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© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Virginia Tech gunman kills officer; later found dead
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The_the_in_the_way
Hope they catch that loon soon.
The Truth Matters
They were opining on the news today that perhaps this wouldn't have happened if more people were armed.
The stupidity of that argument almost caused me to die. Yes, I literally almost died of secondary stupidity.
College campuses are filled to the brim with hormones, alcohol, drugs and immature people. The perfect environment to introduce firearms.
nath
If stupid disqualified people from guns the NRA would have no members. RIP law enforcement officer.
Elbuda Mexicano
America is crazy!! Guns don't kill people?? Sure!! What ever the evil satanic NRA says!! I believe the NRA with all of my heart!! Not! Gun makers have lots of blood on their filthy greedy hands!! RIP police man
anglootaku
No name on the gunman, history nothing... here is something more detailed..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_gunman
anglootaku
My bad, the article did mention a name.. anyway the link does provide more insight
Christopher Smith
Hardly surprising news, we wait for the next gun tragedy in the U.S.
paulinusa
Virginia has lax gun control and incredibly pro-gun people will use incidents such as this to push for even less restrictive laws. It just goes on and on.
Noliving
Guns don't kill people, just like how nuclear weapons don't kill unless someone uses them or is negligent with them. Guns and nuclear weapons can make killing very efficient but they don't kill people the only time they "Kill" is if someone uses them to kill or is negligent with them. It is the same with cars.
Badge213
And Virginia tends to be one of the safest states in the country. Compare the crime rates, especially gun related offenses in the State of Virginia, with say a very restrictive state like Maryland. Law a biding citizens are not the ones going out and shooting people, criminals are.
smartacus
I feel sorry for the officer. My cousin used to be a cop and he told me that everytime he went up to someone in a car after pulling it over for speeding or whatever, no matter how minor, he had to be prepared for the driver or passenger to pull a gun on him. His wife always wondered if he would come home alive every night.
paulinusa
Badge: And what about the easily bought guns in Virginia that end up being used in crimes in other states?
Noliving
What are you talking about? It is illegal for people with criminal and or mental problems to own a firearm, it is illegal to discharge a gun in public unless it is in self defense and it is illegal to point and or shoot a gun at someone unless it is in self defense. It is illegal for you to carry a firearm in public without a permit and there are dozens more gun laws in Virginia. What more do you need?
Noliving
Well Paulinusa do you mind sharing with us the facts and figures of Virginia firearms being used in crimes in other states? I'm willing to bet it is very low.
Noliving
Define easily bought, people who buy firearms in Virginia have to go through a background check.
paulinusa
Ok, from "The Cavalier Daily" in Virginia, Sept. 29th, 2010 : "The study — which was released Monday and conducted by Mayors Against Illegal Guns using data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — reveals that in 2009, Virginia was the source of a disproportionately large percentage of firearms that were used in crimes in other states.
The data stated that there were 43,254 firearms that crossed state lines before being recovered last year, and of this total, 2,557 were from Virginia. Only two other states, Georgia and Florida, claimed higher numbers of guns used for crimes that occurred in other states. Virginia was also listed in the report as the state with the seventh-highest crime gun export rates in 2009."
Noliving
Ya that is pretty low considering there are 4.5 million guns sold each year in the US and of those 4.5 million only 43,254 of them crossed statelines and of those that crossed state lines 2,557 of them were from Virginia. That is pretty low.
Noliving
Besides you have yet to explain how guns are easily bought when the person in Virginia has to go through a background check to buy their guns.
paulinusa
Noliving: Considering that a majority of your past comments concern gun rights I figure whatever attributions I provide will be a waste of time. But I'll stand by my comments.
TorafusuTorasan
@Noliving, "how guns are easily bought"
That's easily explained. "Straw buyers" are legit customers who obtain guns to resell to those with problematic criminal records.
To refine your argument, you should differentiate between gun stores and gun shows, where background checks are generally not required (but I'd have to check how much that varies from state to state).
TorafusuTorasan
Anyone correct me if this is wrong.
ATF licensed gun stores are required to run background checks. Gun show dealers are not.
This disparity in requirements seems like it could create a small arms black market.
Noliving
Oh please, the problem that is you don't put things into context and your being disingenuous in stating that guns are "Easily bought" in Virginia. You talk of easily available guns but you don't define what that is. You make it sound like those that have criminal backgrounds and have mental histories can just walk in and buy a gun.
Why is it you can't define what "easily bought guns" means?
When you place the total number of guns that are "exported" across state lines you find nearly 6% of them are from virginia. 6% is a very small number. To help put this into context, of the guns that are traced back to the US from Mexico 40% come from Texas.
