The tragedy at Virginia Tech

[Slyp Dawg]

Earlier today a gunman broke into a co-ed dorm and a classroom at Virginia Tech, killing at least 31 people. I figure that you all have already heard this, but it struck me close to home, as I am friends with a girl who goes to tech as well as her parents. I sincerely hope she isn't one of the 31 dead. I truly feel sorry for those who have lost loved ones in the tragedy this morning. the whole thing is a chilling echo of the Columbine shooting 8 years ago, with the gunman going on a killing spree, then killing himself. I heard about this earlier today during homeroom, but the full impact just hit me while watching a news report. There is virtually nothing the school could have done to prevent this, as it is nearly unheard of for someone to break into a university and go on a killing spree. Some things you just can not prepare for or against, this being one of them. There will always be people who do this kind of stuff, and there isn't much that can be done to keep them from commiting atrocities such as this, at least not without taking away freedoms, but I still hope that the law enforcement officers of America and the world can find a way to cut down on large scale violent crime such as this. I understand that everyone has a breaking point, in fact I wholeheartedly support this fact, but to take out your angers or troubles by killing 30 plus innocent people is an atrocity. My prayers go out to all the people affected by this tragedy.

[minijosh]

I hope those 2 guys fail their mid-terms.

[MikeT]

Columbine. My exact thoughts when i saw this on the news, except the gunman wasn't a pupil!

Deepest sympathies to anyone whose lost a loved one at Virginia Tech

[minijosh]

The news said there were 2 gunmen but there was only one.  Well I'm shocked someone in his situation would snap and go crazy like that.  A lot of people will say it's the fault of the USA for having guns but this isn't true.  Guns don't kill people, people kill people. How many more people die from a drunk driver in a car verses guns? Anyways I feel bad for all the innocent people who died. As for the killer, I would have felt better if the police would have shot him verses himself doing it. So many lives lost because he was upset.

[Tamiya1/10]

Until the States have real gun control laws tragedy like this will continue to happen in the States. Is true people kill people, but guns were designed to help people kill people, more efficiently and effectively.

[Shodog]

 What happened at Virginia tech is truly a tragedy and it's beyond my comprehension why the gunmen would do such a terrible thing.  He will be remembered as a deranged monster and his surviving family will live in shame.

 I fear this thread will turn into a debate on gun control.  While yes, Guns do make it easy to kill someone, the use of guns in a crime is over sensationalized by the media.  It’s a popular whipping horse. 

What the media fails to mention is the real killers in the United States which are health related.  Major Cardiovascular Diseases kills 2567 people a day and Malignant Neoplasm’s kill 1515 per day. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease accounts for 334 deaths while Diabetes takes the lives of 190 people per day.  The common Flu and Pneumonia take another 179 people and Alzheimer’s accounts for 135 deaths.

Motor Vehicle Accidents take the lives of 119 people per day.

Deaths at the hand of firearms account for 78 deaths per day.  This statistic takes into account all gun deaths which Include Gang Warfare, Self Defense Shootings and Criminals Killed by Police.  If you were to only look at accidental discharges of firearms, they account for only 2 deaths per day in the US.

My point is if people were really interested in preventing deaths of people, they should refocus their energy in more worthwhile pursuits

[Z]

Guns kill people like spoons make Michael Moore fat! An armed population is extremely important to keep criminals in check. The possibility of a gun being in the house of the guy you intend to rob is a good incentive to keep going straight, as they say. Furthermore, if even 50% of the responsible people at Virginia tech were wearing guns, do you think the guy would have killed as many people as he did? The secret to a safer population is for responsible citizens to be armed. BTW, do you realize how many laws that guy broke by doing what he did? Adding a few more won't make any difference. By taking away guns from the public, you get an unarmed public and a lot of armed criminals. Any questions?

[minijosh]

How many people die in the UK from gun shots?  There's a lot more than you think. They have tv shows here saying how easy it is to get a gun on the streets. Illegal is everywhere you go. Just because the public can't buy a gun doesn't mean that the neighborhood thug doesn't have one.  What about that drug dealer? He's for sure packing some heat.

 Back to the real story.  How can a kid from a middle class family just snap? Pressure from school? Pressure from family? I'd like to be able to dig into his brain and find out what he was thinking. Not really why he did it, but what led up to the events.  If someone is checked for mental illness, I think they should be banned from buying any sort of gun except a water gun.

[minijosh]

Hey Slyp Dawg, is your friend ok?

[fatboyslim]

Yes it is indeed a tragedy, as josh says what things were going through the guys head to make him think 'I'll go and shoot 32 innocent people!!'

The gun debate is one that will be forever heated, I used to be a firearms certificate holder and owned 2 handguns, obviously due to the changes in handgun ownership laws in the UK it's now illegal to own any type of handgun

The laws in the UK have changed many times the most significant were after the Hungerford shootings (a ban on any full automatic weapons and certain assault rifles) and the Dunblane shootings (banning any type of handgun), what many people don't realise is the two gunmen in these incidents were LEGALLY licenced gun owners who for reasons known only to themselves woke up one day and decided to go and kill innocent people and as you may know Dunblanes victims were mainly young children, the question that arises is, if it was illegal to own a gun would these incidents happen?

In the UK the application form for a Firearms Certificate was laughable it was a form designed for 'honest' people, basically it asked if you or a close family member had ever been treated for a mental illness or been sectioned or if you'd ever been convicted of a violent offence, after you filled the form in you then sent it to your local Police HQ who entered your details on the National Database, which when you look back at all the other UK databases doesn't bode well

If all legal gun ownership was banned would it stop gun crime? No it wouldn't, even now I know enough people to be able to get virtually any gun I want, so no matter what restrictions are placed on gun ownership they'll still be available to anyone who wants them

[Slyp Dawg]

Hey Slyp Dawg, is your friend ok?

yes, she is. she was in the ROTC program at tech, so I'm not suprised that she is unharmed. releived, but not suprised.