The vast majority of mass shooters obtained their guns legally, shortly before they committed their homicides. Up until they pulled the trigger, they were just another responsible gun owner.
That’s not the point. I accept the risk of entering the public every time.
The point is mitigating damages. The kinds of cowards that do this, do it because assault rifles and pistols are easy to obtain and to kill many people in seconds.
Keep that from him, and all you have left is a just a sad, raging, coward on the internet.
But like I said, these things will still happen, because the guns are already out there. The silly thing is thinking adding more guns to masses will solve anything, rather than create more tragedy.
They’re saying he was wearing body armor, now.
In my scenario there are a number of people pulling their guns out. that’s then nice thing about having friends who also have their CCW.
The status quo is based on the collapse of the family unit. Kids are sent home from gun free zones so they can spend 8 hrs playing WoW.
Got a little posse, do you? Go everywhere together? I’ll bet you practice taking down lone shooters, with cool hand signals and everything!
This sort of thinking just blows my mind. And if it were true, probably literally. No fucking way would I want to live in a society where everyone’s carrying, concealed.
First, imagine all the fucking morons out there in the natural world. Now, imagine each of them with a 9mm or a .38 under their jacket.
Oh please. That’s as tired an argument as every generation complaining that their generation was the height of civilization, and now it’s all gone to pot because change. My family has no guns, and limited video game time, and my kids are doing great so far. Don’t be so cliché.
…seriously guys?
Can’t you start a new thread in GD or the BBQ pit?
So, the father of one of the wounded victims relayed her account.
Apparently, the bastard walked right into the room, and shot the teacher point-blank in the head taking him out immediately.
Then, he asked if, “Anyone in the room was Christian, if so, stand up.” He then said, “Good, because you’re about to meet your maker.” then proceeded to shoot each one in succession with his pistol.
She was shot, and went down. He asked her to stand up, but she played dead, and he moved on. Apparently the slug is lodged in her lower spine but is stable and should survive.
This. Good grief, I stay the hell out of gun threads in general, but you’d think you could ever read about some tragedy without it always devolving into this bullshit. Sigh.
Of course, you have also proposed scenarios that included cargo aircraft that could provide close air support.
Why do you propose everyone has a gun? You and doorhinge have already convinced us that knives and cars are just as deadly as a gun. To quote you “Nobody at the college was killed by a gun. They were killed by a person intent on doing them harm.” So if the intent is the important thing, why do the good guys need guns? Don’t they have cars?
It’s almost as if you’re making some strange argument that guns are one of the fastest, simplest and most foolproof ways of killing someone instantly, but you’ve already shown that to be false and that cars and knives are precisely as effective as a gun and all that matters is the person’s intent. I don’t doubt you on that, but your position that good guys need guns is the opposite of that. I don’t know which of your arguments to believe.
I wonder if you people even give a shit about the lives lost.
I just got home to a phone full of messages, missed calls, and texts. A woman I worked with in my hospice days was one of the victims. She grew up in an abusive, poverty-ridden household, fled long before she was a legal adult, and lived a very hard life on the streets for a long time. Now married and a mother of two, she had decided to go back to school so her kids would have a better life than she did.
And now she’s gone.
Every time something like this happens, there’s a bunch of screaming back forth about guns, each one of you trying a make a point that the other side has no interest in hearing. All the while real people are lying in morgue somewhere, gone forever.
Larry Levine. An adjunct professor, teaching remedial English for adults. Hard work, shitty pay. Cared about his students, made sure they had tools and the skills to find success in college should they desire it. Loved the outdoors, used tales of fishing and hiking as an icebreaker in his classes. People, especially older students who were downright scared about going to school, warmed up to him and felt at ease in his classroom.
Amber, whose last name I will not reveal. Spent her whole working life caring for other people. Holding their hands, comforting them in sickness and pain. Worked long hours keeping dying people comfortable. Put everyone else’s needs before hers: her kids, her husband, her community, complete strangers. Wanted a better life not for herself but for her daughters.
And they, along with so many others, are gone now.
And nobody really gives a shit.
I’m sorry for your loss Lancia, life is fragile and precious, and it’s so unfair when things like this happen. I lost a friend in the Virginia Tech Shootings.
The Dope is often such a light-hearted romp, but every now and then, we get a reminder of the deeper sense of community that binds us together. I wish it didn’t have to be tragedy that brings this to the fore, but Lancia, we do care, and we’ll be thinking about you. There are always so many conversations going on here at once, but beneath them all, we’re hurting for you. I’m very sorry for your loss.
Hugs to you, Lancia. 
The victim’s identity will be revealed in time.
I’m seeing things on another board that the gunman (who was 26, not 21) attended a special school called the Switzer Academy, and it’s basically a facility for violent children whose school districts spend the money to send them there so they don’t have to deal with them any more.
Nope. the “unless expressly authorized by law” loophole means that a CCW, carrying his permit, is well within his rights to carry a gun on campus. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be hassled about it, though.
Yes, we do. I’m sorry this happened. I wish I could fix it, but I don’t know what to do that I haven’t already done, to no effect. So all I can offer are heartfelt condolences to you and anyone else who has lost someone today, or even lost the feeling that school, work, or home is safe space.
We appreciate hearing their stories, Lancia - thank you for sharing them.
Moderator Action: EVERYONE, the hijack on gun control in this thread needs to stop. Open a Pit thread or a GD thread if you want to discuss it further.
There is poster in this thread who has lost colleagues and friends in this tragedy- this thread is not the place to debate gun control.
This includes** lawoot, Terr, fubaya, cmyk, magiver, doorghinge, lobohan** and anyone else I missed.
Lancia,
I spent over a decade as a professor at a CC and I know how dedicated and giving every faculty member is. I know how our students struggled to scrape up enough money to buy books and bus passes and were so excited about pursuing a college education.
Please accept my deepest condolences. These college shootings hit me pretty hard, but this one hit too close to home. My sympathies for to your whole community.