycat situations (CNN and VT happened after the UW shooting) or if there's some kind of metaphorical full-moon bringing out homicidal boyfriends at this time. holz.box brought up in the other thread that these killings are symptomatic of the broader issue of violence against women, and I wholeheartedly agree.
God bless the souls of those who have lost their lives in the VT shooting. God bless their families, and God bless their prematurely ended futures. May their futures be fullfilled in a better place free of violence and war.
I don't think getting rid of the right to possess arms will solve the problem, people will always be able to find a way to buy a gone the same way they get crack cocaine. This is why I carry a 9mm on me all of the time. If some crazy bust into my workplace and starts shooting people, I can protect myself. Just think if one person had a gun in the dorms how many lives would have been saved. The problem is not enough people carry fire arms if you ask me.
just look at how presidents have been assasinated with armed guards all around them... you can have all the security and guns you want, but you cannot prevent something like this. if it wasnt a gun, it would have been a homemade explosive or something else.
But bombs take time and knowledge and energy to assemble. As do chemical weapons.....other weapons like knives or whatever aren't nearly as lethal.
In the State of Virginia, you can walk into a gun show, without registering, and buy a gun. In like 15 minutes.
A gun is a lethal weapon often used more for mass killing or crime than for any kind of protection. I don't understand why we shouldn't make it more difficult, nationally, to obtain one. Why is it wrong to require this? To require safety training, or a waiting period? Why?
(I don't mean to distract from the issue at hand but the conversation seems to have gone in this direction, so I'm going with it...)
Do you think that bank robbers really buy guns through gun shops and fill out the proper licensure, have you ever heard of a drug dealer that had a license to carry a firearm, no because they get them anyways. PRO GUN!
didnt the columbine shooters also have information + materials they had experimented with to create home-bombs in their own garage- right under their parents' noses?
additionally, the internet is a vast resource and gives many opportunities to discover the information to create a small explosive, or several, and experiment with this. not to mention this was a college student, on a large college campus, who could have looked up the resources to figure this out...
Virginia is a commonwealth, not a state. you cannot walk into a gun show + buy a gun without going through registration + check. you cant even walk into wal-mart and buy one in VA without doing the same thing. this is not to say there aren't ways around this...
as vado called out earlier, and i agree, this is not about guns- it's about violence + mental illness.
as Archmed mentioned, blacksburg is a very peaceful and quiet place. there's nothing there except VT and cows- it's in the middle of nowhere. it's a student community... it is a tragedy, and if this person was motivated enough (as it sounds he was based on the fact that he was upset with his ex), he could find any means necessary to seek revenge
will be curious to see if this english major bought his gun on the blackmarket like all those nasty bank robbers. i have a feeling he did not, but we shall see.
more guns on the street equals more crime, more fear. is this the society we want to live in?
squirrelly - it's in the other VT thread. This particular thread seems to have diverged into the more political discussions. I think we're making an effort to reserve the other thread for expressing condolences to VT students who post to Archinect, so I didn't want to make a political comment there.
The three recent, majorly publicized shootings in the US have all had the common theme of a man who has set out to murder-suicide his current/recent girlfriend in a relatively public, institutional space (not at home, in an alley, etc.) I may be totally wrong, but my intuition/education leads me to guess that this is born of the murderer's own mental illness which goes far beyond gender issues, but a sense of entitlement that the victim (or intended victim) "belongs" to him, as affirmed by longstanding cultural reinforcements that women are the property of men. What's more, there's also the element of needing to make a very public gesture of the murder. I also wonder if it's simply coincidental that these have all happened within such a brief span of time, or if one incident may be a copycat of predecessors. Obviously, not enough is known about this situation to fully piece together the motives o how long this has been premeditated, and reportedly the VT killer left a note behind which may explain more. It's simply an eerie coincidence, if it is indeed a coincidence, that all of these shootings apparently had the same underlying motive (as opposed to shootings like Columbine, which was, to overgeneralize, revenge against bullying.)
In order to purchase a handgun, you must have a license to carry a firearm. You must be a US Citizen over 21 years of age in order to get the license, and must not have certain kinds of convictions on your record.
