It's a sad day (Virginia University shootings, 16 April)

[Sniper]

When another shooting happened in the US. This time 32 dead and many wounded.

My thoughts sit with the friends and family of the dead and wounded. I can't say much more than that

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4029119a10.html

Inhumanitas omni aetate molesta est.

[EJT]

Terrible news. Thoughts are with the families and those affected

[Donor]

My only hope is that the cops didn't give this scum the satisfacton of taking his own life...

[Rosie]

Really sad news.
We do some research work with Virginia Tech, which brings the whole thing a bit closer to home

[Ronin]

Shocking stuff.

Thoughts with the familys

[Colapop]

Tragic that something like this can occur in a supposedly civilised country.

[Ronin]

Tragic that something like this can occur in a supposedly civilised country.

Agree with the supposedly.

[Sniper]

Tragic that something like this can occur in a supposedly civilised country.

Agree with the supposedly.

IMHO, its the peoples actions that dictate if a country is civilised or not....

[Lias]

He set a new record too.. beat out Columbine and U Texas by 19 kills!

[Hitcher]

Tragic news? Hardly. Any country that refuses to sort its gun "ownership" issues can expect events like this to occur regularly. And they do.

Despite that, those who were shot deserved better. My thoughts are with their loved ones. My hope is that US legislators will see sense (Insert "Yeah, right" Tui moment).

[gijoe1313]

Good grief It seems every loony bin wants to top the last body count of the previous shooter

The carnage ... and once again, there will be repeated calls of gun control ... but once again, it's not guns that kill people, it's people that kill people

There is going to be one hell of a mass civil lawsuit from this, if the usual ambulance chasers are true to form.

[Hitcher]

it's not guns that kill people, it's people that kill people

So you're saying the perpetrator would have been able to kill 22 people randomly without the use of a firearm?

[Beemer]

Sad to think that every few years an incident like this happens in America. It's a pity they don't go mad in drug dens or prisons instead of schools and universities.

My thoughts go to the families of the victims - you'd think that going to school would be a relatively safe occupation.

[placidfemme]

My only hope is that the cops didn't give this scum the satisfacton of taking his own life...

Yeah they did:

The gunman took his own life, the police chief confirmed

[jrandom]

Tragic news? Hardly. Any country that refuses to sort its gun "ownership" issues can expect events like this to occur regularly. And they do.

Fucking gun control blah blah fucking blah. I really think we shouldn't bother retreading the usual to-and-fro on the subject. The same discussion already exists on hundreds of other forums. In fact, we've done it here, too.

I was thinking this question through on the way into work this morning. Two points stand out:

Firstly, in the USA's case, the horse bolted out the barn door many decades ago. There are enough guns floating around in private ownership to keep the citizenry armed for the next century. If I were living there, I wouldn't bother changing the law. Words on paper can't return the horse to the barn. Personally, I'd just want to be able to shoot back.

What would have happened if the first teacher that had seen the attacker draw his weapon had been able to start a gunfight instead of just getting shot and dying? A hell of a lot less bodies, that's what.

And secondly, the Founding Fathers fucked up with the Second Amendment. It may have made sense at the time it was written, but the twentieth century showed that the times are a-changin'. Giving a populace the 'right' to go forth permanently armed is insane. It behooves other nations to avoid similar mistakes when considering the issue.