Um, no thanks. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZE3QAeYRk-A"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZE3QAeYRk-A" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Drawing a weapon is a last resort, not the first option. In a SHTF situation even police officers and soldiers might overreact and not be able to use a weapon effectively.
Those are logic for 1st graders. Like I said before, I know I can't convince people like you ... Just think about those dead students when you go to bed at night ... You won't feel anything now, you don't care about them now ... you will put all the blame on someone else ... but by the time you die, you will have one night, where your conscience stir something in you ... you may ... just may realize that you had contributed 0.001% to that problem ....
It is a slippery slope. Now that the UK has banned knives and are still having shootings and murders they are looking to other solutions. Including making stronger families and more social inclusive programs such as community centers. This is because they have alrerady taken away the "evil" weapons and are now looking for a real solution. Why don't we try this solution first instead of gun grabbing.
Actually, I go to bed thinking if there was a CHL holder in that group, and he was not forced to leave his gun at home, the casualties could have possibly been much lower. Keep living in denial. I'll keep carrying my Glock.
Impossible. Weapons bans work. Weapons are the root of all evil. If the weapons aren't the problem, are we going to start banning births? Maybe a brain scan at birth for homicidal tendencies?
FT -- i understand your feelings on this. but i can't help but think that if it were more difficult to buy a handgun in the first place, this never would have happened.
I somewhat agree with this MadMax, but at the same time, where there is a will, there is a way. Maybe the problem lies in the screening process for gun applicants, but the fact is that there are bad guys out there with guns and I don't think that following gun ban laws are too high on their to-do lists. If there is a gun ban, I don't believe that the criminals will be at the front of the line to turn in their guns.
i have no idea how strong this guy's will was, though. none of us do. he was obviously troubled. but it sounds like he shot two people...and then that set him off to go do more. he had just recently bought the gun. would he have found another way to buy a guy to carry all this out?? somehow, i doubt it from what i've read and what i understand so far. i don't think he woke up intending to kill 32 people.
But like you said, we have no idea on this guy's intentions. We know he was troubled. His school ID'ed that. It seems like it was not a matter of if this was going to happen but when. Like I said, perhaps the screening process is at fault. I had to wait almost three months to pass through the FBI/DPS background checks to receive my CHL. Perhaps the same background checks should be in order for handgun purchases.
Of course which is why I point out that guns don't necessarily guarentee safety. The truth is nothing does but you have to weigh the potential dangers of any self-defense strategy. Guns are powerful tools and ones where there is danger both ways.
Exactly. Saw a thing last night on ABC where they reported that the time it took the killer to buy some of his weapons was equivalent to someone going to a store and buying groceries (or something similar to that). I feel like NewYorker and I would push for an all out gun ban in this country with the only people having guns being the military and the police. Someone said it earlier in this thread - if the founding fathers knew how advanced the weapons are these days, I highly doubt the 2nd Amendment would have gone into place. I wonder when we will ever see a President that has the guts to challenge that outdated Amendment - probably not in my lifetime. But if guns must exist in this country outside the law and military, then the background checks and requirements must be stricter. It is way too easy to buy a gun in this country and there are too many people in this country that don't need to ever have a gun in their possession. But we also have to do a better job with the mentality that guns bring. Someone posted earlier the story about a football player (I think or he might have been just a big dude) who was 6'5" and 300 lbs having to run out to his car and get his gun because he wanted to show the guy he was arguing with what "fear was". WTF??!! Hell, if I was 6'5" and 300, I think I could show plenty of people what "fear" is and using a gun has nothing to do with it. But that is the problem with guns. It gives people a false sense of security and it also gives them power trips, control over others. When they "lose it" or snap, having a gun on them is like giving a recovering alcoholic a lifetime supply of Bud Light - not a good idea. Stuff that happened Monday can be avoided if this damn country had better gun control laws!!! And some of you have been watching too many DieHard movies - if you think that carrying a gun on you can help situations like the one in Va Tech. It won't - it will only exacerbate the situation as the police, SWAT teams, FBI, etc. will have to deal with vigilantes like yourself IN ADDITION TO the gunman on the rampage. If anything, the vigilantes would probably be mistaken by the police as the gunman and/or an accomplice and be shot. So, your violence only gives you a premature and early death - hope it was worth it. I wouldn't feel bad for you - I would feel bad for your family because your death could have been avoided.
You can never guarantee safety. You can only prepare to protect yourself. Why do you wear a seatbelt? Why do you immunize? To protect yourself from a situation you hope not to encounter, but are equipped to deal with in a worst case scenario.
There are criminals in countries in Western Europe like England and they haven't had the problems this country has had in terms of gun violence. What happened this past Monday and at Columbine (just to name a few) is primarily a United States phenomenon.
CHL holders that take action are taught to be good witnesses first and foremost. If the need arises to neutralize the threat, do it efficiently and after the threat is neutralized, recall 911, give them the situation and what you are wearing, reholster, and assume a non aggressive stance. We understand that we will be arrested, taken in to jail, charged with murder if the person dies, and have to be cleared in court. I think it is some of YOU that have been watching too many Die Hard movies.
what about airbags. They take the heads off of children! Unless you follow some simple rules that the biggest idiot can do if he pays attention.
