Alan knows where it's at
So you honestly think that while these students are being shot, they will get their weapons, then be able to take down the gunman?Virginia Tech was a "gun free zone" before the last shooting.
Then they ramped up security in a massive overreaction to make it an even more "gun free zone."
It would seem that those persons most likely to shoot at others interpret the words "gun free zone" to mean "target rich environment."
Solution:
1) Arm yourself and respect your weapon (this means store it safely and properly as needed to protect your family, maintain it, and practice with it regularly)
2) Encourage all your friends and loved ones to do the same
3) Pray that you and no one you know will ever have to use your weapon
4) When something still goes down, be confident in the knowledge that you and everyone you know now have the power to make a crazed gunman's first shot his last at any given moment, and congratulate yourself for the net increase in the gene pool's quality you may cause should you be forced into using your weapon.
The problem is not the weapons but the people that use them irresponsibly and / or with malice and intent to harm others. Often the weapon they are using is itself obtained illegally, and unless they are in a drug cartel it is likely they are barely experienced enough to use an actual weapon properly (though erratic shooting in someone's general direction can and will often injure or kill the victim). This means that if you have professional training you will be able to incapacitate or, if it comes to that, kill the average assailant with much more efficacy than their erratic, random attempts to cause chaos and mayhem through dumb application of lethal force.
Best case scenario: assailant gives up quickly when clearly outgunned.
Second best: assailant is injured and disarmed, but no one dies.
Worst of all good options: a smaller kill count than otherwise would have occurred.
i agree with the rest of your post, but what exactly led you to this conclusion? there's no reason to believe a diagnosable mental illness was involved at all. this attacker might have had a grudge, or could have been a radical anarchist, or maybe was simply bored. your immediate leap from "public safety" to "more psychiatry" is, frankly, terrifying.Better mental health care systems and more awareness about mental illness would be a great start. Heightened school security is helpful too, but in order to solve problems like these, you need to get to the root of them, which is mental illness.
right, because students at other schools carries at least three guns on them at any given time (five during special events where there is heightened risk)Virginia Tech was a "gun free zone" before the last shooting.
Then they ramped up security in a massive overreaction to make it an even more "gun free zone."
It would seem that those persons most likely to shoot at others interpret the words "gun free zone" to mean "target rich environment."
i'm sorry, but the statement "strict gun laws do nothing" is patently false. see: canadaStrict gun laws do nothing because criminals break laws. They'll break gun laws. So why put ourselves in a position where we couldn't overthrow our government for nothing?
this i agree with completely.It's scary but it is the world we live in. The only cure is improving the standard of living so sick people have less stress and have the ability to get the help they need.
Yes Deck Knight thinks that if you get some training they will have no problem taking him down!So you honestly think that while these students are being shot, they will get their weapons, then be able to take down the gunman?
Yes, Canada and its amazing gun reg- OH WAIT GDI (yes I know there are other gun laws)i'm sorry, but the statement "strict gun laws do nothing" is patently false. see: canada
Honestly, it's not practical to be fair. We could have it so that the news is so "fair" that it talks about starving children in third world countries all the time, with no room for local news. That would be pretty depressing... I'm not saying I condone any specific news choice, but just pointing out that you can't cover everything.I was merely stating that the media and the OP were being irresponsible in drawing parallels between the murder of one police officer and the tragedy that happened at VT in 07. (The death of this officer is a tragedy as well) The fact that the media made this into such a huge deal and brought up 07 was a disgusting ratings ploy.
This is a ridiculous statement and one you are in contradiction with just a few lines below by suggesting a way to do it :There will never be a way to prevent people from killing people.
The only cure is improving the standard of living so sick people have less stress and have the ability to get the help they need.
My second statement is just a way to lessen the number of sick people that kill people. Nothing will ever stop a sane person who wants to kill people.This is a ridiculous statement and one you are in contradiction with just a few lines below by suggesting a way to do it :
I would not usually consider a person that wants to kill people to be all that 'sane' and while prevention cannot possibly reach a perfect success rate, it probably can always be made more effective.My second statement is just a way to lessen the number of sick people that kill people. Nothing will ever stop a sane person who wants to kill people.
They called them because it's their job.If guns don't stop gun violence, then why did they call every police department in the area, the FBI, SWAT, and the fucking ATF? The fact that after the first shooting, almost everyone this guy could run into would be packing meant that he couldn't really shoot anyone else.
this is a good postThey called them because it's their job.
Your argument also doesn't make sense - it's like saying "Fighting reduces violence if you win."
I think this has been tried for quite some timeFighting fire with fire is only the solution when things have gone too far - in this case, it would be much more prudent to solve the problem before it begins, like trying to keep guns out of schools in general.