Thirty-three people, including the gunman, were killed at a Virginia university Monday in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. At least 15 other people were injured, some of them as they leaped to safety from the fourth floor of a classroom building.
The shootings, which took place in two locations on campus, came just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School bloodbath near Littleton, Colo. They created panic and confusion at the college, where students and employees angrily asked why the first e-mail warning did not go out to them until the gunman had struck a second time.
Federal law enforcement officials said the gunman killed himself after he shot dozens of people at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, in southwest Virginia. Thirty-two people plus the shooter were confirmed dead.
Somebody explain to me again why we do not have tighter gun control laws in this country.
I cannot express how sad I am for the families of these students, what a senseless act of violence.
This liberal dissents on the gun issue. As a woman living in a rural area, I would not feel safe without my dogs and my handgun. I called the police once and it took them 45 minutes to respond to a "shots in the area" call. I feel I can only count on myself.
ReplyDeleteI've seen what happens to a woman who lets a crazed man get hold of her. It is terrifying and something I would not wish on someone I despised.
What I am more concerned about is the state of mental health care in this country. We don't know yet who this man was but I find myself wondering if he sought psychological help and came up short. We all know health care is not a priority for this administration or even for this Congress. They just passed a bill called the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 last January. The act cuts Medicaid and Medicare spending over a 5 year period and went into effect January 1 of this year. Students will now have to pay much more for prescriptions, whether it is birth control or prozac.
Add to all of the above the gross glamorization of violence in our culture and the stage is set for tragedies like Columbine and Virginia Tech. I've heard interviews with several witnesses who heard the gunman laughing after each shot. Not a person of sound mind but one who reacted as if playing a video game.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm sad for those involved but no one should try to take away my handgun.