32 Innocents …
… and one worthless piece of crap dead.
Not a lot to add right now. There’s a frantic woman up this way who cannot reach her son, which doesn’t sound good. Multiply that times 32 across the country.
UPDATE: It’s confirmed for Lynette Alameddine of Saugus. Her son Ross, 20, was among the innocents killed in his French class.
Pro, anti-gun noise already. I don’t think it matters much one way or the other. People without guns are going to get them, no matter what the law says. They’ll get as many guns and as much ammo as they need to do what they want to do, and when they can’t get guns, they’ll get something else. Are students with guns in their pockets going to stop a madman bent on mayhem? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on who is facing who. Depends on whether, when everyone’s running around with guns, cops and other citizens can figure out who the bad guy is. Too many variables to turn an act of madness into a political debate. But it’s started already.
Volokh: To ask or not to ask, that is the question.
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Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:33 pm on Monday, April 16, 2007
9 Responses to “32 Innocents …”
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April 16th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
At least 32 dead in Virginia Tech rampage; Anti-gunners seize the moment before bodies cold
Fortunately, there are still enough grown-ups in Congress to keep the kiddies under control on this one. I hope.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
How many of the students murdered were OIF vets who would have known exactly what to do if they’d been allowed to have weapons on campus? I hope the anti-gun weenies who denied them that right sleep well tonight.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Jules-it’s too bad that politics have entered into this already, but the arguments are out there and can’t be ignored.
I am a community college instructor on the civilian side. I am also a law-abiding citizen with a concealed carry permit. Now, North Carolina forbids me to carry my pistol to work, so I leave it at home. Several of my colleagues are veterans or retired cops and well trained in the use of firearms, I see no reason why we should not be allowed to defend ourselves.
The points you make about confusion in such a situation are well taken, but we have seen too many times the outcome when an armed lunatic faces unarmed victims.
Luckily the community college also has BLET (Basic Law Enforcement Training) and there are often armed police officers about, but you can’t always count on that. If there were such a situation where I would be required to use a weapon to defend myself, I would rather have to explain what happened to the cops (or surrender to them when they show up and let them sort it out later), than have them be able to distinguish me and the rest of the victims from the shooter by our bullet wounds,
April 16th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Ultimately bad laws lead to people like CavMedic disregarding them because of their own conscience and need for personal safety. Wouldn’t it be best to have a few restrictions on gun ownership that make sense instead of the current hodge-podge?
April 17th, 2007 at 12:13 am
This is a tragedy beyond words, but the political pimping didn’t take long to surface.
I’m with CavMedic……I’d rather explain it to a jury of 12 than be carried by 6.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:26 am
It is easy to focus on the tool and not the tool user. We mustn’t question the years of social engineering that has left us with creatures whose emotions are never questioned or informed by reason. Nor must we question why these incidents always occur on our school campuses.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:59 am
I truly feel horrible for all the people who lost loved ones today, and in such a violent way. Everyone wants to be able to prevent things like this from ever happening, but unfortunately, no matter a person does, lunacy happens. Gun laws won’t stop that. If it were only that simple. More laws will only keep them out of the hands of law abiding citizens. The lunatics and criminals will still get them if they want them.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:19 am
Campus Self-Defense Squelched at Va. Tech in 2006
“I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions,” Hincker said on Jan. 31, 2006, “because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus…”
April 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I have to agree with CavMedic. If I were ever trapped in a situation where some lunatic is gunning down people all around me, I’d rather have a gun in my hand and a chance to fight back, rather than stand there and be executed. As for the police being able to distinguish bad guy from good guy… when the good guy kills the bad guy, the shooting stops, just like when the bad guy shoots himself. Unlike in fiction, the police almost never go in until then.