The simple truth of the matter is that guns are not "easily bought", whatever that means, in Virginia. Nor is Virginia just exporting guns like Texas is. The other problem your facing is according to your source nearly half if not half of all gun crimes is simple possession. Meaning that half or less of the tracing is due to robbery, assaults, murder etc. Meaning that a person who has no criminal intent legally purchases a gun in Virginia and then transports that gun to a different state that has different laws on possession as a result they run afoul of the law even though there is no criminal intent. A perfect example of this is Brian Aitken, he legally purchased a gun in Colorado and after his divorce decided to move to New Jersey to be closer to his son and family, after an argument with his ex-wife he became distraught and as a result his mom called police fearing he might commit suicide. The police search his car, even though he was in his house, they found two locked and unloaded guns in his trunk. He was charged with possession and sentenced to 7 years in prison for the sole purpose that he was in possession of legally owned firearms with no criminal intent.
This is another problem that I have with you, you don't seem to do a lot of research at all. Nearly 50% of if not 50% of the gun crimes that you cited are non violent gun law offenses.
Noliving
Oh that is definitively true but that so far appears to only be a problem in the four border states with Mexico that are exported to Mexico. The other problem is that straw buyers are essentially impossible to stop. Whats interesting is that number 1 source for guns to criminals is friends and or family, what is really interesting about that is that the reason why those friends and family bought those guns was not for the criminal but for themselves but when their friend or family member asked to use their gun they let take possession of the gun. So they are not a straw buyer either because the average time it takes for a gun to be used in a crime from the date of purchase is around 3 years. So clearly not a straw buyer. The next largest source was drug dealers.
If they are non licensed gun dealer at a gun show, meaning a private seller, they don't have to by law(but that depends on the state) to do a background check. However though pretty much everyone at a gun show is a licensed gun dealer. Basically gun shows are trade shows and at trade pretty much its only businesses there selling things not a private individual.
Gun shows are pretty much a gigantic trade show for licensed gun stores. Now private individuals will walk around trying to sell their guns at these places but the vast majority of sellers are licensed gun stores, meaning they are required to do back ground checks.
smithinjapan
“It’s crazy that someone would go and do something like that with all the stuff that happened in 2007,”
Have gun laws changed since then? no? then what's 'crazy' about it? why would you expect anything else? Fortunately, the guy didn't have a chance to commit a rampage on the campus, although of course it's extremely sad the police officer lost his life.
I hope the US some day becomes serious about stopping this kind of thing at the source -- GUNS!
CrazyJoe
When so many States(including Virginia) allow OC (open carry ) of firearms in public, this is not surprising at all.
http://opencarry.org/opencarry.html
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Is the NRA on this thread?
RIP Police Officer.
Badge213
Surprising in what way? Virginia has open carry laws, are you saying in that theory people are getting shot and killed every single day everywhere in the state of Virginia. But in places like New York City and Washington, DC where guns are essentially banned from open carry, No one gets shot and killed everyday. Right? A does not equal B here.
Badge213
Guns are so prevalent in in America and tied to history, that even if you somehow managed to outlaw all guns (never gonna happen) but lets say that one day for some freak reason, that all the politicians agreed to outlaw all guns. With the amount of guns (millions of them) that exist out there, there will still fall into the hands of criminals who want to do crime and want access to one.
PeaceWarrior
Got three cars and several weapons at home but I am still trying to get me a nuke... I am sure I won't be using any of these items to hurt people, but just in case, ya never know, I'd like to have at least one or two of each on hand... just in case.
You just never know when you'll need a car or a nuke to defend yourself.
CrazyJoe
Surprising in what way? In no way am I surprised.
rrrickets
i know this is a japanese rag but i wish people would quit trying to take away my constitutional right to bear arms. people blaming guns for killing would be the same as me blamimg the pencil because i don't know how to write, the gun is a tool just like a pencil or a hammer, knife, rock,etc.....blaming the tool is just plain stupid.
Elbuda Mexicano
Screw your so called constitutional rights! America is so messed up, too many drugs and too many guns is a bad recipe for so much violence!
Vernie Jefferies
My heart goes out to Virginia Tec and the officer involved. Just when things get back to normal another tragedy on the campus.
Noliving
What evidence is there to suggest he was openly carrying his firearm?
presto345
Extremely shocking and sad news.
It seems someone went on a rampage on this topic here though, voting down everyone's comment. Pretty pathetic.
Nessie
If only the victims had been armed, this never would have happened.
