First Gun Bought March 13; No ‘Spur of the Moment’ Crime

That was no random attack, he had planned everything out. You don’t just carry around chains to lock doors and keep people from getting in or out, for no reason. I wish he wouldn’t have killed himself, he deserves to rot in jail.

Clearly it’s ok that this gentleman was allowed to purchase two guns in a month. Gogo gun laws!

can anyone agree that below all the facts and un-answered questions, i think Bush should be answering why we are in iraq when our own Country is obviously Un-safe……….

can anyone agree that below all the facts and un-answered questions, i think Bush should be answering why we are in iraq when our own Country is obviously Un-safe……….

Funny how there is no mention that he wasn’t legally allowed to purchase any handgun. Maybe that doesn’t play into their agenda.

can anyone agree that below all the facts and un-answered questions, i think Bush should be answering why we are in iraq when our own Country is obviously Un-safe……….

If only guns where outlawed then only outlaws would have guns! But, on the other hand, if guns where indeed outlawed then only outlaws would have guns!!!
Perhaps someone should have told this joker that guns weren’t allowed on campus.

I wish that the media would stop plastering “deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history” all over the headlines. They are setting the stage for the next wack job to grab the headline as the “deadliest rampage…..” We know how bad this was, just report the facts and stop sensationalizing.

Um… a 22mm pistol does exist.

Here comes the attack on the second amendment. Brady bill round 2 coming to a house committee near you. Join the NRA now and protect your rights!

“Cho Seung-Hui bought his first gun, a 9 mm handgun, on March 13 and his second weapon, a 22 mm handgun, within the last week, law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com.”
This article is incorrect. There is no such thing as a 22 mm handgun. There is a .22 caliber handgun. Please get all of your facts right before you publish any article. Thank you.

a 22mm handgun does exist. I own several.

I believe the posts by John Sims are focusing on the wrong thing- Does it really matter that the calibur of gun is wrong? The bigger picture here is that innocent people have lost their lives in this horrific event.

There’s deffinately a .22 handgun. My buddy has one. Even though it’s not going to blow a hole in anyone, it’s extremely deadly. The bullets will go on and just bounce around in someone’s body. The 9mm is more likely to pass through. Also, you can aim and fire repeatedly with the .22, without having any kick. In the movies, a lot of assassins use a .22 handgun.

Millimeter = Caliber–wikipedia
From Dictionary.com – I think it fits
Semantics is commonly used to refer to a trivial point or distinction that revolves around mere words rather than significant issues:

Wow! A 22mm. That’s got to be a lot to lug around. Idiots. It’s .22 caliber. As in .22 inches. Don’t write a story containing information on guns if you can’t even get a 22 correct.

This is great news for anyone else planning a massacre: You might have thought it difficult to obtain a gun! You might even have been put off your plan! But fear not: you have a friend in the State of Virginia. Now let’s go get those guns.

Jacquelyn, I agree we should not be in Iraq, but what is your point? Our military can not be used to deter or control crime domestically.

why do we care what kind of gun it was or wasn’t….the fact of the matter is, is that he was able to walk in purchase two weapons wtihine the last four weeks, without a problem…end of story…it’s obsurd to see you guys spit your knowledge about guns, when below the surface, a gun is a gun and in this case took the life of 31 people..

This is great news for anyone else planning a massacre: You might have thought it difficult to obtain a gun! You might even have been put off your plan! But fear not: you have a friend in the State of Virginia. Now let’s go get those guns.

And just what evidence do they have to suggest that the first gun purchase was in any way “special”? Thousands upon thousands of guns are purchased every day/week/month, and virtually none of their purchasers are planning anything sinister.
I think the “triggering mechanism” here was the decision by this creep to kill a bunch of people rather than be a man and accept that a woman dumped him, not when he bought an inanimate object.
Who knows? Maybe it was the day he bought the shoes he was wearing yesterday…

It doesn’t say a 22mm it says 22 caliber. The same as a .22 rifle only as a handgun. A very small bullet.

You are wrong, John, ever hear of a “private transaction” or “person to person sale” to in-state residents? Only FFL (licensed firearm dealers) have to do background checks/paperwork.
If you live in the South, check out local newspapers, it’s legal in most states to buy from a private individuals without any checks, that’s the “gun-show loophole” that the Dems are always referring to.

A 22mm doesn’t exist, but a .22 caliber does. We all know that the media is trying to get out information, good or bad, as quickly as possible. I’m sure there are a lot of other “semi-truths” out there about yesterday’s events. The issue isn’t the media.

A few of you guys are missing the point. .22mm or .22cal…who cares? The man had two hand guns to kill over thirty people. Get you head on right and stop quibbleing over insignificant details!

The gun in the photo is a Walther PPK (James Bond). It does not come in .22 cal or .22 mm, or 9 mm for that matter.
Why is that gun in the picture above?

John, in Virginia, March has 31 days. The perp waited 31 days, M 13 to A 13, to buy the second gun. Doesn’t matter though. The deceased don’t care which gun he used, or if he only had one. Had he had none, he may well would have used some weapon of even more potent destruction than a couple of hand guns. This guy was determined, in case no one has noticed.

TO JOHN SIMS:
John,
It sounds like you are pro-gun…but you’re wrong. First, the story does not say .22mm…it says .22caliber…and that does exisit in rifle and pistol models.

Perhaps if guns were allowed on campus, someone would have shot back? Oh, and I love the morons here who blame everything on President Bush…
Maybe Bush should concentrate on making cat food safer instead of being in Iraq…

Who cares what kind of gun it was. 33 people are dead. That can never be justified. I pray for the families. This is not a time for debate.

In response to Mr. Sims’ comments, good to point out the inaccuracy of the story (22mm handgun?). Blaming the “liberal” media is so gutless!
Unfortunately, that’s not the point. If he seriously believes that the gun laws in this country work that way, I feel sorry for him. I’m sure all guns that are bought at gun shows, under the table, etc., are subject to federal laws. Good joke!
Too many guns in the hands of people that can’t control themselves or their actions. Way too easy to get guns and then nothing can stop them from destroying the lives of generations of innocent people. It’s not worth the ridiculously outdated view that anyone needs them! Period.

Media did not get it wrong or meant to say anything different. When they say 22, it should be a given that they mean .22. And yes, there is a .22 mm pistol. I don’t know anyone that actually refers to .22mm handguns by saying, “point twenty two”. Stop pointing fingers needlessly at the media. Concentrate on what really matters. The issue at hand. This kid was a sociopath.

I just love how anytime something bad happens that the left immediately tries to point the finger at President Bush. News Flash…We all know you cant stand the man, so STOP being ignorant and childish, and leave him alone. Not everything bad that happens in the universe is a result of ” The evil Bush administration “…Bad things have happened BEFORE Bush took office, and unfortunately they will contiunue AFTER he is gone… I am very curious to see how the extreme left, who hate freedom and democracy, will try and blame Bush for all the bad things that will happen AFTER he is out of office. Especially if a Dem gets in office.

This is ridicules. We say things got really bad after 911. This has nothing to do with 911. This person is a U.S citizen. He lives in our country. This show’s that people are not safe anywhere no matter how much protection you have. We can not control those who are mentally ill, nor can we tell who they are by just looking at them. I wonder how in the world are we going to prevent something like this happening again. I even know the answer to that and it is, we can’t! We can’t tell if someone is all of a sudden going to lose it that day and go on a shootung rampage. What happened to VT should not be compared to 911. This is something more serious! This is someone who is supposed to represent our counrty as well as all the other citizens. Haveing metal detectors is not going to save us and upping security is not going to prevent someone getting buy and doing such a thing. If they are mentally ill there going to find a way to such a horrible thing. In my eyes there is nothing we can do,or we can put the whole U.S on some kind of examination to determine whether there mentally ill or not, but that would be just crazy! So what are we going to do about this and how can we prevent such a tragic thing from happening again?!?!

You would think that after over 3,000 fellow citizens were murdered on 9/11 people would give up the notion that passing laws or returning to isolationism will make us all safe. The world we live in isn’t secure. That is true in London, Madrid, New York, Washington, Oklahoma City or Blacksburg, Virginia.

Wow, Jacquelyn, I think we are in Iraq because we would be even LESS SAFE if we had to fight all the terrorists that are there, over here!

It would be hard to kill 33 people with a fork!

Honestly do you really think it is the gun laws or Bush’s fault that this happened? The blame solely rests on a sick individual who felt the need to take out his pain on others and carefully planned it over time. My question is why were there two seperate shootings and how could the second one have occurred two hours later? I find it inconcievable and unforgivable that Virginia Tech students were not immediately warned after the first shooting when the suspect was still at large. Anybody else agree?

Hey K. Nyce,
If you shot a 22 mm handgun it would probably blow your hand off and knock you on your butt. No such thing my man. The largest handgun I know of is the .50 cal Desert Eagle which translates to around 12.7 mm.
So if you have got one then I want to shoot it!

Sadly this whole thing is going to be politicized to death. This event was horrific. I lived through a day not knowing if my parents and brother, all of whom work at Tech, were okay or not. Thank God they are all well and accounted for.
The point that needs to be made here is that all the gun laws in the world did not prevent this creep from wreaking havoc on a college campus. I wonder if the failure of the Virginia General Assembly to extend concealed carry rights to the college campus really made colleges any safer. Note that nobody but the bad guy had a gun. Is that how you’d like the non-gun-free zones to be too?

Why are you wasting your time arguing about the type of gun it was???? Think about the actual problem, he bought a gun and killed a bunch of innocent people. That is the only problem. Not gun rights, not caliber or millimeter, not biases media. A bunch of people are dead, do you think you can step off your soapbox for 1 freaking minute and mourn them?

actually gun control doesnt work. if anyone wanted a gun, theres ways they can bypass these so called gun control laws and get one. you can have gun control, but in the end, it never really does anything to protect anyone

It’s called a typo (and many of you have made them today as I am sure I will) about the 22mm. Give them a break and certain foreign persons are allowed to purchase handguns based upon the type of visa they have. Stop throwing around the 2nd ammendment as a defense to this also. The 2nd ammendment was created to keep Americans, from back then, from being controlled and not having weapons to defend themselves against the British government that they were fighting to free themselves from. Not so any jackass with cash can purchase a weapon and go on mass killing sprees like this guy. Anyone ever notice that the countries with good gun control laws have much lower incidences of violent crimes?

I wonder what would have occurred had the policy been that anyone qualified and passing a background check be also allowed to carry a firearm on campus as they can in the rest of the state? Perhaps this would have ended much sooner?

I don’t belive most advocates of gun control want to take away the constitutional right to bare arms. But regulations can be made that could HELP keep guns out of criminal hands while still keeping them in the hands of law abiding citizens.

who cares what kind of gun he bought, the fact of the matter is that he bought the guns and shot up the college, security anyone???

Nobody to blame except the shooter, really. Lets talk about personal responsibility here. This guy had it planned for awhile to do this. Dont blame Bush. Or the cops. Or the prez of VTU. That’s what’s wrong with this country…not enough personal responsibity.
God Bless VTU and this country.

If you think you own an 22mm handgun, then you shouldn’t own any guns. You don’t know enough to be safe. 22mm is close to an inch in diameter. Go to a gun store and ask for 22 millimeter ammo and they will laugh at you. Ask for 22 caliber and save some embarrassment.

What the hell difference does the typo make? It’s a gun. He killed people with it. Those seem to be more relevant than the SIZE of the ammunition ripping through people.
And, Sam, he was a legal resident/alien – he has as much right to buy the guns as a U.S. citizen. THAT’s the problem. Everybody has, or can get, a gun with no problem at all.
What’s really disgusting is the number of posts all over the web with statements such as “if I’d been there, with my texas arsenal, the guy would have been dead…”. Do we really think this would have gone BETTER if half the students on campus were armed.
The NRA is as dangerous as any organization in the country.

I think President Bush needs to bring our troops home and concentrate on using our troops to protect our citizens here in the US, not abroad. The troops could spend time rounding up all of the illegal immigrants and putting them on a ship and dropping them off on a deserted island. Also, they could arrest the President of the NRA and drop him off on the deserted island, as well, but first arm all of the illegal immigrants with handguns.

All this could have been prevented if he didnt have a gun but this country embraces the second amendment so we will alway have guns and crazy folks will always have easy time getting a gun for themselves. And why are some of you arguing about type of gun that was used? How is that relevent?

What you’ll never hear reported is that under VA law people are allowed to carry concealed handguns if they have a permit issued by the state, however VA Tech policy is to not allow staff or students to carry. Those that do will be fired or expelled no questions asked.
Great job keeping the people of Virginia Teach safe. The entire administration of the college should be terminated.

I just get sick to my stomach thinking about this. Lets make more gun control laws right? Face it the guy was nuts with a gun. Punishing people with guns that follow the law isnt the answer.

Why was he carrying around the receipt in his backpack if he filed of the serial numbers? Seems kind of stupid for an engineering student to not see the foolishness in that, especially if this was planned out as meticulously as they say it was.
Either way..I hope VA Tech rethinks their policy on concealed carry. Obviously if someone is willing to kill multiple people, they are willing to ignore that little rule. Just like Luby’s…one person with a legally permitted gun could have lessened the casualties significantly. This is what happens when our hands our tied in terms of self defense.

He was a resident alien, and it has been reported that he was legally allowed to purchase guns. As the first gun was purchased March 13, and the shootings took place April 16, he could have purchased the gun anywhere from Friday-Sunday (April 13-15). Personally, I don’t care what kind of guns he had. He seems to have purchased them legally. So there was something wrong with HIM. What he did was horrific. Debating any of the aforementioned does not get us anywhere nor help anyone grieve nor honor the memories of those who have had untimely deaths as a result of his actions. Let’s instead focus our efforts on helping those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.

Your right….outlawing guns is the answer…then only the criminals will have guns. As usual everyone is trying to assign blame. Welcome to America, the greatest country in the world. It won’t be long till the lawyers show up. Our society is going straight to hell.

I knew someone would try to link this to Iraq…..
Anyway, the main thing here is the feet dragging of the school to get a warning out. I saw the interview, the President of the school said they assumed they had the gunman locked down in the building. What happens when we assume peolpe?? He needs to be gone. Plus, didnt Columbine have 3 shooters? What made them so confident there was only one??

The real irony is that the Viginia legislature tried to allow law abiding citizens with concealed carry permits to carry on campus. Virginia Tech was 100% against it saying they would keep students safe. Personel protection is your own responsibility and right! Several of the last school shooting were cut short by average people with concealed carry permits, one was a school employee and another was a parent.

I don,t know what did he get our of it.

This bickering about gun control in this instance is irrelevant. The killer had planned this out. He was intent on killing people and he would have used whatever means he had available.
If it wasn’t a gun, it would have a been another weapon. Perhaps even a bomb.

I am amazed how so many people support more guns to prevent gun violence. How do you know what’s going through those people? How can anyone guarantee that that one individual who is permitted to carry that gun isn’t going to go nuts?

Don’t blame gun laws or lack thereof. States with tighter laws have similar results to that of states with looser laws. Idiots that want to kill people will get guns, whether on the black market or at a dealer.
The issue is that this individual wasn’t even an American citizen from what I recall?

