A closer look at the killer
 

From what little I've heard this incident falls into the category of domestic dispute. Argument with girlfriend escalates to murder. Then other uninvolved innocents are killed. Ends in sucide.

This fits the pattern of husband/boyfriend murdering wife/girlfriend and kids. This is a regular, almost cliche, occurrence in America.

The only differerence in this case, is that the number of uninvolved (aka the children) were much greater.

Clearly this was a premeditated mass murder. An IF/THEN murder. Two handguns, chains for the door. He had to know how the door operated, to know that the chain would be effective. He brought enough ammunition to kill and wound those students.

America is indifferent about murder. America will occasionally lift an eyebrow in cases like this, where the body count is high. But in almost all other cases, America yawns at murder.

The number of unapprehended murderers in this country must number in the tens of thousands.

And there are people, among us, who advocate doing just about nothing. "If you try and defend yourself, you are more likely to get hurt." I'm sorry, but I have no respect for you if this is your view.

On the way to work, I often drive by a boarded up convenience store, just 1 mile away from my house. An old lady murdered for $20. Life is cheap, and we are surrounded by cowards.

But if we give away the guns, give away our rights and trust the government, we will be protected by them.

We should simply allow anybody and everybody to purchase any amount of guns and ammunition.

Is gun control the answer? To stop circumstances like this, no.

Is restricting the purchase of rounds the answer? To stop mass murders like this, no.

But less guns, and less bullets in the hands of private citizens, IMO, is better than more.

I'd be interested in the probablity that an individual has of being in a circumstance where a gun would dissuade or assist in a positive manner a heightened violent situation.

As far as the shooter is concerned, looks like he is an 'Oriental Male' who was the one who called in the three bomb threats. Appears he acted alolne, was a graduate student, seems he shot the teacher first in the second set of shootings, which begs the few question: Was the teacher somehow involved in this love triangle?

It appears that the VT administration and local police were extremely negligent, and that the 30 who were shot in the engineering hall were died because of this negligence.

Well said, Mike.

If this is the case, how do you explain Washington DC? Some of the strictest gun laws in the country are in place there and yet, it has one of the highest murder rates in the country.

1. Impoverished area
2. High drug abuse rate
3. Gangs
4. Too many guys like Vince Foster that were willing to rat Bill Clinton out

But, they restrict hand guns. This ain't supposed to happen when hand guns are banned.

#4 made me chuckle.

All I know is that thirty-three lives were lost. And yet we as a society immediately launch into arguments over domestic policy or university procedure. Should we not pause to grieve for the lives lost and pray for the families affected before we engage in such empty intellectualism?

It goes along with Mike's comment. America is indifferent. We just like things to talk about at the water cooler.

We are sadly indifferent. And these lives will be lost in vain. Much vanity, very little sanity.

I don't see it the same way. I have heard very little but an outporing of sympathy for the victims and expressions of shock and horror.