I prayed several times yesterday for the families who are suffering such a great loss. My heart goes out them.
Who is responsible for yesterday’s atrocity? You will be surprised to learn that probably last on the list is the actual murderer, Cho Seung-Hui. Among those being blamed are, George W Bush, the gun culture of America, the officials of the University, and video games.
I am optimistic that the political climate will change for the better as a result of this tragedy. History has proven that an armed populace will in most cases prevent these acts and in other cases significantly decrease the loss of life.
Take for example Charles Whitman and the “Tower of Death” who in the 1960s killed 15 people and wounded 31. Whitman was eventually pinned down and his reign of terror was halted as members of the general public retrieved their own firearms from their vehicles and returned fire. Had these brave citizens not stood up for themselves and others many more may have perished.
Another case is of a school shooting that occurred at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia. In this case when a madman attacked the school, killed 3 people, and injured 3 others, two separate men retrieved their firearms from their vehicle and subdued the man. Had the lunatic been able to continue his rampage how many more lives would have been lost? Could the same be said if faculty or even students, with reasonable training of course, been allowed to possess firearms on campus?
If not blaming President Bush or anyone but the killer for the shooting the liberals are clamoring for more gun control, expansion of government, and more regulations for law abiding citizens. If anything the reliance on government and gun control laws are to blame for this situation being as terrible as it is.
“Gun Free Zones” is the most laughable of this whole fiasco. As before if these people had the legal ability to carry weapons chances are the death toll may have been far less. Sure is a lot of good those laws were huh? So far all that law has done is gotten more people killed than should have.
The biggest issue is the reliance on government. Even in light of this tragedy instead of advocating more personal responsibility people are wishing the government had done more for them. When will people learn that relying on the inept institution of government control will only lead them to paths of the same nature as the events of yesterday? Our government refuses to secure our borders, couldn’t gather enough proper intel to prevent a terror attack or manage a war, can’t provide for people in need after massive natural disasters, and has poor ability to prevent 30 people from losing their lives at the hands of a madman, and people want this governmental beast to have more hands on the situation? That is lunacy by itself.
Furthermore, the same people who say we should not fear terrorism and Islamic radicals are the same people wanting more controls as a response to yesterday’s events be it more gun control regulations or tighter government provided security in schools. Not only does this notion prove that leftists are solely politically motivated when criticizing the war on terror but it also proves that leftist desire a nanny state where their safety and well being rest squarely on the shoulders of government. This thinking fosters complacency and enables the attitudes that lead to 30 people cowering to the whims of a madman instead of standing up for themselves and others.
At least one person of the group, a hero and holocaust survivor Professor Liviu Lebrescu held the gunman off allowing several others to escape. Could it be that if this man were allowed to handle the tools necessary to stop this lunatic that he would have done so? We will never know.
I grew up in Borger and at the time the population was approximately 15,000. Just like any town there are murders; several a year and some with firearms. I lived there for around 18 years, my parents and grandparents have lived there many more. Of the hundreds of murders that have happened there none of the shooters have gone on mass murder sprees.
The officials did handle the situation poorly at Viginia Tech. More could have been done to prevent the tragic loss of life. On a campus of 25,000 people, though, I think it is unreasonable to lock down the entire campus because of one shooting. Sure, hindsight is 20/20 and locking down the campus would have most likely saved the lives of those 30+ people, but shootings where people go nuts are so few and far between that we shouldn’t have SWAT jump in every time someone is murdered.
One final point I would like to make is in reference to foreign nationals possessing and obtaining firearms. The shooter may have been from South Korea but he had lived here since he was 8 years old, 14 years, and his major was in English. This guy was American as you or I, his origin or race is of no interest to this investigation.
The solution is simple. Education on the use and handling of firearms to the degree of proficiency that is possessed by law enforcement officials needs to commonplace . No one should be forced, of course, but those of us with a slight interest in firearms need to be trained at a young age to know what to do in situations such as this. This responsibility fall on parents. Parents need to teach children not to be victims. Teach them to stand up for what they believe in, to stand up for for their lives and the lives of others. Leftist culture preaches the opposite and leads to people being slaughtered.
I am doing my part. I will obtain my concealed carry license very soon.
I’ve expearianced some tragety of my own this week. The Mother of my children died Sat. night at the age of 51. So I am in Maryland right now. The funeral is tommorow and I we will be headed back Thurs. morn.
But the real ponint is that I’m very near all this and have lived twelve years in Va. and 10 in Maryland. These two states are as different as night and day.
Va. actually is one of the most gun friendly states of all. A CCL is very easy to get. But as with Texas there are many places that you can not carry by law and any facility or institution can prevent guns simply by posting a notice at the entrance. I just bought a new Eddie Bauer Explorer and for the first time I’ve had Sirus radio. After probably 30 or 40 trips between the east coast and Texas for the first time I’ve been able to listen to talk radio all the way with no fading out after a few miles or worse not being able to find it at all.
Anyway I was listening to it as the news of this trajedy broke. One of the first things I heard was that the VA legislature just last week defeated a bill that would have allowed CC in Public Universities. I suspect that this will quickly be reintroduced. Still even with the current restrictions, crime rates as with all CC states took quite a dive and many people who most likely would have been killed, at the hands of someone who most likly is a democrap, are alive and well.
Just a short dive north is Maryland. In this state crime is rampant. And gun ownership is nearly impossible. Extremly invasive prechecks are required to buy. The state requires each hand gun sold to be fired and the shell is kept on record for balistic purposes. A totally useless and stupid waste, as each time the gun is fired there are slight changes to ballistic’s marks. But this along with all the other meaningles liberal feel good regulations have had the disired effect.
Gun shops are few and the cost of a gun is very high as all the costs of these regs are passed to the buyer. To top this off if I’m caught transporting a weapon I’m likely to be arrested. I was a member of a sportsman club in Lexington park one of the very few places in Marlyand where you can regulaly shoot. All the police used it for practice and they flat out told me that I could be arrested if pulled over and searched. Strange laws.
If in Maryland I shoot a person who breaks into my house it is very likely that I could be charged with murder. Even if cleared they will ensure that it costs me many thousands of dollars. What happens to me will depend entirely on my ability to prove with out doubt that I would have been killed had I not shot first. By law I must make every possible effort to retreat from the threat. Needless to say murder, robbery, and rape are rampant. The liberals who are in total control are secound, in my experiance, only to DC in thier efforts to keep law abiding citizens helpless to defend themselves. The life of the criminal seems to be the most important thing in this state.
The importance of the secound ammendment is as clear as day and night, as clear as the difference between Maryland and Va,if your not a liberal.
Excuse any mispellings I’m fat fingering a laptop tonight.
In January, 2006, Larry Hincker, Vice President for University Relations at Virginia Tech, praised the Virginia legislature for killing a bill to allow concealed carry on universities (This must be an earlier attempt at the same legislation noted by celtictexan):
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658
Then on September 5, 2006, a couple of weeks after the August 21 shooting incident at VT, Hincker wrote an op-ed piece in the Roanoke Times entitled, “Imagine if students were armed.” As I read his comments, viewed through the events of April 16, I was stunned at how wrong he was.
All I can say is, “Yeah, Larry, just imagine!”
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/81277
Allowing students with concealed carry permits to do so on campus won’t mean that every student will be armed, or even that there will be an armed student in every classroom. But like the federal sky marshall program, it may deter future incidents.
Soon as I get home I’m going to try to send that article back to this guy and ask how he feels now.
I’m glad you found that article. My time has been limited due to the circumstances and I was unable to find it. I was kind of searching for the wrong thing. I learned today the bill died in commitee, and never made it to a full vote.