Does anyone in R & S still think we don't need to fix gun control laws?

Question

A judge's ruling on Cho Seung-Hui's mental health should have barred him from purchasing the handguns he used in the Virginia Tech massacre, according to federal regulations. But it was unclear Thursday whether anybody had an obligation to inform federal authorities about Cho's mental status because of loopholes in the law that governs background checks.

Cho purchased two handguns in February and March, and was subject to federal and state background checks both times. The checks turned up no problems, despite a judge's ruling in December 2005 that Cho "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070420/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting_weapons

Answer 1

Thanks for the question, Guido. I started out thinking "this guy and the Columbine shooters are so far out of the norm, you can't really design laws around that" - and I still do sort of believe that. But I also cannot envision this having happened in any country that is not currently in the midst of a civil war. The simple fact of the matter is, that kid couldn't have done that without a gun and no civilized country in the world has kids going to college classrooms armed to defend against that or any real serious attack - people go to class to learn, at least at that level.



What's it gonna take to keep guns out of the hands of people that think violence is the answer to other people's problems? Clearly, to me anyway, people who argue for more arms in the hands of private citizens aren't really talking about throwing off the yoke of a too repressive government and it's time to get real about the damage caused by guns while we wait for the revolution to start.



Edit: and it's time to stop buying the whole "guns don't kill people, people kill people" smokescreen. Of course it's true, but obviously one "people" with a gun can kill more than one "people" with a ball peen hammer or even a machete.

Answer 2

Cho was deemed a danger to himself. and later released.



our society has this belief that when people have a problem that they can become "all better" after some talking and some Zoloft.



so this gives rise to nobody questioning this guy that had a problem 3 years ago wanting to purchase a gun now.



and if he could not have gotten the gund at a store what makes any of you think that he could not buy them on the street?



all that gun control laws do is make it harder for honest citizens to obtain a gun. be it for personell defense, hunting or recreational shooting.



had 1 person in that school other than Cho had a gun with them this could have been stopped long before.



criminals and madmen rely ou the gun control laws and the beliefs of society to guarantee that when they commit a crime or go on a rampage that they are the only one with a gun.



would that everyone carried a weapon these things would be stopped in short order.



had i been in that school i would have done what everyone else did. Shat myself. then duck and run.



had i been there and had my own legally purchased and carried firearm. then his power is depleted. because i can kill him as easily as he can kill anyone else. and he knows this.



the criminals know that if people are armed that they will fight back. and they rely on society and their fear of weapons, and in paticular gun control laws to keep them on the top of the food chain.

Answer 3

"extremely many circumstances the different is real, meaning crime will enhance after bans or rules are in place." Oh particularly? How approximately some guidance? There are diverse aspects we could desire to look at in gun violence, optimal notably the inured-to-violence way of existence we've developed. and probably violent video games might have an oblique consequence (whether each and each usa with low gun deaths has video games); and probably violent movies do (whether each and each usa with low gun deaths has violent movies); and probably the paranoia developed by potential of particular guidance stations do; and probably we've detrimental psychological well-being care that should be addressed. yet as rapidly as we are waiting to speak approximately those aspects, to go away severe-potential and semi-automatic weapons and speedy get entry to to comparable out of the verbal substitute is absurd.

Answer 4

Apparently the dealer who sold him the guns either didn't do a thorough background check, or he just said to hell with anything that does show up-his bottom line was obviously more important. I wonder if he's going to face any federal and state weapons charges. If we're going to get a handle on this problem, dealers would be the place to start if they haven't done so already, which, if they did, it's obvious they aren't doing their job. Just a senseless and cruel act of self-righteousness.

Answer 5

I think that people who present an imminent danger to themselves and/or others should not be on the streets.



When I went to school carrying guns was not a big deal. Most of us had guns. Something has changed in this country over the years



For one thing teachers are no longer able to discipline students. Bullying really did not used to be tolerated. Anymore I just don't know. I do not think gun control will work.

Answer 6

The fact that he voluntarily checked into an outpatient program meant that it didn't show up on a background check, as I understand it, and that's a hole that needs to be fixed BIG TIME.



I understand that making it show up on background checks may discourage some folks from "voluntarily" going into a program, but there has to be a way that gun purchase background check can find *ANY* history of mental counselling, voluntary or no.

Answer 7

Up until now, I've resisted chiming in on this event, but I want to point out one thing.



Anyone can murder someone if they are willing to exchange their life for the victims. It's that simple. If you have the desire to kill, a firearm will help you do it more efficiently, but a psychopath on a rampage can do plenty of damage with a knife in the middle of the night.



Controlling access to weapons may temporarily hinder these killing sprees, but it will never stop them because the people who do these things are INSANE, and you can't legislate insanity out of a population.

Answer 8

because we have too many gun control laws now is why so many people died in virginia. if more people could carry guns today without infringing our rights to carry, maybe one or 2 might have been killed instead of 30 and 30 injured.



russia and mexico have gun bans and have the worst crime rates in the world. gun control isn't the answer. the right to carry is the answer!

Answer 9

Why look for something to blame? Why blame gun laws? Why blame TV and violent websites? These band-aid fixes that people so love to apply to such tragedies are always about blaming something and attributing words like "Devastating, Avoidable, and Whose to Blame"? No-one's to blame or we are all to blame if you're going to play that game. We never seem to take the time to really understand ourselves or others, treat them rudely or like ****, and then in abject stupidity wonder why our lack of love for each other has nurtured these emotional outbursts of desperation and absolute detachment from society. From Cho's video of himself speaking to the camera, it resonated that he held views of America and americans that showed a deep sadness and resignation of American culture and its people as materialistic bullies; and who will deny that America harbours pride in having such characters? Protesting about gun laws is just lame scapegoating for a culture that's all about Guns, War, Force, and the American Way.

Answer 10

It won't make a difference as you will always have persons who will go around the LAWS. They do it with everything else, so doing it with guns won't matter for there will always be a gun to get "somewhere, someplace." I will reiterate what many repeat. GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE, and it's not always a gun that they use either......, look at 911, or Iraq where they use BOMBS....

Answer 11

even if the laws were fixed to bar mental cases from buying guns don't you think he would've found a way to get a gun anyway? Gun control laws wouldn't have stopped Cho from his killing spree.

Answer 12

Not loopholes in the gun laws. Loopholes in his status as an outpatient! He would have gotten guns legally or illegally.

Answer 13

You'd think.



I live in Virginia and one of the recent letters to the editor was someone who said that not ENOUGH people had access to guns! What is WRONG with people?

Answer 14

I'm Dutch, my girlfried is Romanian. Because we wanna raise our future children in a language we both speak, we are moving to an English speaking country.



The only reason we have doubts about the USA, is their gun laws. I'm used to living in a country where it's simply illegal to own a gun. It's very comforting to fall asleep knowing your neighbor doesn't own a gun.



The gun laws in the USA make us tend more towards Canada. I honestly don't understand the American love for their precious guns.