Va. Tech shooting...

[shobet]

He was a permanent resident. in other words, he didn't need to have citizenship of any other country. I'm not sure if he retained his korean citizenship, but as a PR, he had every right Americans have except for voting.

So he could legaly buy a gun but legaly he wasn't allowed to vote. Am I the only one that finds that a bit odd?

[CharvelRocker]

Bah... I know it's a horrible story and all, but the media should really not report on it so much. The last thing we need is to focus on "the worst campus shooting in US history", because then it will just lead to some-other troubled youth thinking: "I'm lonely, depressed, no-one knows me... all I have to do is kill more then 32 people and I'll be a legend".

I can't tell you how much I agree with that

[Freyr]

I can't tell you how much I agree with that

We had that discussion today... and some people actually laughed like I was telling a joke.

It's pretty fucking sad when a university's notable alumni include serial killers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Utah#Famous_alumni

It does much better service to let them drop off the face of the earth. Talked about only in sociology and history classes. Not the news, and popular culture.

[danastas]

So he could legaly buy a gun but legaly he wasn't allowed to vote. Am I the only one that finds that a bit odd?

It really depends on the state. In many states, he'd have a more difficult time buying one. The voting/buying a gun deal seem normal to me since becoming a US citizen is something you seek out. The only privileges are declaring yourself an American for life, traveling with a US passport, and voting. So, I don't find it that odd in that sense. He had every right given to all Americans except for voting, and voting is something also available to him, if only he'd sought it out or asked for it. In other words, voting wasn't a right denied to him. he merely needed to apply. Permanent residents are granted citizenship as a matter of course in the USA.

[Cleveland Metal]

Have you guys seen the pictures he sent in to NBC on the morning he did it?

What a fucking lunatic. I hope there is special place for his soul...

[xenophobe]

PROOF that Virginia Tech College Staff and Campus Police are partly responsible for letting this happen. For the past several years, bills which would have forced VATech to allow students and staff to carry concealed weapons have been fought by the College and campus police:

From a google cache of the VA Tech website itself (which has oddly been removed from VA Tech's web site:

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Nltmp4mqZHMJ:www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php%3Frelyear%3D2007%26itemno%3D149+prohibit+students+from+carrying&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

[Bert]

Turns out the guy lied about whether he'd ever been institutionalized when purchasing the gun. Would requiring a proper background check have stopped it? I'd venture it's just as likely to have stopped it as having a couple of people in the building with concealed weapons. Whose to say they'd be willing to go up against a comparably (if not better) armed attacker? It's all just speculation.

[lerxstcat]

Turns out the guy lied about whether he'd ever been institutionalized when purchasing the gun. Would requiring a proper background check have stopped it? I'd venture it's just as likely to have stopped it as having a couple of people in the building with concealed weapons. Whose to say they'd be willing to go up against a comparably (if not better) armed attacker? It's all just speculation.

It's simple logic. If you're in the building and he's shooting everyone he can in the building, you may as well try to stop him since he's going to kill you anyway. Why wouldn't you?

[Spivonious]

It's simple logic. If you're in the building and he's shooting everyone he can in the building, you may as well try to stop him since he's going to kill you anyway. Why wouldn't you?

Why? Because I'd be scared shitless. The first thought in my mind would not be "I'm going to be the hero so everyone will talk about how I saved the day."

[Tashtego]

No, it would be "I want to live so I'm going to shoot this guy before he shoots me."

[Bert]

It's simple logic. If you're in the building and he's shooting everyone he can in the building, you may as well try to stop him since he's going to kill you anyway. Why wouldn't you?

If indeed I could conclude that there was no escape, sure. But how many of the people in that building were in that situation? Weren't there plenty of windows to get out of?

[Spivonious]

No, it would be "I want to live so I'm going to run away from this guy before he shoots me."

fixed.

[Gino]

I hate the way European media reacts like they always do (blaming on Gun control) when any gun-related incident in the USA (or even South America) happens. They forgot how many people died because of them in the past (1000s of years), and like to think they're perfect. I know it's cliche, but guns don't kill people, people kill people. If it wasn't a gun, it would be a knife or something else. It's very naive to think that these things won't happen, in a country that has so many people. In Brazil we have 180 million people, so it's obvious we'll have more murders, crime, than in the UK, for example. And no, not the whole country is like the film City of God (I'm tired of these comments).

Anyway, very sad incident in the US, I hope the victim's families are strong in this tragic moment.

[lerxstcat]

If indeed I could conclude that there was no escape, sure. But how many of the people in that building were in that situation? Weren't there plenty of windows to get out of?

There are now 33 people who are dead, and more than that in wounded, who obviously couldn't escape in time, in case you didn't notice.

[lerxstcat]

I hate the way European media reacts like they always do (blaming on Gun control) when any gun-related incident in the USA (or even South America) happens. They forgot how many people died because of them in the past (1000s of years), and like to think they're perfect. I know it's cliche, but guns don't kill people, people kill people. If it wasn't a gun, it would be a knife or something else. It's very naive to think that these things won't happen, in a country that has so many people. In Brazil we have 180 million people, so it's obvious we'll have more murders, crime, than in the UK, for example. And no, not the whole country is like the film City of God (I'm tired of these comments).

Anyway, very sad incident in the US, I hope the victim's families are strong in this tragic moment.

Thank you for your kind words. If more people would just extend their sympathies instead of cheapening this by getting on their soapboxes, it would make this tragedy a little easier to bear.