All you have to do is read half of these posts to know this country is full of idiots and lunatics! The blame game, Iraq, arguing over the specifics of the gun .. geez! No wonder politicians don’t get accomplished .. they’re just a microcosm of this pathetic society!

he was a permanent resident of the US so by federal law that allows him to buy the guy. He purchased the first on March 13 and the second over the weekend so he bought it over amonth later.
Second, at a gunshow you can buy a gun without a background check if the seller is not a FFL holder and is just a citizen to citizen sale.
But above all who cares. It is not the guns fault it is this lunatic’s fault. And sadly the police departments fault for not swarming that campus and that town when they knew they had a gunmen on the loose who had killed two people in a college dorm. The campus should have had every cop in that town all over it looking for the suspect.

This is simply a tragedy. Simply horrible. However, I think we all need to take a step back. When compared to just about any other country in the world, this is just a blip on the radar. There are bombings, suicide and otherwise, nearly everywhere else at least once a month. Before we start blaming others (the media, military, Bush, liberals, conservatives, etc), we need to take time to reflect on the relative safety we enjoy. Also, we should also all thank all our troops for risking their lives for the ideals our country stands for. Whether you agree with the war or not, these brave men and women deserve our respect, support, and admiration. Peace.

CAN PLEASE STOP ARGUING ABOUT THE GUNS? Does it really matter whether it was 22mm or .22? All that matters is that he used two guns to shoot and kill a lot of people including himself. I frankly don’t care what kind of gun he used. The fact he had guns is what upsets me. Talk about gun control, talk about the morals but quit trying to find reasons to hate the media for getting facts incorrect, it happens. Geez.

Everyone blames gun laws, George Bush, the president of the school, but nobody looks at how kids are being raised these days. People are not allowed to decipline the child anymore because they are afraid of being accused of abuse. Teachers can’t control kids in school because they don’t have any respect! Quit pointing the finger at our leaders. Look in the mirror! It is not just this inncident, it is everytime something tragic happens! 25 years ago I wasn’t even alive, but it was twice as easy to get a gun, but did stuff like this occur, NO! Because parents and teacher instilled respect and fear in child to do what is right!

Gun control, only controls honest people!!!

Frank i love the comment…All you people who are talking about Bush need to get life…..33 people just died and you want to make this your opportunity to rant about Bush…you are jokes….

Teachers (but not students) should be allowed to get a Conceal & Carry Permit and carry a handgun. If only 3 or 4 of the teachers in Norris Hall had been armed, there would be far fewer victims. Do you really want totally defenseless people who must depend on the speed (?) and common sense (?) of the local police? Stop this insane thinking that the government can take care of everything in your life.

No Alan, tighter laws have made a difference. They ensured that when the perp went into West AJ and into Norris Hall, he’d be the only one there with a gun. The politicians have played right into his steady hand.

What is the point in arguing about what kind of gun it was? If that is the part of the story that bothers you, you may have some serious issues that need to be addressed. Also, let’s not turn this into an anti-Bush discussion. Should he have had the military prowling one of thousands of college campuses on that particular day? Come on.

Sadly, I wish the Second Amendment zealots were as vocal in defending, you know, the other nine amendments in the Bill of Rights. Those that don’t, for example, heavily criticize on intrusions into Fourth Amendment search and seizure protections can’t fairly characterize themselves as civil libertarians – they’re just gun nuts. So unless we also hear a vigorous defense of the right of the criminally accused to have an attorney (Sixth Amendment), or the protection of a free press without influence or censorship by the government (First Amendment), etc., then please just say “I am a gun fanatic”, and stop hiding behind the Second Amendment.

I don’t see how handheld guns are legal. A shotgun for hunting, yeah, but handguns? In Ohio, im not allowed to smoke in my favorite bar because of the law, but because of the law i can get drunk and carry around a gun. I know..sounds illegal…that’s not it, it’s that it is POSSIBLE!

Unbelievable ignorance about historical events. Guns keep people free; no guns, no anything except long food lines, little red books, and gulags.

OK, so now let’s debate the accuracy of Wikipedia! Aside from the Great Caliber Debate which is so incredibly relevant to the issue here; I fear that every time somebody goes balistic in a public place, the wrong long-term lessons may be learned about gun control. If only the government is eventually able to use any form of weapon, we might as well go live in China. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But I definitely understand the other side of the issue – I just hope we don’t over-simplify the solution.

And quit complaining about Bush. Yes, he’s a terrible president. We get it. However, not every bad thing happens because of him so shut up already.

For the individuals claiming that as a “non-citizen” he should not have been able to buy a firearm legally: WRONG – much like the rest of the bill of rights, the 2nd amendment applies to citizens and non-citizens alike. He was in the country legally and, while he’s here, he can buy whatever he would care to. Go NRA!

50% of gun deaths in America are suicides and another 25% are drug and gang related. Yet we only hear about the sensational stories like this which are always followed by ignorant calls for more gun control. America’s problem is a moral and cultural one. The same hypocrits that put out movies for youth with gangsters and heros shooting things up with handguns will be calling for more gun control. Meanwhile they acknowledge no repsonsibilty for helping to train people like this to solve their problems is this way. I’ll tell you why this continues to happen in this country. Open borders and no discipline at home, in the courts or in the schools. Period.

The Dems are shying away from gun control as a party issue because they lose on it. But they won’t be able to ignore it any longer. Pelosi said they would re-visit gun control “when the time is ripe”, and I’ll bet that’s right about now. So they will go for, say, handgun registration and it will cost them the white house.
Funny how politics is.

I would think people would do research before they post — reports and civilians alike. Legal Aliens can buy guns in this country. ANY criminal can buy a gun — that’s why gun laws don’t work.
In most states with a CCW law, you CANNOT legally carry on campus.
The shooter also filed off his serial numbers.
HENCE, HE WAS A CRIMINAL and no law was going to alter his plan. There are already laws on the books against killing, but that didn’t seem to stop him. Right????

I’m sitting here listening to some hot head talking if there was a ban on guns this wouldn’t have happened. BS. He would have found some other way to do what he planned on doing. If we are going to ban guns let’s go ahead and ban alcohol (remember prohibition, that really worked), fertilizer, as a matter of fact vehicles too people use them to kill too. Yeah it sounds silly, so does trying to ban an instrument, figure out why he did what he did (no matter what his weapon was)

From what I understand, the guns were purchased legally. But, it was illegal to have the guns on campus. Of course, criminals overlook laws they don’t want to follow.

It is legal for a resident alien (which is what this guy was) to purchase a gun in the United States. The person had to get approved which takes about a week before his/her application is processed. You can only blame one person for what happened and it was the guy who pulled the trigger. You can not control a mentally disturbed person and if he did not use a gun he could have used a bomb, car, truck, etc. anything like these can be used to kill people intentionally!! Look out law abiding citizens, the gun grabbers are coming!!

The point of this article is not gun control. The point is premeditation. Let’s not lose sight of what is important.

It really doesn’t matter what gun or knife, or bat, or bomb, or car was used in the slaughter of innocent lives. Folks, any way you slice this an individual did this. He planned and executed a plan to take as many lives as possible and then his own. I wish someone there had the werwithal to take action. How as a society do we get to the point where able bodied men line up like sheep to be slaughtered. 3-5 students could have ended this rampage if they had just realized that the only wrong thing to do is nothing. Fight back people, Mr. Cho was a predator, where was the Todd Beamer of this incident. Knowing that all was probably lost making the decision to stand and fight. “Let’s Roll”

Many are still trying to figure out what the connection was with the first shooting and the 2nd. Have you ever thought about the fact that the first shooting was done to divert every ones attention to the dorm area in order for the shooter to invade the more populated area where he knew the majority of the causalties could occur? This surely was well orchestrated and a sad situation.

Guns don’t kill, people do! Don’t tell MSNBC “MSLSD” that. If this guy couldn’t buy a legal gun, then he would get it on the black market. Do illegal drugs ring a bell? Anyone can get it. It just costs more.

It is not feasible to eliminate guns from society. Pass a law eliminating guns entirely, and tragedies such as this will only continue to increase, and with deadlier results. Citizens need to be an integral part of community security, both through awareness of potential threats and the ability to respond. Being defenseless sheep have only resulted in planes crashing into buildings and rows of bodies from execution style murders. It is way past the time to depend on “stricter laws” to protect us…personal responsibility is the key to building a stronger community, not dumping more money toward building up a government that cannot serve its people nearly as effectively.

I’m wondering if anyone saw him chain the doors to the building and wondered why, questioned him or tried to report it.

Perhaps if the students had been able to be armed thamselves this person could have been stopped. Disarming the law abiding public is no answer to this type of disaster.

Wackos armed with guns are much more deadly than those armed with, for example, knives or weed whackers.

C’mon guys quit arguing about the .22 cal or .22 mm. It’s no big deal they made a mistake, let it go. A .22 mm gun would be a “cannon”. A .20 mm cannon is used on fighter aircraft and a few ground soldies but it has to be mounted solidly or it would knock you down when you fired it.
The big picture is we have a mentally ill person who committed a horrendous crime. Banning guns won’t stop such people from killing just see what’s happening in Toronto, Canada or the large cities of the UK and Australia since they totally banned guns by law-abiding citizens. Nutz or nutz and if they want to kill they will find a way.
About 125 people per DAY die in auto accidents in the US, where’s the outrage?

You people blaming Bush already are unbelievable…barely 24 hours later and you have your tried and true scapegoat on the chopping block again. You don’t like your 2nd Amendment rights? Why don’t you just give up them all and forfeit your right to free (ALTHOUGH IDIOTIC) speech. Everytime I read a comment by another hate-spewing liberal I laugh because behind your finger-pointing is only a person so ill-informed and uneducated that blaming the President seems like a logical step to take.

The Mikester…if you do own a 22mm handgun then you have a very rare weapon. Also, if you do then you know that a 22mm round is a very large projectile. Slightly smaller than a XM25 grenade launcher use as an anti-tank weapon. I think the difference here is that .22 caliber is what was used not a 22mm handgun. Lastly, as far as the shooting goes it seems amazing that people can blame Bush for anything and everything (Jacquelyn). I think maybe he missed stopping this shooting because he must have been busy shirking his duties to stop the storm from hit most of the midwest and northeast parts of the country. And no doubt he should have called home the troops to stop both events. How about letting the shooter from South Korea be responsible for his own actions and not drag Bush or guns into the picture. The guy was a nut case. Innocent people usually are the victim of nut cases.

You can buy a gun in VA if you are not a citizen of the US – you just have to have proof that you currently live in VA. Hope that helps y’all.

We have heard the same argument for gun control for the last 10 years. Basically the NRA runs congress, so no real change can happen there. The issue comes down to why isn’t there any outlets for teens to obtain mental help from. Suicide in colleges are ever increasing, address the foundation of the issue (psyche) is the real key to solve the problem.

I don’t even own a gun but a 22mm bullet would be the thickness of approximately a 20 gauge shotgun shell.

Wrong! A legal resident alien can purchase a firearm in his state of residence under federal law.

Washington DC has the strictest gun control laws in the country. It is also the place with the most crimes involving guns. Gun control does not work.
Remember, Guns do not kill people – people kill people.

I bet dollars to doughnuts that when is all said and done, it will be for the same reason most of these school shootings take place. Failure to fit in or be popular. School has become more of a place to show who has the best clothes, car, atheletic ability, etc. Academics are what is important, but they are not revered like who is prettiest or can throw a football the farthest. These things usually don’t add up to anything once you are out of school. Just like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, this guy probably was picked on, thought of as a nerd, and rejected by several women. God help us all if we do not fix this problem. The shootings will only continue. Dress codes in all schools, limit sports to only those who can take real courses and pass, and take away the homecoming king and queen. Yes, he was obviously mentally unstable, but what was it that caused those brain chemicals to mix and cause these thoughts? Read this post agin.

A 22mm handgun fires flares…

I like how this guy’s already been found guilty of mass murder before his trial’s even taken place.
So much for American justice.

Obviously we need more restrictions on South Koreans. There is no need for any South Koreans in this country unless they’re members of the military or law enforcement. And they certainly serve no useful sporting purpose. They’re a threat to everyone’s safety and need to be taken off of the streets. If there had been a ban on South Koreans in Virginia, this tragic event would never have occurred. (Hey, this makes as much sense as restricting firearms!)

Honestly, I don’t understand this talk about ‘if the teachers could have guns’ or ‘if people could have guns to protect themselves’…it doesn’t make any sense to me personally. I don’t want to have to carry around a gun to feel safe. Carrying a gun would make me feel unsafe on a very large scale. The more guns there are, the less safe we are. It seems like a logical argument to me. Guns don’t equal safety, they equal danger. Even if a person is trained in firearm safety, the gun is still dangerous. Now don’t tell me that it’s not the gun that’s dangerous, but the person. I know that is true, but who’s to say that if I was carrying a gun, I know how to use a gun, and I am safe with guns, but somone randomly mugs me from behind, and discovers my gun…now what? Guns are bad for humans in general.

I like how these idiots are trying to blame this on president bush-what does that have to do with anything? Instead we should be remembering and praying for the families of the victims.

Yes, you can debate gun laws and calibers and even the war in Iraq…
However, the major issue at hand is that this was a major tragedy that ended the lives of several innocent people. This is a sad event in our nation’s history and my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families as well as those at Virginia Tech and their alumni as well as Blacksburg as this will be a stain on their history.
This event needs to be a wake-up call for all universities and colleges much like Columbine was to high schools to improve campus safety as well as student counseling and mentoring. Violence takes many forms and this incident tragically ended the lives of 33 people.

are you kidding me, I own a .22 pistol, so once again the ignorant public blames the”liberal media”

What’s really interesting is that no one has noted that Virginia is a right-to-carry state, which means that a citizen who has undergone a background check and has completed the required training can carry a handgun for self-defense. The law, however, forbids these individuals (many who have law enforcement and/or military backgrounds) from carrying on campus. Apparently the Virginia legislators thought the harsh rhetoric of the law would be sufficient to prevent a deadly shooting on a campus while ensuring that no trained law-abiding citizen could prevent it.

“As usual the biased media gets it wrong. A 22mm hadgun does’t exist, bu hay never let the facts interfere with thestory.”
As usual, submitter has a snarky comment but fails to realize that the story indeed says .22 caliber, not mm.

Just for the record: According to law you do not have to be a US citizen to purchase a handgun. But foreigners MUST BE permanent residents of the US, ie, they must possess a “green card”.
If Cho did not have a green card then it would be illegal for him to purchase a handgun anywhere in the US.

No one has mentioned that Virginia is a right-to-carry state, which means that a citizen who has undergone a background check and has completed the required training can carry a handgun for self-defense. The law, however, forbids these individuals (many who have law enforcement and/or military backgrounds) from carrying on campus. Apparently the Virginia legislators thought that having a law would be sufficient to prevent a deadly shooting on a campus while ensuring that no trained law-abiding citizen could prevent it.

Someone stated, “why are we in Iraq when our country is unsafe?” Well we are in Korea and look what happened! I don’t see any connection to our being in any of the two countries. Disturbed people are everywhere!

