Thread: McCain Backs Gun Rights After Shootings

McCain backs gun rights after shootings

By ELIZABETH WHITE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER



U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks during the Republican party of Iowa's Abraham Lincoln Unity Dinner, Saturday, April 14, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)


LAREDO, Texas -- Sen. John McCain said Monday the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech does not change his view that the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to carry a weapon.

"We have to look at what happened here, but it doesn't change my views on the Second Amendment, except to make sure that these kinds of weapons don't fall into the hands of bad people," McCain said while campaigning in this Texas-Mexico border city.

The Arizona Republican said he didn't know the details of the shootings at Virginia Tech.,

"I do believe in the constitutional right that everyone has, in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, to carry a weapon," he said. "Obviously we have to keep guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens."

McCain and other presidential hopefuls issued statements expressing shock and grief over the attacks on the campus in Blacksburg, Va.

"As a parent, I am filled with sorrow for the mothers and fathers and loved ones struggling with the sudden, unbearable news of a lost son or daughter, friend or family member," read a statement by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, called it a "day of national tragedy, when we lost some of our finest to a senseless act."

Democratic candidate John Edwards said in a statement: "We are simply heartbroken by the deaths and injuries suffered at Virginia Tech. We know what an unspeakable, life-changing moment this is for these families and how, in this moment, it is hard to feel anything but overwhelming grief, much less the love and support around you. But the love and support is there."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/ ... _Tech.html

Hmmm........no quotes from our chosen ones - Hunter, Tancredo, and Paul.

If one kid in that dorm had been schooled in self protection, they would have stood a chance at ending this horror quickly.

Furthermore, where there's a will there's a way.
This sick, twisted person would have used other violent means to fulfill his goal and it might have been much more horrific.

2ndamendsis wrote:

If one kid in that dorm had been schooled in self protection, they would have stood a chance at ending this horror quickly.

I'm not so sure about that. Overpowering a person armed with two 15 round 9MM pistols would be a tough job, even for Kung Fu and Chuck Norris. I'm not trying to make light of the sitution, but any knowledgeable gunman with a 9mm in each hand would be extremely difficult to challenge without a firearm. Personally, if I was confronted with such a situation, I'd be thinking more along the lines of self-preservation, not self protection (I'd run like hell).

I've got three children in college right now and the best advice I could give them would be to do whatever is necessary to exit the situation and go get help (campus security and police). Just my opinion.

I can't imagine what the parents of these children must be experiencing right now.

Originally Posted by MW

2ndamendsis wrote:

If one kid in that dorm had been schooled in self protection, they would have stood a chance at ending this horror quickly.

I'm not so sure about that. Overpowering a person armed with two 15 round 9MM pistols would be a tough job, even for Kung Fu and Chuck Norris. I'm not trying to make light of the sitution, but any knowledgeable gunman with a 9mm in each hand would be extremely difficult to challenge without a firearm. Personally, if I was confronted with such a situation, I'd be thinking more along the lines of self-preservation, not self protection (I'd run like hell).

I've got three children in college right now and the best advice I could give them would be to do whatever is necessary to exit the situation and go get help (campus security and police). Just my opinion.

I can't imagine what the parents of these children must be experiencing right now.

I'm not talking about Kung Fu or anything similar. Did I say that?
That hadn't entered my mind.
Having children who've been away in college, I know firsthand the worries and concerns.
As you can see, campus security and the police didn't contain or end the situation.

The parents are in a slow death rattle. A horrible, never ending, forever painful, slow death. No parent should ever have to experience such a life changing black day.........life.

2ndamendsis wrote:

I'm not talking about Kung Fu or anything similar. Did I say that?
That hadn't entered my mind.

I was left to assume what you meant since you weren't very clear on what self protection actions would have been beneficial. Exactly what self protection actions would you have suggested the unarmed students take to protect themselves and stop the killer? I guess they could have rushed the gunman, but even that would have been difficult considering the armament they would have been up against.

Honestly, other than a quicker campus police response and/or enhanced campus security, I don't know what could have stopped the gunman from killing those 33 students. I'm sure in hindsight some answers could be arrived at, but like they say, "hindsights a wondrous thing."

I don't know what the answer is, 2ndamendsis. It's just that I don't see how a few students trained in self protection could have stopped this atrocity. Perhaps I'm wrong, it definitely wouldn't be the first time and probably won't be the last.