Opps sorry for the typos!

Hi, Neil,

Your logic is impecable.

It doesn't take away from the level of this tragedy but it does give pause for thought.

Here, in Spain, most schools are secure and strangers cannot simply walk in. Many schools employ security guards, mostly unarmed, to deter unwanted visitors.

The police in Spain are armed and are very quick to respond to emegency calls - fortunately the steps taken for reasonable security mean that there are not that many emergencies.

Mind you, school assaults appear to be an almost uniquely American event - maybe American shootists are simply cowards by nature?

The Old Coot

Hi Neil, I think you should reread my post. I did not say there were more than one gunmen; I said "one or more." I did not say he had machine guns; I said "automatic weapons." Regarding the law as it applies to firearms; I am not opposed at all to the responsible ownership of firearms. I personally own a number of legal and registered firearms, myself, which I have used both for hunting and for target shooting. I am adamantly opposed to any law that would ban the legal ownership of firearms. (They can take my firearms away when they can prise them out of my cold, dead fingers...) Furthermore, I am also fully aware of what happened in Nazi Germany, and I wish a lot more of the people who keep naively pushing to ban firearms were aware of those facts. I also wish they would see past their fear and recognize the fact that banning firearms will not stop firearms-related crimes. Criminals are rather notorious for ignoring the law! What I am against is the idea that it's perfectly OK to leave functional firearms lying around unlocked, along with the ammunition that goes in them, or worse, loaded and unlocked firearms where any kid from 3 years of age and up can get his or her hands on them. While I often agree with you on many things, I cannot agree with the idea of students and teachers carrying loaded firearms in a school. That's a great way to get a whole lot more people killed in a situation like the one that happened at Virginia Tech. If, on the other hand, you are recommending that people be required to take specialized training and carry licenses to prove that they are properly trained for a situation like today (perhaps SWAT training?), then it might work. However, you must remember that even highly trained military and police personnel STILL sometimes shoot the wrong people. God bless, Dave

hello,

I pray that the angels comfort and support the families of those killed.

I abhor guns (or the violence that goes with them).

I won't even let my children have plastic toy guns.

If someone buys them one as a present, I confiscate it.


Best wishes,

Sarah

Dave,

You have a lot of good questions and thoughts in your posting.

Do you think anyone will ever question where this or these individuals got the ideas to commit this act of violence?

Will they examine their computers and find that they may be loaded with violent games?

Did they decide to leave the world of fantasy and enter their thoughts into realiity?

We can place all sorts of garbage in the minds of our young people, but don't you dare to post the 10 Commandments, lead a prayer group, or hand them a Bible, because it may just corrupt their little minds.