Actually he was a legal permanent resident so he was well with in his rights under federal and state law to purchase a firearm. Look it up on the BATF website.
Only non-immigrants and undocumented alieans are bared from owning firearms

I could not believe someone would committ such a selfish act of crime. I am wondering if the school has any kind of awareness/support progams for students that are stressing out from personal issues that are occurring in their lives.

I’d just like to point out that 22mm is almost an inch (24.5mm). So when you say that a 22mm handgun exists and that you have one, look at the bullets for it. Are they almost an inch in diameter? Or do they look more like a quarter of an inch (0.25 inches) across?
What scares me is that it sounds like there are a lot of people out there that own guns and don’t know the difference between inches and millimeters.

First off i think it is wrong to start pointing fingers at any police figures for not locking down the college. How would anyone know that this would be a crazy kid who decided to play god and start killing innocent people before he killed himself. Why does this tragic event have anything to do with iraq. Just another way for bush haters to express that they hate bush. One has nothing to do with the other. If this kid wasn’t a us citizen why and how was he able to buy not one gun but two.

This shooting is actually bad for anti-gun supporters. No assault rifle was used. It was simply two hand guns. There will never be a time when handguns will become illegal. Even in the wake of this horrible tragedy I bet some anti-gun lobbyist almost wish an assault rifle was used. This is definitely an isolated incident and the hundreds of thousands of responsible gun owners shouldn’t suffer for a deranged lunatics actions.

I have a question…Why is it okay for politician’s personal security details to carry guns yet the same whining Liberals want to take our guns away? In their liberal minds it’s okay for them to be protected but we shouldn’t be allowed to defend ourselves. Hypocrisy at it’s best people.

Jazz..the gun was simply the implement..get it straight..the killer was a being (I hesitate to use either man or human)..the gun is an inert item until it is in the hands of a shooter..try and get it right instead of regurgitating the leftist media disinformation.

Guns are NOT the problem. Guns have been available for years without radical problems of the past few years! It is other law, Judicial system, violence in video games, TV, movies etc. Parents not teaching respect for fellow human beings!!!! Bruce B.

“The NRA promotes SAFE gun handling, SAFE gun use and SAFE gun ownership. ”
Safe gun use? How do you kill someone safely? Interesting.
So sick of the nra. Might you think differently about guns if your kid got killed yesterday?

Too bad the stock photo of PPK in graphics has nothing to do with the story, must not have had a stock “Glock” photo. I usually avoid and consider “Weapons Free Areas” to actually mean “enhanced victimization zones” since criminals are much less likely to encounter someone who is armed and has the will to resist.

nice photo of a .380 walther ppk/s. too bad it has nothing to do with the article.

1) Gun laws are only as effective as their enforcement
2) If gun laws were effective, Washington DC would be the safest city in the country
3) At the risk of cliche: “if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns”.
4) Gun crimes are down in states that have ‘right to carry’ laws on the books; that is fact.
5) VA Tech was officially a ‘gun-free zone’; meaning the killer knew he had open season to prey on defenseless victims

You know what… if say 50 kids in that school were packing guns, heard the shots and all came out firing at anybody else holding a gun we would be looking at even a bigger disaster. These kids would not know who had a gun for defense and who was the wacko. They would most liekely have little to no experience with a gun and no organizational experience in how to work together. They would be running and firing at everything that moved! Trained army units have a big big problem with friendly fire, let alone your average engineering student. Come on, the argument that if we all had weapons we would be safe just does not work!

Even a .22 pistol can do some serious damage, depending on the type of ammunition used, the range at which one is shooting, and where the bullet enters. Aside from the “execution style” of the killer on his second visit, has anyone established these facts?
The answer is enforcing existing gun control laws, which should have prevented him from buying any weapons.

it won’t be long before Pres. Bush gets blamed for this – if it hasn’t begun already

It is not the guns, it is not Bush. It is people making bad choices.

This bickering about gun control is irrelevant in this instance. The killer planned this. He was intent on killing. He would have used any means available to kill. If guns weren’t available, it would have been some other weapon. He could have used a bomb. If he couldn’t buy the guns, he may have stolen them.

Why not compare the number of gun crimes to “gun friendly” states to “anti-gun” cities, like DC for example

I wonder how the liberals are going to bame THIS one on George Bush.

just like a typical liberal. blame it on Bush. why dont you just go ahead and blame everything on Bush? including your own existence?

Guns are not allowed on campus…thats the problem. No I dont want students with guns on their person on campus, but let them keep them in their car. let profs. keep them in thier offices.

Whether you are pro or anti gun, don’t you think that in this case, this individual would have taken some other extreme measure if guns were not available? Say a knife or axe wielding episode or worse the creation of some explosive device? Doubt if this guy was turned away at the local gun shop that would have been the end of it.

First…thoughts and prayers to the victims families and friends. The ONLY person to blame is the shooter. Not the guns, the NRA, 2nd Amendment, Bush, etc. He pulled the trigger and he killed those innocent people. Are we going to ban cars because some drunk causes a wreck…more people die in auto accidents each year than in shooting deaths. When the State of Virginia passed the law that no guns were allowed on campus, didn’t they then accept the burden of protecting those that they prevented from protecting themselves?

The funny part of the coverage is the notion that the police can protect against this sort of thing in a free society.

First I heard of the serial numbers being removed.
If you haven’t heard a rumor by 10 AM start one.
If the serial numbers were removed they can still be read.
The type of gun used has no bearing on the story.
A nut job killed 32 people and he alone is responsible.
I know the anti-gun crowd wants to blame the gun but as usual they are wrong.

…but a .22clbr does…what’s your point? They got a factual tid-bit wrong, small detail left for the obudsman, imho.

Wow. I am shocked to see that everyone here is concerend with laws and Bush and this that and the other. The blame is on the gunman. HE decided to murder innocent people. HE decided when to do it, HE decided how and who. My deepest sympathy for the families who have lost loved ones. Do you honestly think that if we put several laws into place that it would abolish crime? NO. There will always be a person who for one reason or another, has the desire to harm others.

Guns don’t kill people!Stupid people with guns kill people!If you want better gun control address the court systems that are more concerned about protecting criminal rights than protecting the public.

You claim you love this country but you clearly hate Americans by using a word like “liberal” as a bad thing. The majority of your fellow countrymen and women support stricter guns laws. Just as the majority of Americans voted for Gore over Bush, but we still must accept Bush as our President.

Yes the guns had the serial numbers filed off, but why would he do that and then carry around receipts showing the purchase of the guns in his backpack that he had on him at the time of the shootings? And for that matter, if he’d planned on killing himself, what would he care if they were discovered to be illegal or legal? This whole thing smacks of an opportunistic gun grab. A disarmed populace is a safe one (for tyrants and outlaws).

22mm handgun?? that means the diameter is over 3/4 inches… talk about packing heat!
“got cannon”!

I’m tired of those who say (as in a post above) that “it” (meaning the gun) killed 32 people. The gun has no power to kill unless SOMEONE pulls the trigger. And are you anti-2nd amendment people trying to pretend this guy wouldn’t have found a gun illegally if he had been forced because of gun-control? Virginia Tech was a “gun-free zone” and I didn’t see him follow that law.

Two different Circuit Court of Appeals (NY and TX) have ruled that the “Police are under no obligation to protect individuals, only society as a whole” Therefore;the police are there to apprehend the purps AFTER THE FACT. If you rely on the police to protect you, you are living in a fools paradise. Virginia voted last year to prevent these students from protecting themselves by legally owning and possesing a firearm on campus. When you deprive people of the right to self defense, you essentially deprive them of life in a situation such as this.

I can’t believe that someone who says, “I own several 22 mm handguns,” owns any! With rare exceptions, decimal values of calibre indicate fractions of an inch bore. When the calibre is >1, mm is the indicated unit of measurement. A 22 mm gun would be .866 calibre! If you’ve ever shot a .44 or .50 cal handgun, you know that one nearly an inch bore would be impossible to shoot a second shot because your wrist would probably be fractured.
If you don’t know your guns, you should have some instruction before you hurt yourself or someone else.

They got a picture of the wrong weapon in the photo! That’s a Walther PPK that is only made in .380 ACP and .32 ACP.
But I’m only surprised they didn’t put up a picture of a street sweeper shotgun. The media doesn’t really know which end of a weapon the bullet comes out.

There are no 22mm handguns. All who claim to own them are lying or else they do not know what they themselves own. It was a .22 CALIBER (inches) round.
Stricter gun laws would only further the defensibility gap between the law-abiding and the law-breaking. They will not disinvent guns, just make it even harder for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.
If someone on campus would have been armed it might have literally saved dozens of lives, but don’t let that thought into your mind if your partisanship disallows it.

I wonder how Rosie is gonna blame this one on President Bush. Karl Rove maybe? Have another Twinkie, Honey…

So, is a 44mm larger than a 22 cal. ?

god bless america for its gun laws that allow this kind of incident.

If one maintains that “Gun control laws don’t work”, one must logically be in favour of allowing private citizens (with clean records)to purchase fully automatic machine guns, bullets that can penetrate vests worn by law enforcement, and even bazookas. And strict enforcement of the death penalty is hardly a solution in cases such as this one.

How is Bush responible for any of this? Nobody is responsible for any of this except for the shooter and the SLOW response of campus security. Wanna blame someone blame the rent-a-cops. Its not the gun, its not the President, its not any excuse, its the attacker.

Wow, first a post about high-capacity magazines that was a complete LIE, and now a stealth correction from 22mm to .22 calibur. Journalistic integrity at its finest, here at ABC News!

These are some of the stupidest comments I’ve ever read. Every other comment is about the .22mm thing being right or wrong. Who gives a flip? Y’all are nuts.

Barely a year ago, the Virginia General Assembly blocked a law that would have allowed LICENSED individuals to carry guns on campus. Virginia Tech’s spokesman PRAISED the defeat of the proposal. Wonder how the spokesman feels NOW after seeing what can happen in a Victim Disarmament Zone.

There is no answer to these kind of horrible acts. We live in a rather unhappy world. America’s love affair with the gun and the uncompromising stance of the N.R.A. is not going to allow for change in the ready availability of guns in America. When the angst builds up and guns are available there will be more killings. Nothing will change America’s ‘cowboy’ culture.

Just a few things. In the state of Virginia it is LEGAL for a resident alien to purchase a handgun. Virginia has conceal/carry permits. They are by no means difficult to get, nor are they extremely easy. However, on college campuses a student’s 2nd Amendment rights stop at the gates. Agree or disagree, these are facts.
This nutbag was going to kill people. Gun control laws DO NOT stop desperate criminals from obtaining a firearm. Two things stop desperate criminals, police with guns and citizens with guns. Liberal or conservative I think we can agree that while stricter gun control laws may have delayed this guy a week or two, but he was going to commit this crime. Gun control laws are followed by one group of people, law abiding citizens. It would be a gross error to believe otherwise, and THIS KID was NO law abiding citizen.

There is nothing wrong with the 2nd ammendment (right to bear arms), but I don’t see a section where it says a person has a right to own bullets.

Instead of focusing on the size of the gun, which seems to dominate this discussion, can we focus on the fact that lack of adequate security at a major facility such as virginia tech allowed someone to walk around blasting away with little or no resistance?

I see to laws… no three… this fella broke… and that doesn’t even begin to address the ones I haven’t seen yet. First… non-US citizen can not purchase firearms. Second, if he was on an antidepressant… now sale. Third, no guns on campus. Only if the professors could have guns in class… might have made the difference.

People need to quit pointing blame to everyone else until they learn what the motive was for this horrible tragedy. I understand everyone is angry and they have every right to be. Nothing will ever make up for the lives of the innocent people that were lossed!!

So if I run a stop sign and t-bone a minivan and kill a family of 4, it’s my cars fault, not mine – lack of car control in this counrty??

For any of you people claiming to own 22mm handguns, I would love for you to e-mail me a picture of one or at least tell me a make and model. Or better yet, maybe a video of you shooting a bullet almost an inch in diameter from a handgun and not having your arms broken…

to adress several points made here
1. the alleged miswording of caliber vs mm is largely irrelevent
2 countries with very tight gun laws like japan, uk, and germany have virtually insigificant number/percentages of gun crimes and only on or two school-college shootings ever. this fact is only partially due to lack of guns and tough laws rather it is due to the culture, community and poverty levels. interestingly they are also much less religious…and if you take away drug and gang related shooting the US is still off the charts comparitively
3 with the impossibility of guns being banned, the focus on the restriction on type of guns and magazine capacity would only apply to making rare rampages less lethal because people can run.

Cho was a permanent resident who had a green card so he would not be excluded from buying a handgun. The earlier news reports said it was some Chinese student here on a student visa — who would be forbidden by US law from buying the guns.
Just want to clear up that detail of the law.

Yeah, the solution is for everyone
in America to be armed–things will
be so much safer.

Walther should sue abc news! First a Walther PP or PPK/S pictured is not even chambered in 9mm or 22. Yet they are associating murder to their company. The liberals have been attempting to sue the manufacturers , the manufacturers should sue them for putting their products on display without any validity .

Jason, you sound like a typical naive liberal who would be the first to blame a ‘shiny metallic monstrosities’ rather than an erratic criminal. You should live in the liberally beloved Europe where guns are illegal for all even for the criminal who just broke into your house and is threatening to kill you and your family with his (many times over and already) illegal gun…

Resident U.S. aliens (green card – legal immigrants) are permitted to buy guns. As a former green card alien I had a conceal carry permit although since 9/11 my state has changed that law. Now that I am a citizen (I still have a carry conceal permit and so should you) I fail to see the distinction between a legal immigrant and a citizen given the fact that legal immigrants are subject to FBI background checks and scrutinized before entry.
If liberals want to give Gitmo detainees Constitutional protection, how can they deny second amendment rights to a legal resident alien. Don’t they have the same need and right to defend themselves.

The sad thing about all of this beside the awful event itself is the reaction of people, who are clearly afraid, that are trying to place blame on the school, or ‘immigrants’, or guns themselves. This is a tragic event by a person who was clearly troubled. His Race is not relevant, because we all migrated here at one time or another (that is why we have the freedoms we have). The school could not have predicted something so awful, period.
As a person who does not believe in or appreciate guns, I do understand that we have freedoms that I do appreciate, like the right to say what we want and treat our bodies in the fashion we see fit; unfortunately guns are a part of this freedom, taking one away is the same as all of them. The guns will still be available, and with or without them people can still be killed. The only rational thing to say in this situation is to educate people on dealing with aggression, and feelings they cannot control, educating others that we should not push people to such limits where they feel no way out, education is our refuge in this tragedy, to learn and teach others about freedoms and responsibility.
As a 3rd generation American on both sides, I understand perspectives for others and respect them, and I respect someone coming here to better themselves… it is what we all have done to be here.

He was allowed by law to purchase the guns, since he had a green card.

No ones mentioned video games, yet. This script is right out of a current blood ‘N’ guts arcade and PlayStation game.

We should worry about educating Americans before educating aliens.