There are other types of gun licenses available for non-residents and non-citizens. For more information, call the Firearms Records Bureau at 617-660-4780.
as it has been noted before, Canada has more guns per capita than the US, but next to nothing in terms of gun crime. there's alot of blame to go around. now i am not sure if in Canada they allow semi-automatics, but clearly we crazy Americans do not deserve the priveledge of a Second Amendment - let alone a first - if we cannot step up to the plate and act sensibly when it comes to gun laws, fear, and the overreaching power of right wind dictatorship that subjagates and breeds fear amongst its citizenry.
how is that we allowed this president to enact laws restricting civil liberties, after he stands up there from the bully pulpit spouting off that Americans should get back to normal after 9/11? how? here's how; getting back to normal means let us - the neo-cons - handle your freedom, while you enjoy Disneyland.
until we stop acting like children take all of the guns away.
If people want to harm others they are going to do so by whatever means they have....
Gun control basically targets those that have already shown abilities to be hurtful and a threat to the community and takes the ability to purchase such weapons out of their hands. The kid was acting out of anger and he most likely he's not the sharpest pencil in the box but somehow he flew under the radar as being potentially harmful. Gun control can't really help me there, and giving the government the ability to say no one can have guns gives them way too much control. In the converse, saying you have to control every single aspect of owning a gun is just simply impossible.
It doesn't matter if you post gun-control facts (or lack thereof) from every state/commonwealth in the US... it makes no difference because we can't control everything.
The facts are the boy didn't have that little voice that most of us have to say stop. He was mentally unstable and yes, he hurt others. The real issue is how do we get others to learn to deal with their emotions in a less harmful and constructive way? We also need to find out ways to alert students and update the campus as to what is going on/emergencies/immediate disasters, etc. The technology is out there and could be merged with audio/voice/cell phone systems as well as could potentially be an architectural solution.
the Students + Professors identified so far:
Maxine Turner
Leslie Sherman
Reema Samaha
Mary Karen Read
Juan Ortiz
G.V. Loganathan
Liviu Librescu
Henry Lee
Jarrett Lane
Matt La Porte
Emily Hilscher
Caitlin Hammaren
Kevin Granata
Daniel Perez Cueva
Ryan Clark
Christopher James Bishop
Ross Abdallah Alameddine
[url=http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms.shtm]Does one have to have U.S. citizenship to be eligible to purchase a firearm?
A buyer who is not a citizen of the United States must have lawful alien status and must establish that he or she is a resident of a state by providing a valid photo identification and documentation such as a utility bill or lease agreement which would establish that he or she has resided in the state for at least 90 days prior to the date of the sale.[/url]
According to a report on cnn.com, the serial numbers were filed off of the guns used in this atrocity. This typically indicates guns that were not obtained at your friendly neighborhood shootin' shack.
shooter: Cho Sung Hui, 23 yr. old originally from So. Korea, "loner" English major senior at VT, lived with parents who own a dry cleaners, sister graduated form Princeton, he had written recently on "rich kids and debauchery"
hey eastcoaster, first, douche i am from jersey so taunting me will get a boot in your ass. second, i don't know if reading is a problem where you reside, but there are several we's in my statement, which should be a clue to your worthless ass that we and america[n] includes me.
another reason why we should ban guns, dumbasses can't read.
thing is, if you live in america and enjoy all it's freedoms, then you have no right to say fuck america. if you still say it, then your dumbass should leave.
so, I may have missed it with all of the loud talk in here, but where's the mention of the person or (persons?) who tried to protect his peers and classmates by stopping the guy?
well what a big mother f'n surprise...shy, whiney, probably spoiled, moderately affluent kid with what is appearing to be a solid family unit who just had to blame everyone and anyone for whatever minor stupidities that every single one of us has to deal with he considered to be serious atrocities in his own life...good lord i should have called this one.
If all of this reported past behaviour of fire setting and stalking comes to fruition i wish on his parents that for every second of the rest of their miserable lives they cannot go anywhere without this publicly hanging over their head.... its starting to look like the signs of this eventually occurring could have been seen from space by a normal attentive parent...but again, big surprise.
I own a few guns. Let me just say that one law which I believe should be passed is that you should not be able to purchase a weapon unless you have proof of safe storage. People that go buy a gun/guns and just leave them in a closet or drawer is completely irresponsible.
Also, I'm not sure where all of you are living/from but states like Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado (excluding Denver), are worlds away from states like California, New York, Connecticut, etc. In the first mentioned states owning a gun is not odd it is actually fairly commonplace and because of this there is basically no fear surrounding firearms. These are also the states where there are far less gun fatalities per capita. I don't know if you have been to Canada, but it has much the same way/mindset as MT, WY, UT, ID, and interestingly about the same fatality rates.
