Once again innocent lives are lost just because people have a right to defend themselves?

Question

I don't know how we Americans can sleep at night, always going back to a constitution from the 1700's aimed to defend ourselves from the British. How many more times does this have to happen. This time it was a foreigner but no doubt the gun was bought from an American. How long before the next time?

I know getting rid of guns is unrealistic but whenever things like this happen the first thing many people say is' We have a right to have guns', without even showing any sort of compassion about what has accured.

Answer 1

One could point out that those students could not defend themselves according to campus law.

Answer 2

People have been murdered since the kids were killed yesterday, so it is a tragedy, but not that shocking.

I'd rather keep America armed than an unarmed herd of sheep. When a person really gets right down to it, there are at least 20,000 laws that cover the country about guns; who can own them, were can be used, even what type of gun. More laws are not the answer. Making guns illegal to own is not the answer, there are too many of them and besides, it's only criminals who use them now in illegal acts.

A crime of this size won't happen again, until the next time.

Answer 3

When terrorists attack they use homemade explosive devices and vehicles. It's only deranged individuals that use guns, and since it's just as easy to convert a .22 rifle to fully automatic as it is to buy a handgun, why do people want to ban handguns?
I understand handguns cause death, but taking away handguns won't take away rifles, it will just open the door for rifles to be taken away, post facto taking away our right to keep and bear arms. There have been deranged individuals using rifles, handguns, bombs, planes, cars, and just about anything you can think of to commit mass murder, that doesn't mean that taking all those things away will stop people from being killed. Everything can be converted to a weapon that can kill many people, you can't take away that knowledge, but you can help return our freedoms so we don't feel so trapped. You can help by fighting for our rights so we no longer feel terrorized by our own government and the outside world. If you are so worried about how one simple choice causes death for many many innocent people, try going after the corporations that pollute the water table and soil giving people cancer. If you don't have a gun in mountainous country you can be killed by a bear or large cat like a mountain lion. Guns are still used for defense, just because some people take something and kill others with it doesn't mean it should be taken away. Will you take away all cars because a woman runs over her husband repeatedly?
Get real, guns don't kill people, an inadequate social system does. We are feeling more and more pressure with our rights being taken away, with our government terrorizing it's citizens, and our media enforcing the terror of the world by dwelling on it. If you want to fix it, try electing a government official who isn't corrupt. Oh I forgot, you can't because the electoral college elects presidents, not our votes. And since it's a bi-partisan system the president and vice president get picked by their buddies, so they've been kissing but all the way up the food chain and corrupted themselves long before they pretended you would have the right to vote for them.

EDIT:
Yes, guns were illegal on the campus, guns aren't illegal in the rest of the world, so people could sneak across the border and kill many innocent Americans alot easier than building a bomb. If Americans are allowed to carry guns, people are less likely to walk around with a gun trying to shoot people. I like the wikipedia article about the law school shooting, wouldn't you rather have only had 2 people die than 32 people because the students could carry guns and shoot back? Better yet, had the person who died first had a gun they could have stopped it by killing the shooter first.

But you can choose to be a sheep, only the law abiding citizens would listen to that law, criminals already acquire guns illegally, arms are shipped across Americas border every day, and I'm pretty sure you can't convince all of South America, Cuba, and the rest of the world to give up their guns.
*sheep bleating*:baaaa aaaaaa aaaa

Answer 4

Banning guns for the genaral populace won't help. Those that want guns will get them on the blackmarket. Much like prohibition was,all that managed was to turn law abiding citizens into criminals. Some things can't just be legislated away and then think you have the problem solved it won't work. Those that want guns will get them for whatever purpose and one more thing every time something bad happens those affected are ready to go off the deep end regardless. England for example banned guns to the populace and still they have murders and what not percapita that is in line with the U.S.

Answer 5

Crazies and criminals will always be able to find a gun. Banning guns only takes it out of the hands of the innocent who can then not defend themselves. States with the most stringent gun ban laws have the MOST violent crime. States with gun carry laws are among the lowest in violent crime. Why? Because criminals are inherently cowards and will hesitate to attack someone who might actually be able to defend themselves.

You cannot "uncreate" guns. It's like trying to uncreate the atomic bomb. There will always be guns...and the technology to make them. To think otherwise is simply denying reality.

And remember this...If even one innocent student or faculty member had been carrying a gun yesterday in that classroom, the outcome might have been much different.

Answer 6

I have no idea. This world seems to be getting crazier. My best friends husband killed her on New Years day and since then I have been asking myself that very same question. The only thing I can think of is that people can become crazy at any given moment. Also in today's world half of society is on drugs and I'm not talking about pot. Meth has had a big impact on peoples lives and I have seen a close family member go crazy from it. It is a cruel world we live in and I think that some people just can't handle it. I just wish that if people are having such thoughts that they would get help and confide in someone.

Answer 7

I am a firm believer in the right to own arms, but with this latest incident it makes it hard to express the reasons behind those rights. The main topic that I look at is the fact that if you take away arms from law abiding citizens then you leave them in the hands of criminals, which will always find a way to aquire them. I own a firearm simply for the fact that if someone breaks into my home, I should have the right to defend myself and my family. Unfortunately, with the right to bear arms to defend yourself, there will always be situations like the one we are going through right now. I guess the answer that I have for you is also a question. Why should law abiding citizens give up there right to defend themselves just to leave themselves open to robbery, rape or murder? Seriously, if there were laws that kept people from aquiring firearms, someone in this guys state of mind would find a way to accomplish what he did illegally.

Answer 8

The 2nd amendment had less to do with the British and more to do with the ability for citizens to defend themselves against a tyrannical government, namely our own. The last protection of freedom is us. And if you don't believe that armed citizens are a match for the US military, take a good look at Iraq.

Take away the 2nd amendment, our 4th amendment has already been taking a beating. After 9/11 people willing to sacrifice freedom for security. What scares me more than the VA Tech shooting is how easily people are willing to give up freedom. Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves.

Answer 9

I follow your logic, but you could use the same logic to ban free speech, religion, etc. How do you decide where to draw the line?

I draw the line at the constitution because time has proven that particular document is the best safeguard of our liberties. If people want to ban guns bad enough, let them try to muster up enough political support for a constitutional amendment.

Answer 10

better yet, why is it that someone who isn't a citizen of the US is able to by a gun?? You are supposed to do background checks in most places, how do you do a check on a S. Korean? What about Muslim Extremist?
Instead of trying to villify innocent Americans, why not crackdown on possible terrorism? This is a time of war, immigration is a Hot topic, why would he have been allowed to buy a weapon?

Answer 11

People there decided to give up their Second Amendment rights to have a gun free campus. They decided guns were bad so banned them. They decided to make themselves sitting ducks. They made the school a killing zone.

They put their trust in campus security and the police. When the police got called, the killer had two more hours to continue his rampage and kill more people.

The error was in giving up the right to defend yourself and rely on a police agency that showed up late and did not respond appropriately. The Supreme Court itself said police do not have a duty to protect individuals. Clearly the police lived up to their duty in this case..