PeaceWarrior
the victim was armed, a police officer. oh, I see what you did there.
warnerbro
The United States is the Somalia of the first world. An incredibly violent culture. People are trampled to death even while Christmas shopping. An American Senator many years ago, Daniel Moynihan, perhaps, suggested a tax on ammunition. A low enough tax that the average person could still purchase a few shots if he or she thought necessary for self defence, but high enough to make people think better of using them. Say $100 a bullet for example. Miscreants would be far less likely to use a $100 bullet to steal someone's wallet. The right to bear arms is a ludicrous remnant of the 18th century. So many Americans entertain fantasies about gunning down intruders, when statistically they are many times more likely to kill a family member or themselves than a stranger. Police and soldiers who train regularly hit their targets less than 50% of the time in reality. The average Billy Bob Bellyflop will be far less accurate a shot. Or they say that having a gun will protect them when America becomes a "police state." There is a widespread latent paranoia about the establishment of a "police state." If one is to be installed, then it already has been. Just think of the surveillance powers law enforcement officers now have. What use is a pistol against them? Their revolver or even semiautomatic rifle against a police force or military? People have seen far too many ridiculous shootouts in the movies, I fear. There are so many guns there that banning them has no meaning, but tax ammunition is worth trying.
genji17
Never...this is the back bone of America. Elbudda, dont like it? Stay in Mexico...though for some reason many many of your country folk sure dont think like you do
unreconstructed
What an interesting life you must have.
And it is only America that has gun violence, right?
genjuro
I remember this from a few years ago. Cho was a U.S. resident of South Korean nationality, having moved to the US with his family when he was young. He already had a history of mental issues by the time he got to Virginia Tech. People around him ignored all the signs of his deteriorating condition, and tragically the deadliest massacre by a single gunman in U.S. history took place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cho_Seung-hui
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre
unreconstructed
Just to let you know - most 'progressives' disavow the Democrat Moynihan. For pointing out the obvious and easily verifiable - - - that blacks in America are more prone to violence and that single mother households produce the largest number of maladjusted, anti-social males - - - he is basically an unmentionable these days among young brainwashed progs.
James Tanaka
FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIVE IN THE USA.... you really don't know what you are talking about..... Guns don't kill people, people do... anymore than the pencil in your hand does the writing and not your hand.. Everybody has a gun.... if you want to go around unarmed like a dog, that's your problem... but for me, in the society of the United States... you better have a gun because everybody has one...... and if you want to ban guns, that will never work because the criminals will not turn their guns in to the police.... you cannot rely on the Police, you will be dead by the time they arrive!
PeaceWarrior
Funny, where I am from, not the USA, everyone has two guns so we win!!
Elbuda Mexicano
Sorry James you are wrong, people kill people and people who get creative and not use just guns, but knives, ropes, frying pans to kill people, but if guns did not kill others would the USA army not give M 16s out to all their soldiers in Iraq??
notasap
the culture of the gun is a culture of death.
Noliving
Your being disingenuous. You know what he means and that is a fully loaded gun with the safety off will not harm anyone unless someone squeezes the trigger, he is not saying they can't be used to harm people. A question for you, lets say I take a gun, load it and turn the safety off and put it on the table and no one touches it, what are the chances that the gun by itself will discharge when it is not touched at all?
Obviously your argument is that guns are too efficient at killing and hence should be "banned" from private ownership but again your being disingenuous in your argument by deliberately ignoring that he is correct in stating that a loaded gun with the safety turned off will never ever harm someone unless someone is either purposely squeezing the trigger or is negligent in their handling of the gun. Keep in mind that he is not disputing that guns are efficient at killing just that they can't kill unless someone uses them to kill or is negligent in their handling of them.
rrrickets
QUOTE****Elbuda Mexicano Dec. 09, 2011 - 03:21PM Screw your so called constitutional rights! America is so messed up, too many drugs and too many guns is a bad recipe for so much violence!
look at your own back yard before you say my weeds are too tall if you don't like our constitution go home and stay there hiding from the banditos(kidnappers and drug cartels) and federallies(corrupt and ineffective). mexico should be begging to become a part of the united states to have all the jacked up stuff happening there stopped by us since you can't do it yourselves(mexico is a wonderful country full of nice people but your goverment is effed up big time)(i know my goverment is effed up too and i vote to try to change it) so SCREW YOU biatch!
Ranger_Miffy2
Had to do a double take on this one. The JT headline said, "Virginia Tech gunman believed to be dead after killing police officer" and the headline on this story says the gunman is dead. No "believing" involved!
amerijap
I just don't want to hear this again.