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by YouWinImOuttaHere on April 16th, 2007
Which would you rather have? Law Abiding Citizens AND Criminals having GUNS or both of them WITHOUT guns?
by Johnny1880 on November 13th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
What did you think of the Tuscon Memorial? I think it was a total & effing disgrace.
by RhythmBoy on January 13th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
5/13/09 44-year-old US Army Sgt. from Sherman, Texas is in custody at Camp Liberty in Baghdad after killing 5 US servicemen at a combat stress clinic on Monday. Why wasn't this incident covered like the Ft. Hood shooting? Because a Muslim didn't do it?
by Wynper on November 9th, 2009
| 1 person likes this
Loaded frat boys, loaded guns. The NRA thinks college kids should carry guns on campus. Are you smarter than the NRA?
by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on February 24th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What can we learn from the Arizona shooting tragedy?
by keithold is a prodigal bagger on January 9th, 2011
| 4 people like this
You're reading A Virginia Tech Shooter killed over 22 college students. What would you have done or said to prevent this from happening?
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Comments
Absent any information about the perpetrator, I don't know if this incident could have been foreseen.
by Old School on April 16th, 2007
I agree.
by YouWinImOuttaHere on April 16th, 2007
In more general terms, one of the most salient points I took from Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" is that Canada has gun ownership rates similar to the United States, yet *much* lower levels of gun violence. I think *that* is the problem we need to solve (making the US more like Canada it whatever crucial way)
by Old School on April 16th, 2007
Did that college have a shooting last year? And why after 2 bomb threats the last one on friday didn't they have more security? My heart goes out to the poor families & students
by lizizhere on April 16th, 2007
I have no idea what they did or did not have security wise. I do know it is 16,000+ people, so it is like a small city. To secure a small city with people coming and going all hours is not only impossible, (unless curfews and guards were all over the campus 24/7) but obviously not something the heads of the university felt was needed.
by YouWinImOuttaHere on April 16th, 2007
If one or more students were "legally" armed someone could have done something about the situation. Instead the students were sitting ducks because they complied with the "rules". Criminals and crazies do not care about "laws or rules". It's no accident that someone like the Virginia Tech shooter could do what he did. Have you ever noticed these "cowards" pick places of least resistance. Have you ever heard of an incident at a gun show?
by laaayla on September 4th, 2009
@laaalya - So that's your solution? Turn our entire society into one big 'gun show'?
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I suggest you visit some places where this has happened (two suggestions: Somalia and Iraq), and bring back some evidence that "an armed society is a polite society"....;-D..
by Old School on September 4th, 2009
I'll tell you what...check out American cities with the most gun restrictions. I think you'll be surprised. They actually have more crime than other cities that are more lenient with their gun laws. The criminal element of our society is very happy when you aren't protected. They can pretty much do what they want. And if you think the police are going to come to your aid, think again. The police are not under any duty to protect individuals. In fact google it. Ask, Are the police under any duty to protect individuals? If you were a criminal intent on breaking into someone's house would you picked the one where you know they are armed to protect themselves? Or, that there was the possibility that they had a firearm? I think...probably not, huh?
by laaayla on September 5th, 2009
@laaayla - the correlation between per-capita gun ownership and crime statistics is, at best, uncertain because so many other factors enter into it.
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For example, Canada has per-capita gun ownership that's about 1/3 that of the US, yet their violent crime rate is about 1/10 that of the US. By your simple logic, that sounds like an argument for eliminating 2/3 of the guns in the US (not that I actually advocate this).
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As for home invasions, if I were a criminal I would pick a house (as most criminals do) where no one was home. That reduces the possibility of getting shot OR having the police show up.
by Old School on September 5th, 2009
@laaayla - Finally, I recommend you read Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book "Blink"
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_%28book%29
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Among the things he discusses is how people react and think (or don't think) when gunfire erupts.
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If you honestly believe that a bunch of random college students would have correctly assessed the threat, drawn their weapons, and shot the VT gunman while surrounded by panic and chaos, when trained policeman freak out at one unarmed guy pulling out a wallet...
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo
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...well, you've been watching too many Rambo/Death Wish movies.
by Old School on September 5th, 2009
Old School, I've actually read the book "Blink". Loved the book. Since you are into reading, may I suggest: More Guns, Less Crime by John R. Lott Jr., www.claytoncramer.com/gun defenseblog.blogger.html, www.keepandbeararms.com,and www.guncite.com/gcwhoGK.html. Guncite tells about Professor Gary Kleck of the school of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. You might find his research very interesting. You can also get a free book about gunfacts at www.gunfacts.info. By the way the term home invasion means people are at home when criminals break in . Otherwise it's a burglary.
In truth if I were at Virginia Tech the day of the shooting and a student had a gun to protect himself I would have been relieved. At least I would have had a chance to make it out alive. I read the incident you were talking about in "Blink" about the officer's killing the guy with the wallet. The police were patrolling a known drug trade area close to midnight. They were plain clothes with bullet proof vests on. They were driving an unmarked car. The guy that was killed was an immigrant from Guinea. He ran into the vestibule. The police identified themselves and the guy didn't answer. And they ran after him. The guy was scared and was trying to get into his apartment and was pulling what later was realized, a wallet from his pocket. It was a tragedy.
by laaayla on September 5th, 2009
@laaayla - Yes, I am somewhat familiar with the work of Lott, Kleck, et. al., and I won't debate the details of their work, because their work misses the point. There are places around the world awash with guns (Somalia, Iraq, etc.) that are also awash in violence.
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There are also places around the world (Japan, Italy, United Kingdom) where gun ownership rates are low, and they are NOT awash in violence.
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Therefore, the aphorism that "an armed society is a polite society" is clearly not supported the data.
by Old School on September 6th, 2009
@laaayla - It seems you read "Blink" but it's not at all clear that you *understood* "Blink".
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RE: Virginia Tech vs. Amadou Diallo:
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It's exactly as you say. The police in the Diallo shooting were wearing bulletproof vests. They were trained. They were on their guard. They had Diallo outnumbered 4:1 or 5:1....and they STILL f****d it up!
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Yet you confidently assert that a bunch of random college students (some bored, some hung over, some half asleep) could have, in the sudden panic as the shooting broke out at VT, pulled out their weapons, assessed the situation, determined who the real shooter is (remember, in this scenario, they're suddenly surrounded by gun-bearing people), and fired effectively?
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Bull-freaking-Bleep!
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Go back and re-read "Blink". Pay attention to what the professionals say about the lack of time, overdose of stress, and inability to think clearly that happens when gunfire erupts.
by Old School on September 6th, 2009
Old School - So, let's all do this...screw our rights as American citizens. Let the police and criminals have free reign. Because after all you can't trust ordinary citizens to protect themselves. Let's rely on the police to get to our homes in a timely manner when an intruder breaks in while we're at home. Since a good respond time for the police is about ten minutes. What do you think your going to be doing in those ten minutes? And let's depend on the 911 operators to keep us calm while some guy with an ax is chopping through our front door. That really happened to a woman who dated a guy and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Do I wish I'd had a gun when a guy tried to rape me when I was eighteen. Hell yes. More recently...was a friend of mine glad that he had a gun when two guys walked through the door uninvited at a former girlfriends house. Yes. The world is changing and not for the better. Welcome to the real world.
by laaayla on September 7th, 2009