An amazing display of ignorance here by both pro and anti gun people. There is a difference between mm. and cal., a very big difference, but it doesn’t matter much in this case. What does matter is the laughably easy availability of guns of all calibers and kinds in this nut-case country. Beyond that, not even gun owners (I am one)can arrange a cogent argument for high-capacity magazines (mark my words, he used them in the 9mm Glock) that allowed this man to pump out so many slugs so quickly, and what gave his victims no real opportunity to ever overpower him because he reloaded so infrequently. The long clips serve absolutely no purpose outside of securing some reassurance of masculinity in their confused owners. They make the weapon inordinately heavy and uncomfortable to carry for any length of time. And, if the NRA gunfight freaks out there still think they need between 16 and 20 rounds to settle their disputes, I suggest they go more often to the range to target practice.

For goodness sakes people, I have never read so much crap in my life. First of all, if you are waiting on the idiots who write this stuff to know anything about guns you are in for a long wait. It was a .22 caliber handgun, probably a pistol, and a 9mm semi automatic Glock. there are no automatic handguns legally available. The Glock uses a magazine, not a “clip”. The .22 pistol is not a very effective weapon unless you just want to make a lot of noise, but it might be effective if used at very close range. It has very little penetrating power. The 9mm is carried by NATO, FBI, and others. It is smaller and not as powerful as a .40 or a .45 caliber, but it doesn’t recoil as much either. Legal resident aliens can buy a handgun if they have proof of residence and undergo the same background check as citizens. Dealers at gun shows have to do the same background checks as any gun store, if they are doing it legal. However, I can sell a gun to anyone I want in a personal transaction without any background check at all. I have bought several in personal transactions, but the guys made me show them an ID and they did a bill of sale. In most, if not all, state guns are not allowed on school grounds, including most colleges. I doubt that fact bothered this guy.
The students would have been safer if the RA at the dorm or the professors had been armed. I personally would be in favor of allowing teachers to get training and carry concealed weapons. If you think more restrictive gun laws would have prevented this, you are living in lala land. Or your name is Jacquelyn and it was all President Bush’s fault anyway.

if you don’t want this to happen, here’s some really simple tips to deal with it:
one, stop arguing over bullet size
two, put more strict laws on gun purchasing so people can’t just use a loophole to get guns. that way, responsible people get guns, nutjobs don’t. everybody’s happy
three, beef up security. come on people, it’s a university! of all places where you need security, this is one of them

The bottom line is that one person carrying a firearm could have stopped this killer. Even if firearms are made illegal they will still be available to anyone willing to pay the price same as alcohol during prohibition. “People willing to trade liberty for security will have neither”. Ben Franklin

no, “barney”, aliens aren’t citizens in the U.S., therefore they dont have the right to our second ammendent

Since colleges and universities are clearly unsafe places I think hey should be banned.
That goes for high schools as well.

This man seems to have followed the rules to procure firearms. If so, then the rules need to be changed.
Why not add to the approval process not only a background check, but also require the purchaser to undergo a psychological evaluation prior to acquiring the weapon. In this way, weapons will still be available to those who are legal and well…sane enough to carry one.
What would be wrong with THAT, pray tell?

I can’t believe what I am reading!! Everyone is looking for someone to blame. A gun is a gun. Cho, not the gun, decided to kill innocent people. Cho, decied when and how he would do it. We should be focused more on the mourning families. All of the victims were a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, father…. Even if “Anti-Violence” laws were put into place, a person dedicated to carrying out a horrific plan as Cho did, will find a way to do it. So blaming Bush or the NRA helps no one.

Making guns illegals will work as well as making murder illegal. Oh, wait… *rolls eyes*
I’m disgusted that the school administration ensured that everyone was disarmed. Blame the shooter, but blame the administrators too – for forcing the students to become helpless victims.

Well said, Kay.
Thank you for an objective, realistic viewpoint.

Responding to Jaquelyn… of course I know someone out there would blame this whole thing on Bush.. thats stupid and ridiculous and arrogant. What happened was sick and a major tradgety and the University has a lot of questions to answer. In no way is this Bush’s fault so stop blaming him

The picture is a Walther PP/K. According to the Roanoke Times he had a Walther P22, which was purchased recently. Not exactly the choice for mass murder. I have one for target practice; cheap ammo. You are not going to kill many people with a 22. Obviously he was using the Glock.

It’s too bad that we are so distraught that we allow ourselves to fall in the trap of short sighted logic.
If we were to ban every tool, instrument and piece of technology that was used to hurt people in large numbers, we would have outlawed vehicles, knives, matches, clubs, ropes, etc. long ago.
Please consider that those guns he used were simply a resource for his purposes. For every violent crime committed with a firearm, there are dozens committed without one. Just ask coutries who have stricter regulation than ours. It is inevitable that criminals will find a way to carry out there evil desires with whatever is available.
Consider that just as with any other tool, great things have been done and will yet be done with firearms, especially ensuring that the U.S. will be forever a nation governed and not ruled as the forefathers had intended.

FYI, non-US citizens are allowed to purchase firearms. If the non-US citizen is in the country legally, as the shooter was, then have extra steps to go through to get a gun, but still can get the gun.

This guy was So.Korean and the Chinese invented gunpowder. He used at least one German gun, so tell me…how is this Bush’s fault?

Legal non-resident aliens cannot legally purchase a firearm in VA UNLESS THEY HAVE A HUNTING LISCENSE!! Then there is NO RESTRICTION – the individual can purchase ANY firearm. I think that’s what you call a loophole, the kind you shoot through.

Jacquelyn, instead of trying to turn this into a GWB bashing why don’t you drive down to your city hall and ask the Mayor why he allows his prosecuting attorneys to make plea deals. It is not only quite common, but the rule, for the PA’s to drop the gun related charges if the criminal pleads guilty to a releated crime, robbery for instance. Gets around many of the “three strike” law too.
I have bought as many as four firearms in a given month and never felt the need to go shooting rampage.

Another error: Your photo depicts the wrong model handgun, and should be corrected. You show what appears to be a Walther PPK or PP/S, the basic design of which predates WWII, and is most commonly chambered in .380 or .32. News reports say a Walther P22 was found with the shooter’s body, which is an entirely different and much newer design that is marketed for target shooting and general “plinking.” The shooter also reportedly had a much more lethal 9mm Glock (probably a Glock 17, although I have not seen the exact model reported).

Who cares about the facts of how you can buy a gun right now. The main thing is 32 innocent people are dead. It is cold to start complaining about little things like there is no such thing as 22 mm gun. Does that really matter, does it? Whatever type of gun he had, he used it.

Here is why a very, very simple fact matters. The people who know the very least about firearms are the very first to call for them to be banned.

can anyone agree that below all the facts and un-answered questions, i think Bush should be answering why we are in iraq when our own Country is obviously Un-safe……….
Posted by: Jacquelyn | Apr 17, 2007 11:33:02 AM
In response to this post, if we weren’t in Iraq, then Al Qaeda would have a nice place to plan attacks on the U.S. You’re comparing apples to oranges when it comes to this horrific tragedy.
As for the people against guns,what happened here was a case of a person who went crazy. Getting rid of guns isn’t the answer. If we did that, then what about cars? They can be used as a weapon, what about knives, screwdrivers, forks? Pretty soon we won’t have anything.

This should be a wake up call to the anti-gun people. But of course it won’t, They are live is a fantasy world ignoring the fact that this planet is full of violent predators. Raising your children to be sheep el should be considered a crime! Think about it, what causes these 30 people to just line up at a crazy mans request and let him shoot them without a fight – teach your children to be responsible for there own safety. No amount of police or security would have stopped this nut bag. Had the legislation passed in January for conceal carry — someone might have been armed and ready to defend themselves.

The university administration at VA Tech actually prohibits student guns on campus even if the student has a Virginia State Concealed Weapon permit. The permits require a very specific background check and training followed by approval by a Judge. It is unfortunate that none of the students who were killed or those who were injured had any means to defend themselves. The administrqation first denied them the right to carry a firearm even though the state legislature and governor had established a process for the licensing and then the administration denied them the knowledge of the first murders so those who desired could take precautions. A first step in making this campus a safer place would be to remove the Chancellor and the chief of security and a second would be to recognize state concealed weapon permits of those properly cleared by the police and a judge.

If they hadn’t removed the rights of students to carry guns on campus with the appropriate permits, someone could have stopped this lunatic.

I don’t think this is about being red or blue here, people. We allow guns in our country. Others don’t. Still, other countries have shootings. So the fact that we allow guns here is irrelevant. He obtained both of the weapons legally (the first one in March and the second one 30 days later). Making laws to toughen gun control wouldn’t help this situation because it’s obvious he planned it for some time. As for the whole chat on guns and guns control, I believe Bush opened himself up to attack when in his press conference, he mentioned guns and gun laws. No president should recieve a soapbox for personal tragedy- I don’t care who he is. The fact that he brought that up is offensive.

Earlier this year the Virginia General Assembly failed to act on House Bill 1572. If this had become law it would have been legal for holders of a concealed weapons permit to be on campus. If properly trained and armed civilians had been present to stop this murderous individual many lives could have been saved. Armed citizens have saved lives each year for many decades.
Federal Form ATF F 4473 (firearms transaction form) has blanks for aliens to provided identification and state residency.
How would creating more laws to restrict firearms ownership stop a person like this guy? He broke the law against murder over 30 times. Firearms are merely dangerous tools. An inanimate object can not be bad or evil. Governments can only try to deal with the acts of people.

What a shame that someone needs to turn this tragedy into Bush’s fault for entering into Iraq years ago and not focusing on gun’s in America.
We have laws in place for purchasing weapons. It isn’t Bush’s fault that someone chose not to follow those laws and give this lunatic 2 guns.
If you want to rid America of all guns, then you need to challenge the 2nd amendment and not President Bush.

You people don’t know the slightest thing about handguns. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 22MM HANDGUN. NO, YOU DO NOT OWN “SEVERAL”…YOU JUST THINK YOU DO ! However, there is a .22 caliber handgun (of which I own several).

To all the idiots who say they have a 22 mm handgun, please check again. It is a .22 cal handgun. A 22mm would break your wrist, and if you happen to be aiming it, you will most likely crack your head open when it smacks you in the face. Oh and I love the stealth correction in the post above. BTW to the people who keep saying that talking about this irrlevant, its not. People are just pointing out that a journalist should at least check his facts before writing something. But as we all know, Liberals never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Let’s clear some things up. He was a resident alien. A legal immigrant allowed to purchase firearms. He bought one on Mar 13 an bought another earlier this week.He could have been outside the window of a month. The pistol pictured is a walther ppk/s, available in .22 long rifle and .380 acp(AKA 9mm kurz(short). A private party sale STILL HAS TO GO THROUGH A DEALER WITH A FFL!

Loner….quiet….wouldn’t answer when addressed…probably a misfit in society… seems to fit the profile. I am curious if he was an excessive user of video games especially the ones that train our young minds to kill? A news article claimed that he shot with eerie calmness… Again seems to fit the profile. Remember the proverb, “As a man thinketh so is he”. What did he fill his mind with to allow himself to come to this point? Anger….obviously. Almost all action is preceded by thought. Parents should teach their children to guard their thoughts and to fill them with productive and positive thinking that they may be better equipped to handle conflicts….However, not a guaranteed solution. I wonder if his parents were too busy to spend time with him when he was young? Just curious. I hope the news reporters will address some of these issues that we may learn and understand as parents when he begin training our children to be productive citizens in the pursuit of happiness. I feel extreme sadness for the parents of the victims and for the parents of this young man. What a tragedy!!!

To those of you hiding behind the virtues of the 2nd amendment…here are a few other things written in the orignal constitution: slavery, women barred from voting. obviously blacks being banned from voting since they were the slaves…
laws should change with the times…

Instead of ranting for tighter gun control, maybe we should be discussing the need for conceal to carry expansion. There is no way the police could have prevented or even lessened the carnage. If Virginia didn’t have laws against legally carrying a gun on a college campus, maybe there would have been someone in the classroom that could have defended the denfenseless. Criminals don’t obey the laws that we have established. Maybe we should keep that in mind before tightening our existing gun control laws.

The Walther P22 does exist. It is very small, easily concealable. The posts above refer to the PPK made popular by James Bond. The P22 was more than likely what was used in this terrible tragedy. Why are we concerned about all of this anyway? There are many bigger issues than the size of the bullet here.

If hypothetically, 5% of students on campus carrried a concealed gun then the probability that atleast one of the 31 people who were killed would have had a gun is 80%.
According to reports currently available a large number were clustered together in one room. That makes it even more likely that a large number of lives could have been saved were it not for the Virginia legislature passing a law banning concealed carry on campuses. A law that was promoted by the Virginia Tech administration. Hence the president of that institution should resign.

It amazes me how vacant history is within most Americans who are anti-gun.
Back in 2002, a disgruntled student at Appalachian Law School, Peter Odighizuwa, allegedly shot and killed the school’s dean, a professor and a student on campus before being subdued by two armed students.
Just think how differently the outcome might have been on Monday if law abiding Virginia citizens were permitted to be armed at Virginia Tech.

I’m a mechanized Infantry officer and can emphatically say there is no such thing as a 22mm handgun. In fact, the projectile for the main gun of one of my Bradley’s is only 25mm. “.22″ is not the same thing as “22mm”. I don’t see why so many fail to realize that and continue to insist that they own a 22mm handgun.

Unfortunately – most of the posted comments are based on the broad inexperience of young college age people – I appreciate your interest but your opinions are biased by your youth and lack of experience and wisdom — there are no simple fixes and there in no single cause – it is a wonderful world with a heavy dose of problems
db

Would all you paronoid NRA types relax? The 2nd amendment will always be alive and well in this Country. Ask yourself this question, though, if you would:
Should people who are on or have been on serious anti-deppresant drugs be allowed to own guns. Period. To the gentlemen who brought up the 1966 shooting in Texas: For all those people who fired at the tower and missed? Where did that bullet end up?
Sorry, the answer is not MORE guns.

The article says .22 caliber. What’s the point anyway?

The F-14 Tomcat had a 20mm Vulcan Electric Cannon used for aerial dogfighting, I would love to see one 2mm bigger in a pistol model! Wow, what a sidearm!

His careful planning shows he would have taken the time to figure out how to use a bomb if guns were not available. He could have killed a lot more people. Gun laws could not have prevented his attack only the form.

Non US Citizens may not purchase nor legally own firearms in the US. So much for legal gun ownership, when illegal gun ownership (and usage) occurs!
Another point about his pistols, he must have had many magazines loaded since over 50 rounds were shot.
Ron Reagan’s press secretary was crippled by a .22LR handgun – so for those of us who accept the responsibility of gun ownership, we all know that any firearm is deadly

Security at all schools is a joke. On any day you can walk into my son’s high school and never see anyone until you go into an office. Cameras in the dorm would have been a good idea then maybe this guy could have been identified and his killing spree could have been stopped there.

We are in Iraq because terrorists thugs took out over 3,000 Americans in one day. Have you forgotten about that? Would you rather fight the terrorists here or over there?
God Bless Our Soldiers and God Bless Bush, all are Americans with backbone.

Even in death Cho is evil and a coward. “You caused me to do thi” no Cho you did this all by yourself BECAUSE YOU WERE EVIL.

People the gun in the pic is indeed a Glock and no, there is no such thing as a 22mm handgun.

The NRA must be proud today. Another 33 to add to the body count.

I’ll bet neither of the handguns jumped up and shot someone. It was being held by a person. We don’t need more gun laws, we need to allow God his proper place in our lives and live without hatred. Laws are a bandaid.

