For all of you that would like to see handguns banned?

Question

I give you VT, had one student been armed they might have stopped that lunatic. It is obvious the police aren't going to protect you...how many police were there, hiding behind trees and garbage dumpsters while he kept shooting. It is up to each of us to protect ourselves, our families and our friends. Perhaps if the judges would incarcerate gun criminals harder and the parole boards would deny repeat offenders parole the streets would be safer. I live in a part of the country that rarely sees law enforcement, I'm talking about 15 minute wait for assistance, my handgun and "assault rifle" is my only line of defense. For those of you looking at Europe for an answer, I give you Switzerland, where every adult has a MACHINE GUN and ample ammunition and the fact that Europes violent crime rates are increasing every year. So, you give up your handgun, and rely on an overworked, overstretched police force to protect you, and I will watch out for you obituary in the papers.

Socrates...yes, Switzerland is the exception to the European rule, they have the lowest crime rate per capita of any nation in Europe

plhudson...better reread question, handgun is not all I have either.

Digital....Dufus, I do believe less than 30 would have been killed in a shootout with that nutcase...better rethink YOUR philosophy.

You liberal seem to keep coming up with the "their teenagers" argument....how old do you think our average military sodier/marine is, and yet they seem to be able to handle tanks, artillery and rockets...it's more about responsibility than age.

Nameless....I wasn't blaming the cops for taking cover, but sitting there when there job it to "protect and serve" was ridiculous....they have body armor and their job is to take out lunatics....so I guess you're the dumbazz after all, huh.

Rachie, that's their job, to run into dangerous situations to save lives, they what they get paid for, Duh.

Answer 1

Amen bro...I think? You aren't very clear as to if you want to make it harder for the good guys to get guns or if you think we should uphold the second amendment. "I give you Switzerland, where every adult had a MACHINE GUN and ample ammunition and the fact that Europes violent crime rates are increasing every year."
Those to statements seem contradictory. Do you mean besides Switzerland?

Answer 2

Gun control isn't the issue. The issue is do we want to be free or not. We can't have it both ways. If you want to be safe, then you have to give up some of your freedom. If you want to be free, then we will have to deal with a few tragedies such as the Virginia Tech shooting and 9/11.

On another note, the 2nd ammendment was intended to keep the populus and the government on the same playing field. The right to keep and bear arms was intended to give the citizens the ability to rise up against tyranny. When muskets and cannons were the weapons of war, this made sense. Now the government has tanks and flame throwers and stealth fighters. Good luck stopping an M1 Abrams tank with your little handgun and your "assault rifle."

The Constitution is not a sacred document, it is a living thing that must evolve with the times. If it were harder to get a handgun, the Virginia Tech shooting may never have happened. If another student or member of the faculty were armed, they may have taken down the shooter. We will never know. Making it harder to get handguns may encroach upon what some Americans see as their basic rights. Allowing students and faculty to roam campuses with handguns might work in a small European country with a sketchy relationship to Nazi Germany, but it would be a dangerous idea here. They didn't call it the "wild" west for nothing. Either way, how dare you impugn the bravery of those who have volunteered to protect us.

Answer 3

In Virginia, one of the most pro-gun ownership states, most of these students wouldn't have been legally allowed to carry a handgun. As a gun owner myself, I am in favor of continueing to allow responsible law abiding citizens to own firearms _for any reason_, while keeping those same guns out of the hands of criminals, the mentally ill, unsupervised children, and the irresponsible.
And there's no reason to assume that nobody else had a gun either - just that they weren't in the right place at the right time.
That isn't to say one who is otherwise qualified shouldn't be allowed to carry, but it wouldn't have helped. It's not like there were no heroes - that one teacher died saving students. If he had a gun himself, would things have gone much differently? I wouldn't bet my life on it.
This didn't happen because nobody had a gun but the shooter. This didn't even happen because someone didn't notice what a looney the shooter was. It happened because we live in a free society. That's the price of freedom, and we should be glad to pay it.
Also, Switzerland is a poor example for any argument involving gun control, no matter which side you're on. Fully automatic rifles aren't "machine guns" and you know it. Gun ownership isn't a right in Switzerland, it's a duty. The reasons for Switzerland being the way it is are too many to list here, and America can't adopt Swiss culture.