Now, while living in CA I have found that there is a huge fear associated even with responsible fire arm ownership, almost to the point where one would be socially shunned if known to own a firearm. It seems to be the same mindset in places like DC, NY, CT. Surprisingly or not these are also the states which have far higher gun fatalities per capita. Now I am no scientist and I am not sure what these statistics mean but they are interesting none the less.
The less fear and more understanding that is associated with ANYTHING the better off we are. Guns are not going away so you might as well try and understand them.
Shooting + Murder at VIRGINIA TECH
I been following the story all morning but had not watched or heard the any clips till a few minutes ago. My heart just sank. You can hear the systematic popping of a gun every few seconds and now we know everytime we hear one of those pops someone is dying. My heart goes out to all the families devestated by this trajedy.
I know we all react in different ways; anger, sadness, humor. But regardless of everyone's stance on guns, political views etc. OUR peers just died. These were people who undoubtedly would of crossed many of our paths in the future. Lets show a little respect and save the constructive exchange of views for another day.
Peace be with all of you and thank you all for being great pseudo co-workers.
Alfredo
beautifully stated, alfredo
Chris Jordan's artistic commentary,
Handguns, 2007
is worth noting.
Draw from it whatever conclusions you will...
www.chrisjordan.com
wouldn't it be great if the news stations donated the money they made from todays coverage to those who had to deal with this tragedy. This would at least make it bearable to keep abreast on the situation without the guilt of padding pockets due to awful circumstances.
Some of you have to understand that Virginia Tech is in a tiny little hamlet that doesn't really have a huge police force. The campus police and the town police are the same entity so they are not as prepared for this kind of thing as they would be in larger communities.
That said, Blacksburg is normally an an extremely safe place that I harldy ever even have to lock my appartment or car doors in. So this is all very shocking.
those were really cool Jared.
here's what i don't get. on the news they do a segment on the history of gun violence at schools. they show whitman and his sniping at texas, they show the nursing student that killed his profs and some other student who killed someone. and then they talk about columbine and some other shootups. well, then they go on to ask how could this unthinkable tragedy happen??? how ridiculous. it s not only not unthinkable it happens regulary.
absolutely meta. I have been distracted by this story all day but I would never think to go to cnn or their ilk.
vultures.
I'm not sure why I'm drawn to the media so much in times like this. I think I just want to watch until I think everything is going to be OK, or maybe it's just to know that there are other people out there who are as confused or sickened as I am.
In any case, I watched an hour or so of CNN tonight, and as ridiculous as I usually find their broadcasts, I was amazed when they interviewed the young man who took the now infamous camera-phone video. My friend and I saw the video (that they have been playing relentlessly) and said to ourselves, "what was he doing? why the hell didn't he just run away?" But when they interviewed him, they asked, "Jamal, where are you from?". He said, "I am from the West Bank, in Palestine", and I teared up, because this poor guy probably grew up with fighting and the sound of gunfire, and all he did was come to the US to try to get an education.
I guess what's most upsetting is that while this is a horrible tragedy, innocent Iraqis die in droves nearly every day. We should be outraged about ALL innocent people dying, and we should be as outspoken about all senseless violence as I am sure we will be after today.
well don't miss the today show because they will be doing the weather from there tomorrow.
oh my god, vado please tell me your kidding...
This is so sad, seriously I don't know how a human could take another humans life, especially this many?
I understand if its a i live or you live situation but it wasn't.
Don't get me started about the second amendment, I am American born and so is my brother and he talks about it like its god or something. He can't wait to move to America and get a gun which I find obssered, thank god that kid has mine and my moms heart and just wants to shoot birds, none of us could hurt a soul unless it was self deffence.
I litterly couldn't eat all day, which is like wow, I'm always eating something, usually granola bar or mini wheat crisp things.
You know what I feel like talking about the second amendment. What the fuck is th right to bear arms?! I don't think anyone should have any fucking right that they havn't earned, and I'm sorry but my the looks of it the americans havn't earned that right.
Not to bring up Family stuff or anything, but I have an uncle from new bedford in boston (where I was born) and hes all gangster and talks about how his "homies" shot this guy, or this guy shot his homies like its fucking nothing, hes like 35. I saw someone get hit with a field hockey stick and thaught that was the most vicious thing ever and you can like hear how upset I am when I talk about it. They youth are desensitized (sp?) thats just a fucking excuse. I watch gory movies, and my favorite video games are shooting games and I would never EVER even think of knocking out someone that didn't diserve it or hit me first. I don't think it is the games or the TVs fault I think it these gangsters like my uncles fault, these kids see it think its so cool and they want to do it too.
