Today, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University, a gunman (perhaps two) opened fire at West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall and killed two students at approximately 7:15 am. Then later, sometime after 9 am, across campus, at Norris Hall, 30 more students were gunned down, before the shooter turned his weapon on himself.
I have friends and neighbors whose children attend Virginia Tech. My younger brother attended Tech. My cousin and her husband attended Tech. This massacre hits far too close to home. One of my own children aspires to attend Tech someday.
There is no greater loss to anyone than the loss of one's own child. Fortunately, none of my friends' or neighbors' children were victims of this tragedy.
At this point, the shooter's identity has not been confirmed nor has a motive. The only thing that is certain is that 32 young lives have been senselessly lost.
During last year's legislative session, Virginia House of Delegates Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws. House Bill 1572 would have given Virginia college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus.
Last spring, a Virginia Tech student was disciplined for bringing a handgun to class, despite having a concealed handgun permit. Some gun owners questioned the university's authority, while the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police came out against the presence of guns on campus.
In June, Tech's governing board approved a violence prevention policy reiterating its ban on students or employees carrying guns and prohibiting visitors from bringing them into campus facilities. Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated.
"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."Today, because of the massacre, we can see how safe those students truly were. If just one student at West AJ had been legally armed, perhaps fewer or even no lives would have been lost. Instead, typical short-sighted, anti-self-defense bias has cost 32 innocent students their lives.
Nearly 65 million citizen legally own guns in this country and kill no one. Yet, when one of these tragedies happen, the first people the politicians attempt to disarm are the legal gun owners who have committed no crime.
It's time to reframe the problem. It's time to go after criminals and psychopaths that commit violent crime instead of the implement used.
Do we blame pencils for misspelled words? Do we blame the hammer for the bent nail? No. The cause of these sorts of transgressions are people. And people cause crime, not guns.
May God bless those students that died today - they didn't deserve to end their lives this way. So let's not trample on their graves by making easier for this to happen again. Give the students the right to defend themselves.
The campus police can't be everywhere. Neither can the local police. And we all can't afford to hire personal bodyguards like the Liberal Left Elitists. We have the right to preserve and protect our own lives - so don't eliminate the means by which to do it.
There are 32 more reasons today to stop the misguided gun-grabbers. I don't think intelligent people need more reasons than that.
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