He was a U.S. citizen so yes he was allowed to buy a gun…maybe you should research some before you comment.

Sorry to get preachy, but I truly believe that until people learn how to deal with sin, bad stuff will continue to happen, with or without guns.

Interesting, no note about the correction from the author on his error of using mm instead of cal. with the 22.
BTW to give an idea on what a 22mm gun is like, the CIWS on ships is a 20mm gun. This would be even bigger then that.
Each round for a CIWS gun weigh 0.58 lbs each and are 4″ long. You really think you can make a hand gun to hold those?

There seems to be a constant thread that if students on campus also had guns they could have defended themselves. If there were 50 students in that building with hand guns who all came out to take care of the gunman I am not sure their good intentions would have worked out so well. They would have little to no experience/training in how to actually use a gun in a real combat situation. They would not know for sure who was the gunamn and who was another student with a gun trying to defend himself. They would have no sense of organization and in the mass hysteria would be likely to make a mistake. Friendly fire is a problem in highly trained and competent army regimens, let alone a bunch of college student with guns.

Just another example of how horrible incidents like this reinforce the ridiculous claims that gun control would have prevented this from happening. Gun control laws are necessary, but they don’t change the mind and heart of a derranged, mis-informed and cold-blooded killer. Guns don’t kill people…without a person pulling the trigger.

Here is a thought… Had any of these people been armed how far would the shooter have gotten? Gun control… It only keeps guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens making them a victim of outlaws and the government. We have a duty our founding fathers entrusted us with… bear arms!

Good gravy, so they write “22 mm” instead of “.22 cal.” is that the end of the freaking world? All you perfect people out there, and yeah, HA that is evidence of a liberal media??? Get lives, all oc you, lives other than the ones rush and sean provide. Thanks. Out.

This killer immigrated to US when he was only 8 years old.
It’s obviously that his behaviour of today is a result of his education experiences of here in the United States, South Korean has nothing to do with this.

The problem with more “gun control” is very obvious. It makes it easier for sickos like him. They see that more and more people have less defense, therefor making it easier for them to do something like this. I guarantee that if more people were patrolling WITH guns, this most likely wouldn’t have happened. Protection is how survival happens. People need to realize that and stop saying that we need more gun control, because if guns are taken away from people that do have good intentions, the well being of our country is taken away. People like this guy, WILL find a way to do things like this. It is not preventable, it is inevitable. We need to stop trying to control it, and use guns to our advantage as upright citizens. We need to band together as a united nation UNDER GOD and stop people like him, with the resources we do have before it’s too late. We need to stop the pettiness and start acting like a country, that doesn’t weaken itself by going against our government and each other.

the whole point of the matter is, and this is something that EVERYONE’S missing, right or left, is that if someone wants to do something like massacre the school they’re not going to take legal routes to do it. you can have all the legal paper in the world and it’s not going to stop someone from doing something ILLEGALLY. think about it.

First of all, I am wondering why they had to hold the doors shut. I mean, do these doors not have locks on them? Why not? Secondly, my heart and prayers are with all that lost anyone close to them and all students at VT. Thirdly, I do wish the far left extremists would shut up for once! You’ve already almost single handedly ruined this country by dividing it at a time we all needed to be united. We will not allow you to ruin this country as the far lefts have ruined Europe. For once in your lives, think about this country and not your pathetic agendas.

Where is the praise that school shooters are now more accurately portraying the diversity of their student body?

You all sound so ridiculous arguing about what type of gun was mentioned in the media. Shut it up and change your focus. I agree with others in that the gun did not kill these people, the person behind did!!!!

There’s a deeper story within a story here. The magnitude of loss is a direct result of ignorance and conditioning. Why is no one talking about this????
These students were of age to be soldiers. A slight, inexperienced shooter with the smallest of handguns, inaccurate without extensive training, was able to walk around a group of over 20 strong, youthful people, shooting and reloading, shooting and reloading.
If these students were dropped on a base in Iraq with no training whatsoever, knowing their inaction would mean the death of their peers, their actions would be seen differently.

Yes please stop blaming the poor gun. Guns are so demonized. It’s so unfair. Just because it has the ability to kill doesn’t mean it WILL, nor that it shouldn’t be carried around by everyone who has hands. Isn’t it really the HANDS fault for HOLDING the gun and making it do things?
A gun is an instrument designed to take a life. There is no reason in this day and age to manufacture and destribute firearms to the general public. If you want to defend your self, learn self defense. This kid would never have killed so many innocent people if his only weapons were his fists.

Funny how so many poeple talk about gun controll now. I have never seen a gun kill someone without the trigger beiing pulled. Plus make guns harder to get for average joe will not stop people from getting them by other means. Do not kid yourself people, guns will still find ways into bad guys hands. Gun controll will not sotp that. Why not address the real issue of slidding morals in our country. Just look at pro sports.

It is very sad behavior when the governors in the whole United States failed to fly all colleges and unversity flags at half mast to hornor the students. It’s UnAmerican and disrespectful.

If the perpetrator of this crime had been unable to buy a handgun then 32 people would probably still be alive today.
Shouldn’t finding ways to save lives be the subject of the conversation instead of petty banter about what kind of weapon it was or incoherent defenses of our right to bear arms.
I just can’t resist the urge to say that all of these right wing, Christian fundamentist, redneck, gun-toting idiots thoroughly sicken me.

It is very sad behavior when the governors in the whole United States failed to fly all colleges and unversity flags at half mast to hornor the students. It’s UnAmerican and disrespectful.

Who cares if the article made a mistake in the calibre of the handgun? It is not important. What is important is the readily available supply of guns in ouir country, purchased legally or illegally, make these events more likely to happen. Of course, the individual who commits the action is ultimately resposnsible, but if you say that there is no clear realtaionship between the availability of guns in our country and the amount of gun violence, then you are either extremely dishonest or extremely stupid.

I believe any foreign students (or otherwise) should not be in the US at this time. WE ARE AT WAR.Why is the US so polite to anyone coming into the US but try going to another country at War. WAKE UP AMERICA

One student CCW (concealed-carry) holder would have ended this rather quickly.
FYI, 22mm = .86″
I feel for your wrists after firing a 7/8″ diameter round out of a handgun.

Would the student have gotten away as easily had he been carrying a rifle? Is the reality that a hand gun is more easily concealed, and rarely used for things outside of shooting humans a factor?

Guns don’t kill people, gun laws do. Gun laws create pools of defenseless victims.

i think that we shoulldnt be worrying about what kind of gun he was using or what race he was… just the fact is that he walked around the campus with 2guns and killed 30+ people. my heart goes out to all the victems and their familiys

What is really sad! No could have paid much attention to this young man for if they did they may have seen signs that he was not thinking well, or that he was isolating himself from others, maybe his professor’s noticed grades failing or not going to class like he had been. Did anyone take the time to observe and changes in this young mans behavior that could have stopped this from happening. If the answer is no, then no matter what he used as a weapon, be it a gun or bomb could have stopped this from happeing.

To Jason,
You say :
The logic passed on by mainstream media makes about as much sense as taking away my fork so I wont be fat.
I say: no one ever killed 31 people because he had easy access to several deadly forks!

Dan,
Under the 14th Admendment, equal protection gives everyone in the United States constitutional protectin regardless of citizenship. EVERYONE has due process.

Exactly it’t a .22 Cal handgun. Not a metric 22mm. I’ve been around handguns all my life, and I’ve never shot anyone. Guns availabity isn’t the problem. Criminals and murderers will still get them. Those who have a tough time will be law obeying citizens who want to protect themselves form those criminals.

the real wackos are those who spend their life categorizing and collecting weapons. And from the looks of it, you seem to carry so much hate against those whom you call liberals that you would use such weapons on them. right. . . you wackos?

Just imagine how many lives would’ve been saved if the students were required to be trained in firearms and to carry handguns for their own self-defense.

you americans love your guns.

Yeah, the caliber of the gun is wrong in the article, we got it. Anybody want to focus on whether or not ANYONE should be able to buy a semi-automatic pistol? Let me guess, you use is for hunting, or is it to organize and regulate that militia?

“Elsa”,
For you to point to the fairy tale called “Bowling for Columbine” during any intelligent discussion, just shows that you haven’t even paid attention as even the liberal media has had to admit that the facts are few and far between in that movie.

More then 30 People are killed and all anyone is arguing about in this blog is what type of gun was used and how this event is related to Bush’s apparent lack of judgement in Iraq. None of this makes sense.

Whining liberals is too merciful of a name. More like “why didn’t someone shoot this pervert before he killed so many innocent people!”. If on campus firearm carry (for responsible and trained firearms owners) were permitted, this horror could have been mitigated. Anyone ‘marginally’ trained in defensive pistol shooting could have taken this pervert out and saved lives!

This act was clearly premeditated. he was an English major, why did he go to an engineering hall? Bravo to the profs who tried to shield their students.

Well well
It seems this young man had been refered to counsuling for the distrurbing content of his creative writing class papers and was known to be troubled
Seems that this one was allowed to fester and erupt not sure how guns caused him to be so troubled he had to kill to deal with it
but I’m sure some anti-gun whinner will find a way to blame guns and not the people who clearly admit the knew he was troubled yet did nothing about it

Manchurian Candidate. No different from Columbine. Interesting that the first story that ABC cited, about a 1/3 of the page down, had a poll “Should American’s be allowed to have guns?” How predictable can you be? This is the next step (WACO was first, followed by OKC, Columbine, DC Sniper, and other campus shootings) in disarming americans. God help us all.

Maybe if another student on campus yesterday had been allowed to bring their OWN handgun onto campus he could have been stopped….maybe.

To Martin Johns: If you own a 22mm Handgun, it is the only one in the world and I sure as heck wouldn’t want to shoot it! Considering that 30 Caliber is 7.62 mm, your handgun is what, a .90 Caliber? Better check your facts guy!!

Gun Control or not if someone makes up thier mind to do something like this gun control is not going to stop it. It was not the gun but the person holding it, THE person holding it shooting it at innocent people. We can tear this story apart from all different angles, you did this wrong you did this wrong. I’m sure there will be areas of improvement that we come across,and we will learn from them, but never the less it won’t bring them back. Hold you anger for the person that pulled the trigger, too bad he cannot face us now, he got off easy. Maybe you can take some justice knowing that he will have met his maker on the way down. God bless all the families directly effected by this, and may God keep you strong.

What the guy did was just bad, at this time we should not worry about where the article made the mistake but wat made him do this and how he purchased the guns in just a month. We should pray for the poeple eho were killed and their families and what are they going through now after loosing a child or an husband or just a friend.

“Federal laws are not enforced 100% at all.” Umm, you mean like, in “illegal aliens”?

Try this for an analogy: there IS a clear relationship between drug laws and drug availability. The relationship is this: those under 21 can acquire illegal drugs easier than they can acquire legal ones (alcohol). I have yet to hear a coherent rebuttal to the argument “if guns are made illegal, the only people with access to guns will be criminals”. Discuss.

Crazy people can and will do crazy things no matter what the law says. I hope this does not become an excuse for more 2nd Amendment bashing.

There’s a reason many people expected this to be done by a Muslim. It has to do with their religion.
ABC is a Leftist news organization. And like most major media outlets, produce sloppy reporting. I don’t expect them to report facts, only politically-based editorials on society.

You can have as many gun laws you want, I don’t think you’ll be able to stop a determined individual from arming themself.
There are mentally disturbed people everywhere, many who are more than capable of violence. It’s just a matter of time before one of them goes postal, and there isn’t much that can be done about it. There will unfortunately be more of this in the future.
As far as school violence, I’m surprised no one’s brought up Andrew Kehoe.

Wow, so now a “typo” has become more important than the tragedy itself. I suppose that is all we can control…typos, because people…you can’t control people and you can’t predict what would trigger a psychopath. The issue here is not guns or gun control. If the killer didn’t have guns he would have set the building on fire…with a box of matches. Try to stay focus people.

Lots of great points in here and a bunch of irrelevant stuff. Another gun on campus, in the dorm, may have saved lives. Speaking of irrelevant stuff, I can’t let this go, because that picture is not a Walther PPK. It’s a Glock. Looks like a Glock 17 to be exact, …a 9mm. So, “Keith” and “CHris,” the media did get one right.

Who cares what type of gun was used? Are we going to bring the guns up on charges? The fact remains over thirty lives were lost. we have lost future leaders, researchers, inventors, teachers, doctors. We have probably lost the one who would have found the cure for AIDS or the one who would have been he parent of the person who finds the cure for AIDS. Now what are we going to do? How do we stop this scourge on our society that is unleashed with amazing regularity? What do we do now?

If it were widely known that there were armed, competent individuals on campus it may have prevented Mr. Cho from taking this action.
Also, once he killed wouldn’t you assume he would kill again? Where were the campus police?

Please, let’s get off the 22mm. Yes it is the ignorance of the press that doesn’t get facts. And yes you can buy a hand gun at a gun show without a back ground check. (Just not from legal gun dealers) You do not have to have a back ground check to buy from a private citizen.( Don’t pay any attention to the fact that he bought them legally)Key: legal resident, doesn’t say US citizen. The guy planned this out, multiple weapons, chain, extra ammo, the note. Come on; you can’t stop crazy! It is a shame that some other students were not armed, maybe they could have stopped this sooner. Oh, that’s right, it was a gun free zone.

I hate Koreans. Hope that they will get it back soon.

Kansas has the conceal and carry law, but guns can not be carried onto college campuses, high schools, etc. SO illegally having a gun on campus may not do you any good. You may get arrested for carrying weapon on campus before the crazy person does.

and just to drive this into the ground one more time, 22mm is monstrous. It’s like over an inch bore and the kick would snap your wrist in half. Quite honestly, if anyone on this page thinks they have a 22mm HANDGUN, they are wrong. If they continue to think they have one after consulting a metric RULER, they become an absolute MORON. That’s like an anti-aircraft cannon caliber, so just shut up if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Caliber does NOT equal millimeters–they are not synonyms.

This just re-inforces my belief that I’d rather be tried by twelve (jurors)then carried by six (pallbearers). Maybe if a few responsible young adults, who by the way are old enough to go and defend their country..had a concealed weapon this might not have gone as far as it did. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. We are pointing the blame on everyone but the lunatic who carried out this horrible action.
If we can send responsible young adults to war, we can also ready them to defend thier lives over here.

How many people get up for their 9 am class…take a shower…brush their teeth…get their books together then pack a gun…come on saying that these students would have carried guns and this would have been ended sooner if the laws were less strict is ridiculous. The kid who did this, the gun allowing him to do this so quickly, and the universities lack of action caused this disaster. As an alumnus of VaTech I know that Charles Steger takes pride in the fact that the university is practically always open, and in this instance his pride cost him dearly. Gun laws and lack there of would not have changed the outcome…please don’t use this as a means for debate. My heart goes out to all involved.

I wonder what He is Korean, but I think He is not Korean because, he lived USA long time.. and when he was 8 years old, He lived in USA…..

According to MADD, more than 300 people are killed by drunk drivers *each week*. For the victim’s families, these deaths are just as senseless and has horrifying. Yet no one even thinks about banning alcohol. Why is that? Even the anti-gun crowd, who tell us that saving “just one life” justifies a gun ban, are curiously silent about the average 460 children that die every year in the US due to drunk drivers. Is it because they suspect a ban won’t work?