I also believe a lot of youth don't understand how unversable death is, seriously I'm lost 2 people in my life, one to AIDs another to being murdered (he got his throat slit over a gold chain some crack head wanted) and at times I still think I'm going to see my uncle when I go Portugal, then I remember death is permenant I won't see him. Same thing with my friend Matt, in the back of mind I think when I go to Dannys Matt will be there. But hes not and he will never be again. I think youth really don't have a complete grasp of death, and they are going to want those guns as long as they are available weither or not that kid plans sniper games.
today's event was a tragedy, and my hopes and prayers go out to all the families, students, and the entire community of Blacksburg. Man, to believe i just visited some friends there only months ago, who actually are in Engineering and are ok at this moment.
any info on who was the guy and why exactly he did it , was it just another case of mental breakdown or was there a motive ?
some english people were saying it was because of a relationship gone bad or something theres a link up on the first page some where.
Apparently, he was going after the girlfriend who recently ended their relationship, and went on a rampage. I wonder if these are copycat situations (CNN and VT happened after the UW shooting) or if there's some kind of metaphorical full-moon bringing out homicidal boyfriends at this time. holz.box brought up in the other thread that these killings are symptomatic of the broader issue of violence against women, and I wholeheartedly agree.
God bless the souls of those who have lost their lives in the VT shooting. God bless their families, and God bless their prematurely ended futures. May their futures be fullfilled in a better place free of violence and war.
Hey Susan....how so? (with regards to the broader issue of violence against women)? What's the thread that holz.box brought that up in?
Im curious to hear how this was derived at?
I don't think getting rid of the right to possess arms will solve the problem, people will always be able to find a way to buy a gone the same way they get crack cocaine. This is why I carry a 9mm on me all of the time. If some crazy bust into my workplace and starts shooting people, I can protect myself. Just think if one person had a gun in the dorms how many lives would have been saved. The problem is not enough people carry fire arms if you ask me.
sp. gone = gun
I hope you're jesting jamez....I really do!
just look at how presidents have been assasinated with armed guards all around them... you can have all the security and guns you want, but you cannot prevent something like this. if it wasnt a gun, it would have been a homemade explosive or something else.
But bombs take time and knowledge and energy to assemble. As do chemical weapons.....other weapons like knives or whatever aren't nearly as lethal.
In the State of Virginia, you can walk into a gun show, without registering, and buy a gun. In like 15 minutes.
A gun is a lethal weapon often used more for mass killing or crime than for any kind of protection. I don't understand why we shouldn't make it more difficult, nationally, to obtain one. Why is it wrong to require this? To require safety training, or a waiting period? Why?
(I don't mean to distract from the issue at hand but the conversation seems to have gone in this direction, so I'm going with it...)
This is different than an assasination attempt.
Do you think that bank robbers really buy guns through gun shops and fill out the proper licensure, have you ever heard of a drug dealer that had a license to carry a firearm, no because they get them anyways. PRO GUN!
didnt the columbine shooters also have information + materials they had experimented with to create home-bombs in their own garage- right under their parents' noses?
additionally, the internet is a vast resource and gives many opportunities to discover the information to create a small explosive, or several, and experiment with this. not to mention this was a college student, on a large college campus, who could have looked up the resources to figure this out...
Virginia is a commonwealth, not a state. you cannot walk into a gun show + buy a gun without going through registration + check. you cant even walk into wal-mart and buy one in VA without doing the same thing. this is not to say there aren't ways around this...
as vado called out earlier, and i agree, this is not about guns- it's about violence + mental illness.
as Archmed mentioned, blacksburg is a very peaceful and quiet place. there's nothing there except VT and cows- it's in the middle of nowhere. it's a student community... it is a tragedy, and if this person was motivated enough (as it sounds he was based on the fact that he was upset with his ex), he could find any means necessary to seek revenge
will be curious to see if this english major bought his gun on the blackmarket like all those nasty bank robbers. i have a feeling he did not, but we shall see.
more guns on the street equals more crime, more fear. is this the society we want to live in?
im curious... how many of you actually legally own guns?
squirrelly - it's in the other VT thread. This particular thread seems to have diverged into the more political discussions. I think we're making an effort to reserve the other thread for expressing condolences to VT students who post to Archinect, so I didn't want to make a political comment there.
