Virginia Tech

[Wongo]

"Guns dont kill people, people kill people."

So why do they use a gun?

[Matt88s]

Quote:

"Guns dont kill people, people kill people."

Wongo
So why do they use a gun?

To carry out their wish to harm or kill someone else.

Perhaps the question we should be asking here is why we have such an abundance of people in the younger generation willing to use guns in such a fashion as this. Why are they so full of hate that they will take guns into schools and marketplaces and gun down people they don't even know?

I grew up in the country. We had guns the in the house and I still do, they were/they are tools, nothing more and nothing less. They were taken out when they were needed and put up when they were done. There was never any urge for any of us to take them to school and go on a rampage, things like that never crossed our minds.

Where is it that we have failed with this generation that they have such an affinity for gunning down their classmates? What is wrong with society that we're turning out such messed up and disturbed kids?

A lot would be the answer, and until we change it, this kind of problem is not going to change. You can ban guns but there will still be guns to be had. If they don't have guns they will use other things, bombs, knifes, clubs, rocks, where there is a will there is a way, people have been killing each other all throughout history long before guns were around.

Weapons were banned on the campus, not that that stopped anything. He used a .22 pistol and a 9mm pistol, nothing out of the ordinary.

Very sad, very disturbing, my heartfelt condolences to all evolved.

[coastie]

Still got 35 to beat came close though!!

[zenwood]

They (and us outside observors) simply have to accept the inevitable costs, that is 32,000 US citzens a year killed by fire arms.

That's a very disturbing total. I wonder what it is in other countries. It amounts to more than 10 times the fatalities of the 9/11 attacks, or one 9/11 attack about every 5 weeks. Perhaps the US citizenry would be more secure if the government declared a "War on Guns" instead of a "War on Terror".

[Big Shed]

That is an incredible number, if correct.

Not only puts 9/11(I hate that term!) in the shade, but also the number of people killed in Iraq.
Someone made the point on ABC Radio that if this number of people had been blown up by a bomb in Iraq it would hardly have rated a mention on the news.

Go figure.

[glock40sw]

just Stop and think for a moment.
If the College allowed CCW and one of the students HAD a Firearm legally.
Then the outcome could have been very very different with the criminal shooter being the one taken away in a body bag.
The same outcome could have also happened at Port Authur.
But. NO.

The powers that be have bred a Sheeple state where everyone expects the government, police, army, etc etc to care for them. And so take away the firearms from the very people that can stop this sort of thing from happening.

Please get off the " tighter gun laws" bandwagon.
It will do nothing to prevent this sort of situation from happening again.

[Andy Mac]

Trever,
I tend to agree that total firearm control (if such a thing is possible) wouldn't stop massacres from happening. As still happens in Australia and the UK, criminals can and will get hold of guns. I guess its the ease with which they can be obtained in the US, and the vast numbers in circulation that make acts like this more likely there. I don't want to get into discussion about the Bryant thing either.
As Matt says the real worry is why do people feel they have to, or can, act in such a barbaric and senseless fashion? A symptom of something unbalanced, but is it the person or society, for want of a better word?

I gotta go, regards,

[martrix]

That's a very disturbing total. I wonder what it is in other countries. It amounts to more than 10 times the fatalities of the 9/11 attacks, or one 9/11 attack about every 5 weeks. Perhaps the US citizenry would be more secure if the government declared a "War on Guns" instead of a "War on Terror".

That is an incredible number, if correct.

Not only puts 9/11(I hate that term!) in the shade, but also the number of people killed in Iraq.
Someone made the point on ABC Radio that if this number of people had been blown up by a bomb in Iraq it would hardly have rated a mention on the news.

Go figure.

yep, those figure are pretty much on the money.

Go and hire "Bowling for Columbine" and "OutFoxed" and you will see the firearm related death stats compared with other countries and why & how Americans are constantly stirred into a state of fear by the media.

Its a great business strategy.

[Shedhand]

Approximately 200 million guns in the hands of private citizens in the U.S. Add to that total, the unknown number of other assorted high power weaponry held in the armories of the various arms of the defence forces. If guns don't kill people why the hell do they need so many?

[ernknot]

We the innocent shooter cop all the flak. Why dosen't the government or other departments root out the nutters. I have been a sporting shooter for a looooooooooooooooooooooog time and i get absolutley peeeeeed of with this news beat up of a awful bloody tragedy, my heart goes out to those who are suffering. I will say no more because all of the social arguements are a bunch of crap. Oops, forgot, ban cars, they kill more people than guns as does fast food, alchohol, and other stuff blah blah etc.

[Shedhand]

We the innocent shooter cop all the flak. Why dosen't the government or other departments root out the nutters. I have been a sporting shooter for a looooooooooooooooooooooog time and i get absolutley peeeeeed of with this news beat up of a awful bloody tragedy, my heart goes out to those who are suffering. I will say no more because all of the social arguments are a bunch of crap. Oops, forgot, ban cars, they kill more people than guns as does fast food, alchohol, and other stuff blah blah etc.

Steady on there Ern. You'll pop a vital vessel. No-one seriously suggests sporting shooters should be deprived of the primary means of pursuing their chosen sport or farmers from an effective means of vermin control. What people are saying is that there are too many guns too easily available in the USA. All kinds of loonies can get hold of them without a license or a back-ground check. The NRA has been very influential in watering down any safety mechanisms designed to make it harder for the general public to own a weapon for reasons other than sport/competition. For example if you go to one of the many gun shows in most states of the USA, there are two main categories of sellers in the market. One is the professional retailer. To buy a legal weapon from a licensed retailer, you must endure a waiting period and undergo a background check and the weapon must be licensed in the hands of the buyer. The other type of seller is euphemistically referred to as a 'collector'. These so-called 'collectors' can sell weapons (of any kind) to any one without a waiting period or background check and usually for cash, which makes the weapon untraceable.
IMHO the gun laws in this country are about right.

[martrix]

short excerpt from Bowling from columbine

[Harry72]

And I bet it will turn out to be some nice kid with no prior criminal history who was struggling with his grades and the pressure of performing and just snapped.

Whats the bet... blame video game's and music as a scape goat.

[dazzler]

just Stop and think for a moment.
If the College allowed CCW and one of the students HAD a Firearm legally.
Then the outcome could have been very very different with the criminal shooter being the one taken away in a body bag.

I agree. Guns for everyone. Free with each kids happy meal

[Schtoo]

Wonderful...

Another lunatic strikes again, I am sorry for all those affected by yet another tragedy that shouldn't have happened.

But, here's an interesting one for those who sincerely believe that complete gun control/elimination from the general population will stop people being shot dead.

The Mayor of Nagasaki city was shot today outside a train station. He didn't die, but I think he was lucky to survive.

In a country where guns are essentially verboten for everyone, how the heck could this happen?