Answer 4

Obama and his acquaintances like Bobby Rush pick to limit something that is going bang, you and that i the two understand that. transforming into a member of the NRA is effective, yet undergo in ideas, that's the foyer for weapons and ammo manufacturers, not inner maximum voters' rights. i'm a member nevertheless, because of the fact helping firearm manufacturers potential that voters' rights to very own firearms might desire to be secure too. The democrats could desire to truthfully push any gun administration BS by using congress, yet as somebody suggested, they does not be in workplace plenty longer. You do understand so which you may purchase a handgun at 18 from a private vendor, top? basically sellers with a FFL could sell to human beings 21 and older. i might say purchase now, in the previous that is too high priced and all the shops are wiped sparkling out :/

Answer 5

I'm not out to completely ban guns. But i do think they need to be controlled. I have a family member who has been diagnosed with a series of serious mental conditions, and has been known to be very violent, and was a domestic abuser for many decades. I was amazed to later learn that this person was able to legally purchase and own a gun while still in the middle of one of their worst periods, given their background, and the fact that they had children in the house. We need to make sure certain people can't own guns, clearly it's just way too easy right now.

Making guns easier to get is not the answer. What if someone who wasn't competent enough with their weapon had attempted to stop the shooter, and ended up shooting yet another innocent victim in the midst of all that chaos?

Answer 6

Unfortunately this will not stop people from getting their hands on guns. Kids buy guns off the streets all the time. This will only make it harder for those who DO follow the laws and regulations to buy a gun. US needs to pay more attention the our home land security and enforce the laws we already have and stop looking past warning signs when shown them. This guy was giving dangerous signs last year and apparently that wasnt enough until he killed people. Our government needs to wake up and protect their own first.

Answer 7

The only way it would work is if you had a loaded handgun in your shoulder holster at all times. I agree the police are usually there to cordon off and mop up.
I heard today Cho Seung-Hui bought the hand guns legally. Why would anyone sell a nerd like that who was in a mental institution a gun?Obviously there was not a background check done , who was sleeping on the job this time?
Switzerland issues Sig 550 assault rifles to it`s militia of about 220.000 members with 50 rounds sealed for emergency deployment. ( not machine guns, they are belt fed automatic weapons and not to every citizen)
The U.S. federal service uses the Swiss Sig 551 carbine due to it`s accuracy and reliability. It uses an AK-47 type action but uses the standard 5.56mm NATO round.

Answer 8

Yes, had one had a hand gun, the shooting might have stopped. But let's be real here, if you could get your hands on a gun that easily, it would be that much easier for the killer to get one, too. I think guns should be banned all in all and forgotten so we can have peace and not have to worry about a couple of fags shootin' up the school because they got picked on. It's ridiculous that these things happen. What good is a gun anyway, it's not like they're healthy if used correctly. That would be like saying, "If you smoke a cigarette through your nose, it's good for you." And that too is rediculous. I'm a smoker and I think smoking should be outlawed, for everyone, not just kids.

Answer 9

I totally agree with you. Look at Mexico. Guns are not allowed there, but watch the news and see how many people in the media and government are gunned down all the time by radicals with machine guns. If normal citizens were allowed to carry hand guns, Mexico would probably not have the problems they do now.

Answer 10

The problem isn't hand guns in VA - it's mental illness. 50 years ago, this guy would have been committed to a mental institution and been monitored if he was released. But here we are, supposedly so much more sophisticated and educated than back then and we don't do anything to care for the mentally ill in this country! We've got to bring back mental health care and involuntary commitments. I know it can be dangerous, but we've got to get help for these people!!!