The Virginia Campus Carry Controversy 2006 - Articles from the Roanoke Times

The Roanoke Times | April 16, 2007 | Virginia residents

[an amused spectator]

Of course, we have the unforgettable "Famous Last Words" article featuring Larry Hincker of Virginia Tech:

"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus." -

Gun bill gets shot down by panel Tuesday, January 31, 2006

There are also some other fascinating reads in the Roanoke Times from around that time period:

Professors worry about armed students - Bernice L. Hausman Thursday, February 02, 2006

Safer with a six-shooter? August 31, 2006

Unarmed and vulnerable Bradford B. Wiles August 31, 2006

[an amused spectator]

I still haven't heard if the gunman was a student or not. Anybody?

[Red Badger]

However, because I am a Virginia Tech student, I am prohibited from carrying at school because of Virginia Tech's student policy, which makes possession of a handgun an expellable offense, but not a prosecutable crime.

That is from #3 above. I wonder how many lawsuits will be filed against VT for their stupid policy?........

[an amused spectator]

Don't forget to read the Comments on the Safer with a six-shooter? article. The first comment is from a guy named Mike whose advice would basically have prevented today's tragedy.

The next two comments are from Lefty whackos who mock Mike's "deluded" views on guns.

[USNBandit]

I wonder how many lawsuits will be filed against VT for their stupid policy?........

I think the more likely questions will come from what happened between the 0715 911 call reporting the shooting in the dorm and the second shooting at 0930 in the engineering building.

[PeterFinn]

Incompetence and spin control is what happened.

[Red Badger]

I left a comment for “Hugh”. I don’t know if it’ll make it thru their censors..........

[IsraelBeach]

Please know that the people of Israel are following and watching this tragedy. Are hearts are with the good people of America.

Our condolences go out to the students, faculty and administration.

We live with violence and terrorism on a daily basis.
We strongly suggest that you place security guards with metal detectors at all entrances of schools, shopping centers and places of high human traffic.

You might not be able to eliminate 100 percent of these types of attacks, but you will lower the odds.

[Red Badger]

Thank you, I know you have to put up with such in your daily lives, and it is a pain in the kiester, but are citizens of Israel allowed to carry? If we had just one person in that college carrying a LEGAL firearm, there might not have been a massacre of this porportion........

[Red Badger]

I’d like to know what happened for over 2 hours........

[P-40]

Those comments to Mike are kind of sad/funny in light of today’s events.

[the anti-mahdi]

I think Larry will spend the rest of the decade in court defending his position on insuring students and faculty were unarmed. Good.

[WayneM]

Some more words of wisdom from Mr. Hincker:

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/81277

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You might find this interesting...Comment segment from HardOCP a computing and Gaming Website...think I heard someone on headline News going after the Violent Games on Computers (which someone thought the shooter was an avid fan of):

Virginia Tech Shootings

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the link just above:

************************EXCERPT**************************

Jack Thompson the moron was just on Fox News. Instantly blamed video games and went off on a five to ten minute tirade on video games.

[IsraelBeach]

Just like in the States, one needs a license to carry a firearm. When we perform reserve service - of course no license is needed ;>

I don’t believe that firearms would have helped in this situation. From what I have seen on TV, the scene was pure chaos and a well meaning gun carrier could have and would have been taken as another shooter.

The States need to wake!
Islamic terrorists see how easy it is.

The school should have been locked down after the first shooting. All traffic arteries to the school should have digital warnings turning people away, security checkpoints should have been set up.

This was an accident waiting to happen :<

[Copernicus]

May you stand before God and man as my two precious grandchildren's killer if you pass any more gun legislation that will make me a felon should I own a handgun or any other gun for that matter.

Sincerely,

Mary Carpenter

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7CCB40F421ED4819

http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/2nd_Amend/deaths_in_merced.htm

http://www.grnc.org/mary_carpenter_letter.htm

[Gondring]

The writer of that first letter, Bernice L. Hausman, has the following profile at http://www.aspect.vt.edu/?q=node/31:<
===================================

Bernice L. Hausman is professor of English, where she has taught since the fall of 1995. She is author of Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender (Duke University Press, 1995) and Mother's Milk: Breastfeeding Controversies in American Culture (Routledge, 2003). Her articles have been published in Journal of Medical Humanities, Journal of the History of Sexuality, Feminist Studies, NWSA Journal, and Technical Communication Quarterly, among other publication venues.

Her main research interests are sexed embodiment, feminist and gender theory, and cultural studies of medicine. Professor Hausman teaches courses in literary theory, women writers, gender theory, cultural studies, and medical humanities for the English Department: she also teaches Introduction to Women's Studies, Feminist Theory, and other courses for the Women's Studies program. Bernice Hausman has served as Director of Women's Studies at Virginia Tech (2003-05), a program housed in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, and is currently the faculty advisor for the minor in Medicine and Society.

___________

Bernice L. Hausman
Professor, Department of English
Coordinator and Advisor, Medicine and Society Minor
Chair, Committee on Faculty Ethics

While I understand the points she makes in her letter, I wonder if she has changed her view after today's events.

Why do I doubt it?

[an amused spectator]

Thanks, C.

[an amused spectator]

From the comments I was reading on the front page stories at the Washington Post and the New York Times, the yammering gunhaters are in full cry.

After I read her editorial initially, I thought perhaps her mind might be changed by todays event"s. Now, after reading the scary opinions of the barking Leftist moonbats, I would expect her to rewrite her opinion piece in ALL CAPS, and re-submit it.

After all, THE LOUDER YOU SHOUT, THE EASIER IT IS TO DROWN OUT THE TRUTH IN YOUR MIND.

[El Gato]

I don’t believe that firearms would have helped in this situation. From what I have seen on TV, the scene was pure chaos and a well meaning gun carrier could have and would have been taken as another shooter.

If he came on the scene *afer* the police got there, certainly. But if he or she (I've got daughters who are often on college campuses, and my wife is a professor) were on the scene when the shooting started, or even when the second episode started, there would be a whole bunch more people alive.

The Texas Tower shooter, in 1996, was armed with much more powerful weapons, a 0.35 Remington rifle, a scoped 6mm Remington rifle, a .357 magnum revolver, a 9 mm Luger, a 12 guage shotgun, a carbine and another pistol. (6 guns all told) And he had a better more secure perch. He killed 16, half as many as this sicko, but the whole thing was over in 96 minutes. He shot (or clubbed with a rifle butt) several people before reaching the top of the tower, thus making his presence known to people outside the tower. Most of that time he was more or less pinned down by students and residents of the area, who had retrieved their own firearms, mostly rifles, from their dorm rooms, houses or apartments, and of course the rack in the back of their pick up trucks. A few police did show up fairly quickly, but they were often armed only with handguns or shotguns, very ineffectual under the circumstances. Four policemen, who were accompanied up the stairs of the tower, by an armed civilian, killed him. One of his shots killed an electrician 500 yards away.

I personally heard one of the students, a military veteran and, IIRC, a reservist at the time, relate retrieving his M-1 Carbine, talking the Librarian into opening the door to the landing (she didn't care about the gun, but students were not supposed to be allowed out there. :). He said a policeman came up behind him, said something like "good perch, I'll go find one for myself, carry on". No one on the ground was able to hit him, because of the wall around the platform of the tower, but they did reduce his rate of fire and his options by forcing him to shoot through drain holes in the wall, rather than over the top of it.

Today, especially in Austin, the cop would take time out from helping with the real problem to arrest him for having a gun on campus, discharging a firearm in the city, and so on.