Would that SOMEONE in those classrooms had had a gun.

M — As could be expected of a troglodytic conservative, you misread my point: the problem is not just the shiny, metallic monstrosities, but also ALL who choose to own them and propogate a culture of violence. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem; and in this instance the solution is eradicating both guns AND the crazy notion that they have a place in civilized society.

Hmm, still no link provided to prove the existence of the fabled “22mm handgun”. Shocking.

TC is apparently the one who is either “extremely dishonest or extremely stupid”. There are no honest studies that show a correlation between gun ownership and gun violence. In fact there are many studies that show just the opposite. In every state in the US that has passed concealed carry laws, gun violence has gone down significantly. In Great Britain and Australia where private gun ownership is all but none existent anymore, violent crime with guns is skyrocketing.

Jacquelyn, I think that you are right that it’s Bush’s fault…………if he hadn’t been so busy personally destroying levys in New Orleans while at the same time personally heting up the world with a secret bunsen burner in the basement of the White House, he could have been standing outside the dorm room to tackle the gunman as he left……….idiot, what color is the sky in your world.

Everyone who is blaming Bush for this and saying that our troops should be here rather than fighting against the terrorists…..would you feel better if our country was under constant military rule, so that everyone’s actions were constantly scrutinized for possible violence? Would that make you feel safer?
Thought not….try thinking before you spout off about whose “fault” it is. This kid was obviously not mentally well and was determined that others were going to suffer with him. He is the one at fault – no one else.

The picture on the Tube is the wrong handgun, they got the wrong caliber, they have lied about the gunshows, and on and on. Next they will be blaming the shootings on the NRA instead of where it really belongs: the ACLU.

This is so very sad. To turn this into a gun control debate is ridiculous. Kids are so angry today, just listen to their music. It is an experssion of the way they feel. Wether or not they have guns is immaterial. We need to find out what is making these kids feel so angry that the only way they can deal with the anger is to resort to violence.
We need to concentrate on the cause of the behavior. People are always going to have weapons. If not guns, chemicals, bombs ect. Lets put more effort in trying to figure out these kids before they get to this point. Instead of beating out chests in favor of gun control.

Guns aren’t the problem, folks ! The mindset of the user is the issue. If you want to ban guns, you should check out the crime statistics in Australia since they outlawed private ownership of guns and made commonfolk turn in their guns. Your eyes will be opened.
BTW…
What is 0.171 ? It’s the number of deaths (due to accidents/mistakes) annually per U.S. physician.
There are 0.0000188 deaths (due to accidents/mistakes) annually per U.S. gun owner.
And to those of you that are wondering, I don’t have the figures for intentional deaths by boths groups. But, I would bet that the data would surprise us.
We’d be better off sinking money into medical training than banning guns.

Gun control and high capacity magazines didn’t stop the 911 hi-jackers did it…

It’s amazing that people focus on a very minor editing mistake in relation to the dimensions of the gun rather than the stupidity of our gun laws. Typical gun nuts.

I see that the owner of the gun shop was interviewed. It’s too bad that he didn’t figure that this kid is a student at VT living on campus, and that VT prohibits firearms on campus. Of course, the shop owner isn’t supposed to be concerned about that. Why is this society subsidizing the operations of gun shops like this who contribute to social problems and can’t even notify the campus administrators that this person may have some kind of trouble in mind! U.S. firearms laws are BROKEN!

How could this happen? Isn’t there a law that prohibits murder? Isn’t it illegal to carry a firearm on Virginia campuses? Well…I guess passing laws doesn’t work all that well. What about police? Don’t they protect us? How about facing reality? Predators don’t follow the laws. Police get there after the crime. The notion that restrictive gun laws make us safe is inane. Being defenseless makes us vulnerable. There has always been crime and there always will be. So, let’s make crime a riskier business for the predators.

Let’s see… ban guns and hope the authorities protect all of us. Oh wait… the authorities are being reamed for not stopping this after the dorm killings. Bodies can’t even get buried before the gun grabbers launch their agenda via the driveby press.

Keep in mind that .22 handgun was the smallest caliber handgun one can buy and its 10 round magazine was legal even during the Asault Weapons Ban that expired few years back.
Guns don’t kill people, criminals kill people. You can’t expected criminals to follow the law. People were killing each other long before guns existed, more laws against lawful citizen gun owners won’t change that.

Its quite sad that when the President orders all flags to be at half-staff, that the great ole gov’t. in Charlotte(26th largest city in the country), wont lower its flags on the Police Dept. or at the Federal buildings, being a resident of Charlotte im quite disappointed that the City has absolutely no respect for its closest neighbors to the North!

“False is the idea of utility…that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils, except destruction of liberty. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…such laws serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”_ Thomas Jefferson, ‘Commonplace Book’, 1775

Please, enough about new gun laws.
Guns do not kill……….BULLETS DO……

What happened is not the fault of the President, the lack of gun control legislation, or the gun’s fault. The responsibility falls at the feet of the guy who did this – no one else’s fault. When will we get back to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for our actions. He simply twisted off. He could have done this in many different ways in many different scenarios, many of which he could have taken many more people with him. It’s too bad the Virginia legislature has taken the right to protect yourself away from students and faculty.

The need for so many people to fixate on a mistake that the media made in reporting the caliber of weapon, and trying to use that to discredit the report is pure idiocy. When there is a difficult issue that demands discussion and reasonable introspection only the feeble minded seek avoidance through distraction tactics. It’s like citing the second amendment in the case of gun control while supporting 100% of the Patriot act, the latter infringes on constitutional freedoms. These are all difficult issues, all sides need to come to more informed opinions, and then make your case legitimately, myself included.

Here come the “ban all guns, toss out the 2nd Amendment” nuts.For those that forgot it says “prohibits infringement of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
Think of what this nut could have done if he had a bomb – or fertilizer, or gasoline poured on the floor, wit hthe doors chained shut. Do we now ban them? I have a better idea. Students with carrying permits passing courses in firearm safety are allowed to hold concealed weapons. Next time a nut or a terrorist decides to kill unarmed kids he has no idea who will be shooting him in the back. Same idea as unmarked air marshalls on planes.

“having an honest discussion about guns in America” and “Watch: Bowling for Columbine” are mutually exclusive frames of reference… you can’t do one and tolerate the other.

If it had not been a gun, it could have been a jug of gasoline, a 3000 pound SUV, a piece of pipe and gunpowder. Clearly the gun had nothing to do with it, as it is an inert object. It was the deranged shooter, who could have used any of the above to suit his purpose. I’ll keep my guns, thank you!
BW

How many people are killed on US highways in every month?
Automobiles are a LOT more dangerous than handguns. Therefore they should be BANNED!!!

This is exactly why we need to increase security inside the country. If we were to leave iraq, Al-Queda would re-group and the threat from within would become even more serious that it is already.
NEW GUN LAWS. You should have to file a 100 page document to the governent to why you need the weapon.
I’m not a hunter, but if guns didn’t exist, I would be perfectly happy.

If people didn’t kill with guns then they would start to find something else to kill with. They are going to kill regardless and if it were me on the other end I would much rather be taken quickly with a bullet than slowly with a machette or explosive or fire.

leighton — you are copying from the CORRECTED version of the article. The author originally confused a 22 mm (which doesn’t exist) with a .22 caliber (which does, of course).

Can anyone explain why Jaquelyn felt the need to post the same inanity multiple times?

Gun control doesn’t work. How about the cities that outlaw guns now? Are we to believe that the criminals there don’t have guns?
Also, what if he would have used something else, some type of explosives? All the laws in the world won’t stopped the Timothy McVeigh’s of the world.
It’s sad that this happened and we need to mourn for these people that lost their lives because of this SICK individual. The guns didn’t kill the people, Cho Seung-Hui did. If he couldn’t get the guns, legally or illegally, he would have used something else.

Ah, I see they also changed the picture. Earlier, it was a PPK. Now it is a Glock. Maybe they are reading these posts.

There are no .22mm = diameter hand guns not unless you thinking of civil war muskets. There are 8mm = diameter .22mm = length hand guns.
Regardless the greatess loss of life ( mass murder) was committed using box cutters, pocket knife, duct tape and an airplane or fertilizer and gasoline. If one is intent on killing, one will find a way.

You folks who mention that a gun-free environment worsened this situation are full of it. Maybe we should allow people in clubs and bars to carry concealed weapons because the alcohol wouldn’t impair there judgement at all. Maybe we should allow everyone to have nuclear weapons while we are at it, after all if you don’t control one type of weapon of mass destruction(guns, and yesterday proves they can be) why control any of them.

It doesn’t really matter what kind or size of gun he had. It matters that he was a troubled person who received no care and then went on to kill innocent people. Why argue over the bullet size??? That’s just plain ridiculous and missing the point entirely. Liberal OR conservative… we NEED to begin looking at our own country and trying to solve our own problems BEFORE we try to fix everyone else in the world. I DO agree we need to care about the world as a whole but come on, only someone very naive would believe we don’t need help ourselves. Charity begins at home and while he was a legal alien, he WAS here in our country and he was going to one of our universities and his family DID live here. As such, if he’s disturbed and likely to go “off”, he needs help. The biggest problem I see is apathy. Too many of us want to ignore the signs, STILL after so many tragedies, believing it will never happen to us.

So this foreign nutter was taking happy pills? ANOTHER triumph for the pill-pushing quacks of modern psychiatry, just like Columbine and most other like situations. (It’s very hard to find a school shooting where prescribed psychoactive drugs were NOT involved!)

I noticed that the mayor of Nagasaki, Japan was shot twice in the back and killed today. In Japan? But they have gun control, how could that be? With the implementation of gun control only the criminals will have guns. Can’t you see that?

The fact that he bought and legally registered his weapon is the best and ultimate evidence that a ban on guns in public absolutely necessary. You can have as many guns as you want in your home, bug if you’re caught with a gun off of your private property — life in prison. Period. End of story. End of gun related crime.

Although it is a little outrageous that the articles and media are getting some information wrong…
shouldn’t we be more focused on the fact the 32 people died? (excluding Cho Seung Hui)
Hopefully it will not lead to racism/descrimination/etc. towards South Koreans.

It defies logic to see the NRA goons make the patently false claim that the country would be safer if ‘everyone carried a gun’. Walking around paranoid that the guy standing next to you might snap and blow your head off sounds like ‘fun’.

this has nothing to do with gun laws, the NRA, or government regulations on firearms. Guns dont kill people, crazy people do.

Does one have to have U.S. citizenship to be eligible to purchase a firearm?
A buyer who is not a citizen of the United States must have lawful alien status and must establish that he or she is a resident of a state by providing a valid photo identification and documentation such as a utility bill or lease agreement which would establish that he or she has resided in the state for at least 90 days prior to the date of the sale.

What everyone fails to understand about basic human nature is that in every single one of us–every single good, honest person–there exists a more ancient, reptilian instinct. Any sane, moral person can be reduced in the heat of moment to think solely with their passion and to be blind to all sense. It is in that period of time, when a person is weakest, that even lawful access to firearms and other weaponry is inherently wrong. And it is because we should be very suspicious of ourselves and our ability to not be reduced to an animalistic state at any given moment (when perceiving and attempting to thwart mortal threat to our loved ones, for instance) that we should greatly limit our own access to weaponry, except when it is absolutely clear what our role is in wielding such weaponry, as is the case with law-enforcement or military personnel.
When citizens bear arms, they bear such weapons while acting in their own personal interests, however nationalistic they may be. The average citizen would not nor should not want to trust his or herself with such violent tools at their ready disposal.
No, limiting access to handguns will not solve the problem, but every process that gets placed between someone and their goal in acquiring lethal weapons gives everyone involved (including that someone) another chance to review and revise the correctness of their choice. Human logic only goes so far before passion prevails. Recovering from the impulses of passion, when it is possible, is almost always a function of time it takes for the realignment of a more healthy perspectives.
.

So if I drive my car into a group of people and kill them we would blame it on my car and not me, right?
Gun’s don’t kill people. People do.

JohnG said: “In any case, the statistics on crime in states with liberal concealed carry laws indicate that more guns are generally better.”
Yeah, until some high ranking US official comes to town for a speech or something. THEN, the government won’t allow you and your licensed gun anywhere near the venue. Evidently private gun ownership is dangerous in those situations, but not when it concerns the general public. The rules are different because the government knows exactly how dangerous it is to allow people to carry weapons into the public. Why can’t we all be aforded that same protection?

What does it matter what kind of gun this young man used? He used a gun. Why do they even care where he got the gun… you should be asking Why didn’t the school have a lock down on the first shooting.. “They assumed that the shooter left”. Well as you can see the police and the school were NOT prepared at all. Everyone in a community should work together so everyone knows what to do in a situation like this. If the police and the school were not lazy and just assumed everything was going to be fine after the first shooting maybe lives would have been saved.

I have nothing but sorrow for the families who have lost their children. And I have sorrow for the murderer, who was obviously so distorted early in childhood– likely through molestation and abuse– and who clearly had no religion to help remediate his homicidal impulses. He was tortured, and he wanted to share this torture with the world, with the innocent people who couldn’t otherwise relate to him.
Now, however, there will be the knee-jerk response by many Americans. People never seem to realize that knee-jerk responses to take action only further limit freedoms, and do nothing to solve the real problems. Now there will be a strong push to outlaw handguns, but little done to prevent children from turning into murderous monsters. That problem would be too hard to solve… Easier to just ban guns and hope for the best. There was notorious bloodshed before guns were ever invented. If not for guns, this man would have used a bomb or some other means to do his work. Don’t people understand that? Gun laws would do nothing to stop a man with intense murderous ambitions. If a capable, armed person had been in one of those classrooms they would have killed him, and the death toll would have perhaps been much less so.

guns dont kill people, people kill people. Same goes for knives, swords, shovels, ice picks and long drops off high places. People kill people. If some one wants to kill someone bad enough and there is no gun available they will find a way. Period. The big question is why is america a killing field? What is the matter? Does anyone else see the thin layer of name brands and t.v. we are trying to pass as culture? We have to find a better identity beyond diet fabs and medicine commercials to ground us as a community. no wonder we are unhappy when your worth is your money and material possesions and your looks. Spirituality does not have to come from an organized religion, a proper name for a higher power or that we all even agree on the subject, spirituality comes from within. When you are at peace with yourself you can recognize trouble in another. It is a domino effect, stop being so concerned with others and start with yourself. Inner peace can be contagious. Reach out. Its noones fault what happened but if we were a more cohesive nation body, mind and soul it would be more difficult for some one to become like this. seems it is way too easy to get this disturbed in america. Don’t blame Bush, remember Nuremberg???????

so funny. i didnt think americans r this pathetic. no insights or thoughtful comments whatsoever, expect maybe one. seriously do you americans know anything about philosophy or psychoanalysis? you r just puppets on strings that the media pulls.

who care’s if the media got the 22s mixed up. The point is it was and still is a horrible thing that took place. May god bless everyone that was lost and all there loved one’s.