The three recent, majorly publicized shootings in the US have all had the common theme of a man who has set out to murder-suicide his current/recent girlfriend in a relatively public, institutional space (not at home, in an alley, etc.) I may be totally wrong, but my intuition/education leads me to guess that this is born of the murderer's own mental illness which goes far beyond gender issues, but a sense of entitlement that the victim (or intended victim) "belongs" to him, as affirmed by longstanding cultural reinforcements that women are the property of men. What's more, there's also the element of needing to make a very public gesture of the murder. I also wonder if it's simply coincidental that these have all happened within such a brief span of time, or if one incident may be a copycat of predecessors. Obviously, not enough is known about this situation to fully piece together the motives o how long this has been premeditated, and reportedly the VT killer left a note behind which may explain more. It's simply an eerie coincidence, if it is indeed a coincidence, that all of these shootings apparently had the same underlying motive (as opposed to shootings like Columbine, which was, to overgeneralize, revenge against bullying.)
Neither of those are answers to the question.
Why is it wrong to make it more difficult to buy a gun?
To require safety training, or a waiting period?
Also, a full listing of Virginia state gun laws, from the state web site:
Anti-Trafficking
Is there a one-handgun-per-month limit on gun sales?
-Yes
Assault Weapons
Are there limitations on assault weapons and magazines?
-No
Attorney General Regulations
May Attorney General regulate guns?
-No
Background Check At State Level
Do state police perform a background check in addition to federal NICS check?
-Yes
Ballistic Fingerprinting
Must handguns be ballistic fingerprinted prior to sale?
-No
CCW Limits
May police limit carrying concealed handguns?
-No
Child Access Prevention - CAP
Are gun owners held accountable for leaving guns accessible to kids?
-Yes
Child-Safety Locks
Must locking devices be sold with guns?
-No
Gun Manufacturer Accountability
Do cities have authority to hold gun makers legally liable?
-No
Gun Show Checks
Are background checks required at gun shows?
-No
Juvenile Possession
Are minors restricted from possessing guns?
-Partial
Juvenile Sale
Is it illegal to sell guns to kids?
-Partial
License or Permit to Purchase
Is a license/permit required to buy handguns?
-No
Local Gun Laws - Preemption
May cities enact laws stronger than the state's?
-No
Record Keeping
May police maintain gun sale records?
-Partial
Registration
Are all guns registered with law enforcement?
-No
Safety Standards
Are there consumer safety standards on guns?
-No
Safety Training
Is safety training required for handgun buyers?
-No
Saturday Night Specials
Are there limitations on 'junk' handguns?
-No
School Zones
Is it illegal for CCW permit holders to carry guns into schools?
-Yes
Secondary Sales
Are background checks required on 'private' gun sales?
-No
Waiting Period
Is there a waiting period on gun sales?
-No
I don't believe non u.s. citizens can purchase firearms legally, since they are not citizens!
Who Can Buy a Handgun Lawfully?
In order to purchase a handgun, you must have a license to carry a firearm. You must be a US Citizen over 21 years of age in order to get the license, and must not have certain kinds of convictions on your record.
There are other types of gun licenses available for non-residents and non-citizens. For more information, call the Firearms Records Bureau at 617-660-4780.
as it has been noted before, Canada has more guns per capita than the US, but next to nothing in terms of gun crime. there's alot of blame to go around. now i am not sure if in Canada they allow semi-automatics, but clearly we crazy Americans do not deserve the priveledge of a Second Amendment - let alone a first - if we cannot step up to the plate and act sensibly when it comes to gun laws, fear, and the overreaching power of right wind dictatorship that subjagates and breeds fear amongst its citizenry.
how is that we allowed this president to enact laws restricting civil liberties, after he stands up there from the bully pulpit spouting off that Americans should get back to normal after 9/11? how? here's how; getting back to normal means let us - the neo-cons - handle your freedom, while you enjoy Disneyland.
until we stop acting like children take all of the guns away.
fuck you Amerika, fuck you to hell.
If people want to harm others they are going to do so by whatever means they have....
Gun control basically targets those that have already shown abilities to be hurtful and a threat to the community and takes the ability to purchase such weapons out of their hands. The kid was acting out of anger and he most likely he's not the sharpest pencil in the box but somehow he flew under the radar as being potentially harmful. Gun control can't really help me there, and giving the government the ability to say no one can have guns gives them way too much control. In the converse, saying you have to control every single aspect of owning a gun is just simply impossible.
It doesn't matter if you post gun-control facts (or lack thereof) from every state/commonwealth in the US... it makes no difference because we can't control everything.
