32 shot dead on US college campus at Virginia Tech

[pintsofguinness]

Right blast so if your in a room with 30 people and ONE person comes in with gun, everyone stands back lets him shoot? He had to reload at some stage to. And another thing! Where were the police? Where they not there investigating the first shooting?

[J70]

Watching the Beeb they reported a gun lobby representative as saying 'if all the students had guns this wouldn't have happened'.

Surely that kind of talk should earn him an extended holiday in Guantanamo.

That is the standard response of the gun lobby - if someone else in the place had been armed, that person could have shot the killer far sooner. Another is that making guns illegal ensures that only the criminals will have guns. Given that guns are already so common in the US, I can see the logic and I can understand why some would want to own one for protection. However, I'm not paranoid enough yet where I would need to have a concealed handgun permit to make me feel safe!

[The Real Laoislad]

Syd - Your initial post and all replies to it have been deleted. From Munich posts to Racism. Nice. Keep it up and you'll be banned.

Vlad the Impaler seems to like to mention Munich alot to.....Vlad the Impaler aka Syd the Sailor

Outstanding detective work there Laoislad!

Well my middle name is Sherlock

[Syd The Sailor]

Syd - Your initial post and all replies to it have been deleted. From Munich posts to Racism. Nice. Keep it up and you'll be banned.

Vlad the Impaler seems to like to mention Munich alot to.....Vlad the Impaler aka Syd the Sailor

Outstanding detective work there Laoislad!

Well my middle name is Sherlock

I could think of a few others.......

[Syd The Sailor]

Syd - Your initial post and all replies to it have been deleted. From Munich posts to Racism. Nice. Keep it up and you'll be banned.

Vlad the Impaler seems to like to mention Munich alot to.....Vlad the Impaler aka Syd the Sailor

If you say its so it must be......

[blast05]

Right blast so if your in a room with 30 people and ONE person comes in with gun, everyone stands back lets him shoot?

OK, i was a bit flippant with my last reply.

Facts according to the BBC website: "Victims were found in at least four classrooms as well as a stairwell." ........ so it doesn't appear to be a case of one big group of people who sat watching others getting shot.

To be in the situation, the initial human instinct would i am sure be one of shock and it would take some brief moments to realise what is going on. Second instinct (again, just my opinion) would be to assess whether you or others are in danger - if you're life is in grave danger then some people would be brave enough to try and overpower him while most people would either freeze or be traumatised.

And in this case, there appear to be a few cases of people being brave enough to try and do something.
BBC website again: "We know that there were a number of heroic events that took place within minutes of this tragedy unfolding."

[dublinfella]

Watching the Beeb they reported a gun lobby representative as saying 'if all the students had guns this wouldn't have happened'.

I don't understand why someone didn't overpower him and take the gun off him.

sure if only all the papes in the 6 had your balls when the UFF came a calling, we would have our land back by now.... 

idiot

[DrinkingHarp]

Isnt the right to bare arms in their constitution though? Can that be changed?Although i doubt the necessary support would be there in any instance.

It is in the Bill of Rights and to change it would make swimming to the moon look easy. The Right to Bear Arms was put into the Bill of Rights if the need to form a miltia every came up. The US used the militia to defeat Britan and keep the country a seperate entity. At the time it was an excellent decision of the forefathers to include this when weapons consisted of rifles, pistols and cannons. A group of militia men with rifles could take on the Red Coats and fight as equals. Time has changed the weapons and materials now used in war. A goup of militia with rifles and handguns obviously wouldn't be effective against a tank, stinger missle or claymore mine.

Now in order to get rid of handguns in the US you would have to fight the NRA, Republican Party and the Religous Right. Unfortunately these are the same morons who voted for Dubba and are afraid of their own shadows. Not going to happen in this lifetime.



My prayers and thoughts go out to the families who have lost their children before their time.



The world is full of nuts and they will always cause havoc it can happen anywhere at any given time.

[muppet]

 Drinking Harp, good post. I apologise for not posting condolences or more particularly not acknowledging the loss that will be suffered by the relatives and friends.

My prayers and thoughts go out to the families who have lost their children before their time.

Hear hear.

[Captain Scarlet]

I heard 1 of the victims was a Holocaust survivor who blocked the door so his students could get out another exit. Poor bastard!

I know its all good blaming gun availability but the lad was cracked.

He was sick of the rich kids and the debuachery according to the papers.

feel so sorry for the girl's family with her picture all over the place just for breaking it off with a psycho.

[Hardy]

I know its all good blaming gun availability but the lad was cracked.

Isn't this the whole point of gun control - that lads who are cracked shouldn't be able to walk into a shop and buy a gun?

[Captain Scarlet]

even over here you are not given a mental evaluation to get a shotgun licence!

sure that lad would have got a gun anywhere in the world. he had no convictions, was a decent student who worked hard.

he seemed A1 but obviously wasn't.

[stew]

My kids school received a warning about a month ago in that some sc**bag threatened to go Columbine on the 20th of this month, security will be beefed and the eldest girl was worried sick about going on the anniversary of that disaster and this was before the virginia shootings. I was telling her it was going to be ok because the security would be there but after the Va Tech disaster I am going to keep them both home, the scumbags win, one kid not going to school that day gives them what they wanted but we are taking no chances.  This place is mental.

[continuity tug]

what happened in virginia was tragic
but at least the yanks have the right idea of having arms to defend with and keep occupiers out
no decommissioning there

[ziggysego]

TUG, f**k off.