Yes, politicians enjoy an increased level of gun control in their vicinity. You’ll note that didn’t stop someone from shooting Ronald Reagan. It also didn’t keep people from shooting at the White House during both Clinton and GWB’s terms. Which is why the politicians last line of defense is a bunch of guys with guns. Until such time as its practical to provide ever American citizen with their own Secret Service security detail, we’ll just have to make do with concealed carry licenses.
Incidentally, when Francisco Martin Duran fired 27 rounds at the White House, private citizens took him down before the Secret Service could.

How could this happen? Isn’t there a law that prohibits murder? Isn’t it illegal to carry a firearm on Virginia campuses? Well…I guess passing laws doesn’t work all that well. What about police? Don’t they protect us? How about facing reality? Predators don’t follow the laws. Police get there after the crime. The notion that restrictive gun laws make us safe is inane. Being defenseless makes us vulnerable. There has always been crime and there always will be. So, let’s make crime a riskier business for the predators.

If you think England and Japan are compelling arguments for gun control, then you should consider Switzerland an even more compelling argument against it. The Swiss have an assault rifle in every home and a lower gun crime rate than either England or Japan.

I agree with the folks who believe if the other students or teachers had a concealed weapons permit and were carrying lives MAY have been saved. For you folks out there who think passing laws or banning guns would fix the problem just Google “Homemade handgun”. An automatic weapon can be made with supplies from your local Home Depot! People in VA with concealed weapons permits are forbidden by law to carry on school property. Rembember the guy last year in Utah that shot five people in a mall? You probably don’t. He had lots of ammo and planned to kill lots more people. Got shot (and killed) by an armed off-duty cop. Admit it, there is EVIL in the world. Holding hands and singing KUM BA YA and keeping honest folks from owning guns won’t stop EVIL people from committing EVIL deeds. Well armed responsible citizens will!
Democracy-Two wolves and a lamb voting for what to have for lunch. Freedom-A well armed lamb contesting the vote!
Our prayers are with the families. We are sorry for your loss. Peace!

I think that the bigger issue to be addressed is the fact the Creative Writing professor saw something that disturber her in the unhinged mans writing and brought it to the attention of the authorities and nothing was done about it. There were signs of antisocial personality disorder and there was no mandatory counseling, even though his writings were alarming. Counseling was recommended, but that is the last kind of person who would seek help voluntarily.
The other issue is the slow response of the University to the first shootings. Assumption is the mother of all Charlie Foxes, and the police assumed that the gunman had left campus? If that kind of thing had happened in any small to midsize community, there would have been a bulletin about an at large armed and dangerous suspect.

On each and every day 43 people are killed by impaired drivers on roads in the United States. It may be at the hands of a number of people, but the effects are compounded on a daily basis.
I am of the opinion that a legally carried firearm may have allowed this situation to be brought to a sad conclusion sooner, but I do understand that the chances of that are limited even under the best of circumstances. The victims still deserved that chance. The shooter had to be stopped, and fast.
“Be Good All Day”
Paul

Today, two highly trained US Secret Service agents were wounded at the White House when a service weapon accidentally fired. Now imagine a college campus with pistols in every 100th pocket.
I have a concealed carry permit in Virginia and I never carry. It’s too much trouble. Can’t carry it into a house of worship. Can’t carry it into the post office. Can’t carry it into a restaurant that serves alcohol. Don’t want to leave it behind anywhere, either, except locked in a safe at home. They are messy, stinky, oily and bulky. The liability is enormous. You can’t legally use it to stop crime (even in your own house) except in the case of violent crime against yourself or a family member (as opposed to a thief in your dining room silver). If you shoot at a bad guy and hit an innocent bystander, it’s a serious crime.
Notice in the articles about the gun seller that he claims he’s sold so many guns, and only six have been used in murders or suicides. What he obviously leaves out is what the gun lobby always yacks about – how many people their guns have saved. I don’t see him bragging about that, because it probably hasn’t happened.
I have taken the firearms course in Virginia and I firmly believe that if anyone wants to own a gun, they should be required by law to pass a firearms safety and legal responsibilities course.
If you are a gun owner who has not taken one of these legitimate classes, then you have no basis upon which to disagree. I know what it is like to be an ignorant gun owner, and also a slightly educated gun owner. And I can tell you from experience, a slightly educated gun owner is much better, because we’re the ones who leave our guns at home in the safe. Where they belong.

What would George Washington or Thomas Jefferson have to say about the matter….
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence. From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. The very atmosphere of firearms
everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
– George Washington, Commanding General of the Continental Army, Father of Our Country and First President of the United States in a speech to Congress, January 7, 1790
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in Government.” — Thomas Jefferson, Author of The Declaration of Independence, and President of the United States

Funny….So if we weren’t in Iraq we would have a perfect society here? Whomever posted the correlation between Iraq, and a crazy young man at VT is silly.

Ok Al,
So we get it all wrong when we compare crime rates between countries. Fair enough.
Let’s instead compare crime rates across states in the US. And be sure to pay particular attention to the historical trends that resulted as states began passing “Shall Issue” carry permit laws that made it easier for law abiding citizens to get permits to carry concealed weapons.
And, be sure to include the drastic drop in crime that resulted in Florida when they passed such laws in retaliation for the out of control crime rate that the gangs were committing. After the criminals could reasonably expect any given citizen of Florida to be carrying a handgun, they targeted the tourists instead. Remember when all the rental car companies started removing the rental stickers there? That’s why. Because the tourists were relatively certain not to be carrying a handgun to protect themselves.
And every state that has followed Florida’s lead has seen a sudden and dramatic drop in crime. As someone earlier mentioned, the police come to the scene of a crime after the fact. The primary person with any hope of preventing or lessening a crime is the victim. Second in line would be the chance law abiding citizen with a legal handgun in the vicinity of the crime as it was being committed.

What Chu says about open carry in a restaurant is correct. It just may not be a good idea. For a quick rundown on Virginia laws, see http://www.packing.org. The site goes down frequently, however.

The unit of calibre measurement in our country is the millimetre, but in Britain, the unit is the inch,” he said. “So the calibre of 0.22 is not 22mm but 0.22-inch which equals only 5.6mm.

just think, had any of those students had the right to carry a firearm, this crazy would have been stopped earlier with a much lower death count.
but, no guns are allowed on campus, therefore, only renta-cops and crazies are carrying. And look at the result.

Is there any similarities between the Guns& Roses song Mr Brownstone and his play Mr Brownstone?

The “bias” in the media now is overwhelmingly toward conservatives–conservative corporations have bought the media in the last several years. Conservatives whining about media “bias” show how completely they are living in a fantasy of their own making.

An armed society is a polite society.

Questions:
Does anyone have a problem with police officers carrying guns on campuses? I didn’t think so.
So why can’t people who have carry/conceal permits carry guns on campuses?
Why do police officers need to have guns anyway?
Self protection? Why is it OK for a police officer to have a gun for self protection, but it’s not OK for civilians to have guns for self protection?
I know, I know, someone will say “training”. My friend, who is a police officer, thinks that’s funny.
Suppose we offer the same level of weapons traing to civilians that we give to police officers, can those civilians now carry weapons where policy officers carry weapons?
Sign me up for that course.

I am so tired of hearing all the bs about Guns, Gun control etc…
First let me say to any family or friends who might be reading, My heart, my love, my prayers go out to you I have no Idea how much pain you are in as I have lost my father to a tragic death and no one could know how I felt. I don’t advise you to read these points of views as it is not time for that it is time for you to be healing. However if it helps or you feel the same as I do then Its not my right to tell you not to. As I said I can not know how you feel or what would help.
That being said on to my P.O.I
1) If one of the teachers or students had a gun on them they could have stopped this crazy SOB, as it is legal to own and cary a gun but It is illegal to do so on School grounds but Crooks and Psycho’s don’t follow the laws…. which puts Us Law Abiding Americans at risk and in this case at risk against a Foreigner which was another reason for the Amendment.
2) As I said above crooks don’t follow the laws they have no care for them in the first place, so all this stuff about gun control and how long, what type of gun, or any other bs only applies to law Abiding citizens as everyone else doesn’t follow the rules thus again it puts us law Abiding citizens at risk. More laws and rules more people who follow the letter of the law will be harmed by Crooks and Psycho’s.
Yes Cho followed the Law but that goes to show you that even a psycho who has a plan to harm people will wait any amount of time to accomplish this. And will use any means necessary to do it, He was a Psycho who planned this out methodical cruelness and he could have as easy made bombs and be glad he didn’t. So stop blaming guns! Actually if he wasn’t such a loner he could have found a gun much faster I’m sure. But these rules and laws don’t help us. Why isn’t their many Laws preventing any Foreigner from purchasing a gun and covering all areas of this matter? The law was written for US Citizens and all these stupid laws that end up harming us, have missed a Crucial point and now allowed a Foreign (Korean Citizen here on school visa)a Psycho Killer to buy a gun and of course he didn’t follow the rules and he had not 1 but 2 guns on School grounds! and committed mass murder so horrific this is world news.
When If just 1 of the Teachers or just 1 Student (I wont say kids because they are not they are gown adults lets not forget this!) if 1 had been armed they could have potentially stopped this and if everyone was armed or even just the teachers I guarantee he would not have done this and if he was indeed stupid enough the teachers who put their life at risk could have stopped him at the first sight of a gun! An been alive to talk about it! Instead these laws or lack of proper laws have harmed and killed not only the students but the Teachers who gave their life for their students! And one of which survived the worst Massacre ever… Don’t you think this man should have had the right to defend his students with a gun and stop this psycho instead of having to give his life to do so!!
So all you gun control people Stop harming us! Start helping to Protect us from Psychos and Crooks who Don’t follow these laws you force Law Abiding US Citizens to follow!
ALSO SOMEONE THIS CRAZY AND METHODICAL DOES NOT NEED A GUN TO HARM PEOPLE HE OBVIOUSLY WAS INTO BOMBS BE GLAD HE DID NOT USE BOMBS! So stop blaming guns! Crazy people will find a way and preventing The law Abiding citizens from Protecting our selves only let these Psychos do more harm! Instead they should have locked this Crazy, Murdering Stalker up Before hand! he set a fire, He stalked girls, he wrote disturbing papers which were flagged? why wasn’t something done? why isn’t their laws helping teachers with this? nooo lets blame guns its easier!
Second rant:
Im sick of hearing about “High cap Mags” or “serious Guns” These were a Glock 9mm 15 rounds not Hi-Cap if it was it would have stuck out the hand grip and allowed for 17-25 rounds. Second the next gun was a 22.cal not a 22mm as reported (which btw is what #1/2 was saying he wasn’t wrong he was correcting news) and the only 22. that I know of that has a Hi-cap mag is no longer made. So he did not have Hi-Cap or “serious” Guns he had 1) a Glock which is used by most law enforcement because of its safety of use 2) a 22. cal which is a few steps above a bb gun in fact there is a 22. cal bb gun. They can kill but 90% of the time they just harm people. But that’s not the point anything can kill but they are making it sound like these are AK or m4, m16, ar15 tec-9 style guns and they are not those listed are all assault weapons the guns used in this horrific crime were not.
and again I want to say to any family or friends who may read this my heart goes out to you, My love and prayers go out to you, I know how much pain it is to loose a close family member to a tragic passing. I hope in time your hearts will mend. This was a horrific assault on your children, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers and I am sorry that this psycho who had no knowledge of the people he murdered or the pain he was causing the family and friends. I wish he was able to feel your pain and I hope he is, I do wish he was alive so that you could either do what you needed to so that your healing process could begin. But this sad excuse for a person was not only a murder, a psycho, a loner he was also a coward who harmed THOUSANDS to Millions of people and couldn’t face his punishment. To those who are glad he is dead I’m glad you can find some healing in that knowledge. I am so so sorry for your loss for your pain for this horrific act that has harmed so many may god bless you, watch over you and help you through this extremely sad time.

This has nothing to do with the gun.
It has everything to do with the mentality of those that surround this kid. No one tried to help him. He has given off many warning signs for a long time. Everyone thought of him as a loner, troubled kid, who wrote killing stories.
Who tried to help?
He just as easily couldve stolen a gun or slashed peoples throats.
The method of destruction is not to be blamed. He couldve done anything he wanted to kill anyone.
He had specific targets in mind, he carried through a plan that he had prepared for quite a long time, and he let out clues screaming help me along the way.
If “the rich kids” werent too wrapped up in themselves and their popular group to ignore this troubled child then hell they may have given a damn and saved their own lives.
It only takes extending your hand a kind words to save lives.
Instead they wanted to save face in front of friends.
Good grief.
God bless everyone.

Everyone overlooks the always present aspect of these killings. Whether shotting, drowning ones children etc. Mind altering anti depresants. Suicidal ideation is connected to all the manufacterer of effexor just added homicidal ideation. Whwn did he start meds before or after gun purchase. my mother had thoughts of starting our house on fire, he tried in his dorm. she warned me four times dont sleep i love you but want to kill you. an 86 year old woman coming off lexapro. She told her sister she wants to choke her and had thoughts of killing herself. I ran into a woman who was in the metal unit with my mom her daughter told me she wanted to choke her grandaughter til meds. where change. They alter your brain chemistery and when they get a back fire deny everytyhing. effexor had homicidal ideation added to side effects. These drugs all act the same on the brain. to much money fltting aroud in washington and wall street and the public has to suffer in silence.

I am a teacher and arming a teacher for the unlikely event of defending my class from a school shooter is not the answer. What about the other 179 days of the year a teacher carrying a loaded gun in class and all the possible accidents that may happen? Then people will be clamoring over a loaded gun being in school. The statistics are overwhelming — more guns, more accidental or passion-ignited deaths. (I would not trust myself or a colleague with a loaded gun on a Friday afternoon with a wild class–too tempting to use it as a classroom management technique!) The possible accidents are not worth the “protection” from an unlikely event.

I think it is so strange that people in the US seem to think it is some kind of achievement that with the control laws it is only possible for an individual to buy 1 gun in a 30 day period. ARE YOU JOKING WITH THIS???? This is not an achievement, it’s complete madness and totally bizarre that some people believe that this can be considered ‘control’. The US reality is bizarre to, at least, most of the rest of the World. Why on earth would the vast majority of people be allowed to have a gun, let alone numerous guns.
I seriously don’t understand your gun culture. I know that you will talk about your right to carry guns……. but this really doesn’t make sense to the rest of the World….. no matter how you want to argue it.
There is fundamentaly something wrong and I sincerely hope that you will manage to find a solution so that you can all live more safely. It is the very least you deserve.
My heart goes out to those who have suffered during this most recent shooting and those of the past. I hope that the US or any other country doesn’t have to go through this again.

Gun Control is not an Issue, There is nothing in his background that would have prohibited him from purchasing a Handgun. Every state would have allowed him to purchase a handgun. The fact is that he was of a criminal intent. Because criminal intent is not found .. you think that law abiding citizens shouldn’t be allowed to purchase hand guns either? Using that same mentality, then we better outlaw alcohol to stop drunk driving accidents, let us not forget to outlaw automobiles, for the auto accidents and the deaths they can cause. Currently drugs are illegal, yet almost daily drugs are in the news, drugs have caused more deaths then the occasional human that has snapped, that gets a hold of a gun and kills. If guns were not available the snapped person would find something else a bomb perhaps. It’s time to look for the answer where the problem lies. That is in human nature, perhaps the education system that pushes the students so hard to excel it forgets they are human. We have film of cop(we give cops a license to carry a loaded weapon) beat a defenseless bartender over a drink of alcohol… so the problem is the gun?? no it’s the alcohol, but you don’t have the slanted news trying influence to ban alcohol, you don’t give immense press time to those that want to ban alcohol, the press trys to control the american public by reporting the news extremely slanted.