The facts are the boy didn't have that little voice that most of us have to say stop. He was mentally unstable and yes, he hurt others. The real issue is how do we get others to learn to deal with their emotions in a less harmful and constructive way? We also need to find out ways to alert students and update the campus as to what is going on/emergencies/immediate disasters, etc. The technology is out there and could be merged with audio/voice/cell phone systems as well as could potentially be an architectural solution.
the Students + Professors identified so far:
Maxine Turner
Leslie Sherman
Reema Samaha
Mary Karen Read
Juan Ortiz
G.V. Loganathan
Liviu Librescu
Henry Lee
Jarrett Lane
Matt La Porte
Emily Hilscher
Caitlin Hammaren
Kevin Granata
Daniel Perez Cueva
Ryan Clark
Christopher James Bishop
Ross Abdallah Alameddine
[url=http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms.shtm]Does one have to have U.S. citizenship to be eligible to purchase a firearm?
A buyer who is not a citizen of the United States must have lawful alien status and must establish that he or she is a resident of a state by providing a valid photo identification and documentation such as a utility bill or lease agreement which would establish that he or she has resided in the state for at least 90 days prior to the date of the sale.[/url]
hey we can keep arguing about guns and get NOWHERE because you're never going to take the 2nd ammendment away from Americans.
OR, we can take a moment and cherish your current life, reflecting on the tragedy yesterday, because you never know when your time is up.
this is so ridiculous. im sorry i ever posted on this site.
According to a report on cnn.com, the serial numbers were filed off of the guns used in this atrocity. This typically indicates guns that were not obtained at your friendly neighborhood shootin' shack.
shooter: Cho Sung Hui, 23 yr. old originally from So. Korea, "loner" English major senior at VT, lived with parents who own a dry cleaners, sister graduated form Princeton, he had written recently on "rich kids and debauchery"
correction: he lived on campus in dorm, not with parents ; and apparently was on medication for depression.
hey eastcoaster, first, douche i am from jersey so taunting me will get a boot in your ass. second, i don't know if reading is a problem where you reside, but there are several we's in my statement, which should be a clue to your worthless ass that we and america[n] includes me.
another reason why we should ban guns, dumbasses can't read.
wow, that was a nice cyber smack there.
thing is, if you live in america and enjoy all it's freedoms, then you have no right to say fuck america. if you still say it, then your dumbass should leave.
read that.
hmmm- so we're now attracting aliens with gun lust to these shores. Building a fence won't stop other countries from exporting their psycho's here.
maybe that's how canada keeps the violence crimes down- they just cross the border.
so, I may have missed it with all of the loud talk in here, but where's the mention of the person or (persons?) who tried to protect his peers and classmates by stopping the guy?
well what a big mother f'n surprise...shy, whiney, probably spoiled, moderately affluent kid with what is appearing to be a solid family unit who just had to blame everyone and anyone for whatever minor stupidities that every single one of us has to deal with he considered to be serious atrocities in his own life...good lord i should have called this one.
If all of this reported past behaviour of fire setting and stalking comes to fruition i wish on his parents that for every second of the rest of their miserable lives they cannot go anywhere without this publicly hanging over their head.... its starting to look like the signs of this eventually occurring could have been seen from space by a normal attentive parent...but again, big surprise.
actually, american citizens do have the right to say fuck america.
I own a few guns. Let me just say that one law which I believe should be passed is that you should not be able to purchase a weapon unless you have proof of safe storage. People that go buy a gun/guns and just leave them in a closet or drawer is completely irresponsible.
Also, I'm not sure where all of you are living/from but states like Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado (excluding Denver), are worlds away from states like California, New York, Connecticut, etc. In the first mentioned states owning a gun is not odd it is actually fairly commonplace and because of this there is basically no fear surrounding firearms. These are also the states where there are far less gun fatalities per capita. I don't know if you have been to Canada, but it has much the same way/mindset as MT, WY, UT, ID, and interestingly about the same fatality rates.
Now, while living in CA I have found that there is a huge fear associated even with responsible fire arm ownership, almost to the point where one would be socially shunned if known to own a firearm. It seems to be the same mindset in places like DC, NY, CT. Surprisingly or not these are also the states which have far higher gun fatalities per capita. Now I am no scientist and I am not sure what these statistics mean but they are interesting none the less.
The less fear and more understanding that is associated with ANYTHING the better off we are. Guns are not going away so you might as well try and understand them.
then you are a disgrace and you embarass this country when you bash it's name and cause
die. take that big gun you have, insert in mouth and pull trigger, you flag waving prick.
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