Jeffrey M. Cole had it right..Go re-read his post. The problem here is not him purchasing a gun, the problem here has nothing to do with the problems over in Iraq. The problem is this dude was crazy and decided it was ok to run a rampage through a school.

Don’t have to outlaw cars to keep drunk drivers from killing people. Just have to outlaw alcohol. That will put an end to drunk drivers, alcoholism, and a host of other alcohol related social ills and its not like alcohol serves any purpose other than getting people drunk. Oh wait, we tried outlawing alcohol. Somehow people still managed to get the stuff. We’ve also outlawed drugs but somehow people still get their crack. But if we outlaw guns that will be different. Yeah, right.

“The very atmosphere of firearms
everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
Great – then let’s make it lawful for people to carry the very same weapons refered to here (that would be flintlock pistols and rifles).
As much as i respect The Founding Fathers i find it hard to see how they – despite their wisdom – could be able to anticipate a situation where 1 person could carry a weapon capable of killing a dozens of people within minutes…….
The shooter was a US. Citizen who just chose an act of evil – regretfully he had easy access to modern firearms – but if he had been restricted to buy at the black market he might have been arrested earlier in the process, buying the weapons, clips or ammunition – or to use eg. a baseball bat which i doubt would have caused 32 casualties……

Ok Al,
So we get it all wrong when we compare crime rates between countries. Fair enough.
Let’s instead compare crime rates across states in the US. And be sure to pay particular attention to the historical trends that resulted as states began passing “Shall Issue” carry permit laws that made it easier for law abiding citizens to get permits to carry concealed weapons.
And, be sure to include the drastic drop in crime that resulted in Florida when they passed such laws in retaliation for the out of control crime rate that the gangs were committing. After the criminals could reasonably expect any given citizen of Florida to be carrying a handgun, they targeted the tourists instead. Remember when all the rental car companies started removing the rental stickers there? That’s why. Because the tourists were relatively certain not to be carrying a handgun to protect themselves.
And every state that has followed Florida’s lead has seen a sudden and dramatic drop in crime. As someone earlier mentioned, the police come to the scene of a crime after the fact. The primary person with any hope of preventing or lessening a crime is the victim. Second in line would be the chance law abiding citizen with a legal handgun in the vicinity of the crime as it was being committed.

It is absolutely ludicrous to think for one second that some madman would observe a stupid law not allowing him to have a gun. The answer it for the citizens to be allowed to be trained and carry a firearm. An armed citizenry is the deterrent.

Seriously People!!! Who cares if it as a 22mm or caliber!?!?!? The point is that the killings happened. So MEN shut up already.
By the way, he WAS a legal resident of the US. He held a green card which obviously made him a legal. That is why he was able to purchase the weapons.

I think once everyone stops worrying about what type of gun it was, or how ill this individual was, or what security or vtech should have done, or BUSH and focus on the actual reality of what just happened and has been happening to our country, then our nation will begin to change and we can begin to prevent things like this from happening. Instead we remain divided on issues that don’t protect and preserve the everyday living of those within the united states! The truth of the matter is the solutions lie within the grey area, not the extreme black or white, left or right!

Danny’s got a point (which does not become more ‘pointy’ by beeing posted twice).
People kills people – stop making guns – people still kills people.
Completely correct.
However there should be a little add-on to that:
- people still kills people – but less efficient.
And that is the whole point; the less effecient a killer is the less he will kill.
Not a single gun-advocate has answered why there is less gun-murders in eg. Scandinavia – where gun control is strict.
The rate is about 15 times as high in the US. should make people think…..

Clamoring for gun control after this horrible murderous rampage, will not solve the issue of madness in society. A madman can easily kill with other types of weapons.
The putrid legal system does not protect society from the dangerously mentally ill, until after a horrible atrocity.
A mentally ill and dangerous person, who does not have a criminal past, will always be able to purchase guns in a free society.

Yeah, without a gun Timothy McVeigh was so inefficient that he only managed to kill 168 people and injure another 800+.

Clamoring for gun control after this horrible murderous rampage, will not solve the issue of madness in society. A madman can easily kill with other types of weapons.
The putrid legal system does not protect society from the dangerously mentally ill, until after a horrible atrocity.
A mentally ill and dangerous person, who does not have a criminal past, will always be able to purchase guns in a free society.

Tim has some good points,except the last one, “But everyone else was too good to help him,” Not True,.. this was a tragic event that could have been stopped…
3. If VTECH security had locked down the Campus..fast, after the first shooting….and searched for Cho…
2. If students and faculty had the CHOICE…. to be armed, then Cho might have had second thoughts….
1. The Most Regrettable,…. that the NO ONE…. No One… in a position to ACT,.. chose to respond to the Faculty warnings of this tragically disturbed Student.
It’s NOT about GUNS,… It’s about the people, individual & Corporate, and the choice to intervene ,before tragedy strikes.
Beyond that, our deepest sympathy to those who lost so much,.. so tragically.

Why is it that conservatives believe the 2nd Amendment is written in stone, but the 1st and 4th Amendments, are written on toilet paper. (See USA Patriot Act)

I wouldn’t be bragging about the liberal devotion to the 1st Amendment when the past year is full of examples of the exact opposite such as the liberal attacks/riots designed to silence conservative speakers at Columbia University. And Bill Clinton threw the 4th Amendment out the door when he had federal law enforcement agents illegally search the homes of Cabrini-Green residents and seize legally owned firearms in the name of gun control.

I want to say and will apologize to everybody for my country that a Korean student caused this shooting. Soon as I got home , I heard that an Asian male had shot 32 students and I was very shocked. The next day coming home, they unounced that the Asian male was from Korea and I nearly passed out, it was so unbelievable.. I am a student also, and I just ran to my computure and try to find all the info many as I could without thinking I had a exam tomarrow. The first thing that I saw was that he was very depressed and lonely. So he took medications which does alot of damage to the brain. It kills me when someone I know takes medication when they can take care of it with help from other people. But this I and YOU must understand, when you are from a different country and try to change everything in you mind into English, it is extremly hard and you feel lonely because you can’t get along with the other students.. I am telling you this because I have experianced this with many students and TEACHERS that were treating me like I have came from a different planet or something..as all of us were, he was lonely but could not take it through as I and all of us did, but you should see, he took medication.
So my point of writing this, is to say all of us Koreans are sorry and sorry, please you must understand us that we are suffering with this unbelievable news too.

Its not about the guns… Gun dont kill people people kill people. If eveyone carried asmall gun for self defence mabe 32 people wouldn’t have died.

We have bad gun control laws, not too lax of laws. We need to enforce the ones we have, scrutinize purchases more carefully (none to psychotic temporary visitors on medication) and punish criminals with jail time so they don’t get loose on the street to kill people.
Most crimes happen by repeat offenders, not first time lunatics that kill over 30 people in schools. Don’t make gun laws based on this tragic event. Make laws for the thousands of criminals that get guns illegally after getting released from jail on parole for “good behavior”.

What does it matter what sort of gun he used
he has done it now taking all those lives leaving so many families and friends with so many unanswered questions
my heart goes out to all
But why show his face all over the world why do we want to remember him after what he has done
do not give him the glory he was looking for
let us grieve for those who have lost and not for the one that caused it all
To all the families and friends i pray for you all

Your right, Jay. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people….WITH GUNS! Hell, hand grenands don’t kill people, people kill people. Using that logic, should people have the right to carry hand grenades?

No one can predict these things ok J.R., they couldn’t predict and stop columbine nither could this have been stopped. And those people in Iraq have the same right to be free from terrorism as your biased self does.

The type of gun and the fact we are in Iraq has nothing to do with this story. I worry when you think of arming others who you think are normal to keep us safe. The police have the law let them keep the peace. Soo’s origin has nothing to do with the crime. Being Asian has nothing to do with this crime what does is,this herific crime was committed by a young mentally ill person who killed with nearly every shot he took. The anger was apparently builded up until it explored and took precious lives. Soo needed to be saved, maybe if he had not killed himself, he would at least have been saved, before he had been was sentenced. He never knew the “Lord Jesus”. If he had he would not have been so angry. He still would have had to pay for this herific crime. This was not a rot in jail crime. If he had gotten saved he would have known he would had to pay. The Lord says vengents is mine, I will repay,says “The Lord”.

No man with any mental issuses ( once declared) should be allowed a right to bare arms. I am a sportsman. I enjoy hunting. but I have never been declared a threat to myself by a judge. There needs to be stonger laws for purchasing guns. But as a avid hunter I believe there needs to be common sense involved.

This individual was without question ill minded.Compiled with his feeling of being discriminated against resulted in terror spreaded by a man that gave up on life.It’s my guess that he was teased by some due to his nationality.He was probably made to feel like a misfit.He claimed he could not take anymore and di a Post Office.I pray for the victims…..

posted by ‘Keith’: “Raid, by the same token if guns have no legitimate defensive use, if their only purpose is to kill, why do we allow the police to carry them? Last I checked they aren’t empowered to act as judge, jury, and executioner so obviously they have no reason to carry guns.” (end quote)
And in eg. England they don’t.!!
Why ?
Because they dont have to.
Why ?
Because the criminals (and others) are not heavily armed.
Why ?
Because England has a responsible gun-law.

This is to the people who believe carrying a gun is for self Defense.
It’s pretty depressing when people have to carry around guns to defend themselves against other people carrying guns to kill. We’re just as bad if we think that carrying around a weapon to kill someone who may kill us is a just cause. Maybe if society wasn’t so disturbed we wouldn’t have these kind of problems. But this is just a teen’s opinion.

This started long before Cho bought his gun.
Maybe there’s more to all this than people care to remember.
Consider watching this from the FDA advisory hearings of 1991.
Brought to you by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/19863

You people need to drop this gun discussion on whether that 22mm exists or not. Who cares. I have been reading all these commments about the Virginia Tech Mass…Hello?? This is about those innocent students that was shot to death not some stupid guns. I am getting tired of reading all these comments about these guns. Show some consideration of all the families that lost a loved one at V Tech. That is the important thing we all should worry about.

Let me just make a few points. Ok, first, outlawing guns will not do anything. If someone wants to kill they will do with whatever means. You saw it yourself. He carried a hammer in one picture. Books can be purchased online on how to create bombs out of fertilizer and amonia. Your point to outlaw guns in order to reduce violence is unpertinent and won’t change anything. Secondly, You all live in America. When the founding fathers founded the country they set it up to be centralized and governed by us… the people, now we are becoming socialized and are slowly shifting over to communism all of the time. Just look at all of the Government-iad programs so that people can get something for nothing. Communism. Did you know that now, illegal-aliens can utilize social programs without ever having payed into them. Your hard-earned tax dollars. Communism. It’s coming. Move to China if you hate bush so much. Third of all, The NRA (National Rifle Association) has too much power. Too much say and they are securely concreted into our congress and aren’t going anywhere. Good luck trying to outlaw guns. The Psychos that are going to kill will do someway or another. Look at Timothy Mcvay…. Just think about everything. Cho was a nut and the Authorities who released him from the mental hospital are at fault.

LOL If there had been a few people on the campus with guns, this would not have happened. LOL
No because they would have been shot up long before last monday……
Youngsters deprived of sleep, under academic pressure and having problems with the lovelife, partying away in weekends, some experimenting with drugs – yes, lets arm them all.!!
This incident is that lax gun-control is extremely dangerous and that only the police and army should carry.

Wow. I can’t believe that normal adults would go on arguing about the size of a handgun. That isn’t the real issue. Lay off the guy who wrote this I mean come on, it’s a simple error.
Also, leave the President out of this. He could not have prevented this no matter how much “DEBATING” you go through. I am not saying I support everything that President Bush has done but he is our leader and I believe we should back him.
Stop trying to find everything wrong with him. He won’t be in office much longer and he sure isn’t trying to send the U.S. to hell.

This has nothing to do with 9-11 or the president. The president could not have prevented this nor could anyone else. The kid was mentally ill. How did anyone know he was going to do something like this.
And who cares what kind of gun it was, no one is perfect. Why would anyone in there right mind even argue about something stupid like that??!! Whatever kind of guns they were, were used to shoot people that didn’t deserve it.
Some people just need to grow up and realize what the real purpose is, it isn’t the president or what happened on 9-11-01. There were people killed that didn’t deserve it and the kid was mentally ill and there was no way we or anyone could’ve prevented that.

dude a 22mm would blow his head off if he shot it its 22 cal

The gun laws or fine but a better background check should be allowed

When the barrel diameter is given in inches, the abbreviation “cal” is used in place of “inches”. For example, a gun with a diameter of 0.22 inch is a .22 cal; the decimal is dropped when spoken, so this would be called a “twenty-two caliber”.
I’m British and so have no experience of guns, but i still knew it wasn’t going to be a 22mm handgun!
Now focus on the important issue here… Why is your society producing these nutters??

Who cares what size gun it is? it doesn’t exactly make a difference anymore these people are dead. not trying to be insensitive. If America woke up to the fact that America has the highest murder rate by guns maybe something would change? Howcome canada can have 7 million guns in 10 million homes and have on 3 or 4 murders a year? yet America can have thousands and they are so close together..makes you wonder.

Guns dont kill people. People kill people. Just a good example here.

Now we know Cho purchased and used P22 .22LR and Glock Model 19 9mm Hydra-Shock ammunition which he reloads approximately 15 times (the picture shows Glock 17 with 2 magazines).

LORD JESUS HELP US. OKAY FIRST OF ALL THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 22MM HANDGUN, DUH, YOU MEAN A .22 CALIBER. AND SECOND WHAT IS WRONG WITH BUSH, OKAY WHEN YOU PLOT SOMETHING OUT YOU NEED TO HAVE A PICTURE OF EVERYWHERE YOU ARE GOING TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. SO IF YOU CHECK HIS DORM FOR THE BLUEPRINTS AND YOU FIND THEM, CHECK FOR FINGERPRINTS. CHO DIDNT KILL THOSE 32 PEOPLE BY HIMSELF, BECAUSE WHILE HE WOULD CHANGE THE MAGAZINE(BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE TO, OBVIOUSLY NO MAGAZINE HOLDS THAT MANY BULLETS) SOMEONE WOULD HAVE THE GUTS TO GET UP AND ATTACK CHO SO IF YOU WANT TO BET THAT SOMEONE ELSE WAS IN IT WITH HIM. AND IF SOMEONE ELSE WAS WITH HIM NOONE WOULD BE ABLE TO ATTACK HIM. THE ONLY REASON THAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY HE WAS ALONE IS JUST BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THE OTHER PERSON IS ALIVE AND THAT THE PERSON WHO HELPED CHOU WOULD KILL WHO EVER TOLD ON HIM. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY STATEMENT.

what,he ain’t even an American have to do with any thing