The Hierarchy of Evil
description: April 26, 2007 By CLAIRE ST. AMANT Staff writer Even in the Garden of Eden, questions of evil abounded. Thousands of years later, we are still wrestling with the issue of depravity and the nature of evil. The tragedy at Virginia Tech University is the latest reminder of the human capacity to act in ways that harm others. Two psychiatrists, Dr. Michael Stone of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist at New York School of Medicine, are developing systems to rank evil deeds according to degrees of heinousness. Both scales have implications for the legal system. Welner hopes his scale on depravity will be used as a guideline in criminal sentencing, and Stone's 22-level hierarchy of evil is based on biographies of violent offenders. Dr. Daryl Koehn, author of The Nature of Evil and chairwoman of business ethics at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said she believes it's dangerous to rank evil behavior. "It seems to me that the ranking system would say that the people themselves are more evil and not the acts they are committing," Koehn said. "I think it will make us see some people as monsters and completely unlike us." "I don't believe Cho (Seung-Hui) was a monster," she said. "I think it's a mistake to see him as motivated by malice." Koehn said we're all "caught up in the same dynamics" of good and evil and are guilty of "identifying with a false self and trying to transfer our pain to others." When we suffer in some way -- physically, emotionally or otherwise -- we become frustrated and react in different ways, she said. Koehn offered the example of road rage as one modern expression of frustration. "The false self tells us we are a nobody," she said. "In some ways we are all trying to transfer that pain." Becky Robertson, a George W. Truett Theological Seminary student from the Ivory Coast, said the universal guilt of humankind manifests itself in different ways. "We have a natural tendency to say, 'I told…
creator: CLAIRE ST. AMANT
date: 2007-10-02
contributor: Haeyong Chung
language: eng

Students fight for guns on campus
description: Aug. 20, 2007 By Claire St. Amant City editor In Texas, it isn't surprising to see cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots glistening under the sun. But there's one piece missing from the cowboy ensemble when Texans mosey on over to school campuses: a gun. According to state law, guns are banned in several places, including schools, places of worship, correction facilities, bars, sporting events and other locations. Currently, individuals with concealed handgun licenses must check their weapon at the door, but maybe not for long. In late April, Gov. Rick Perry called for "gun freedom" across Texas and said students should be allowed to protect themselves on campus. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg couldn't agree more. Sugg is the leader of the Baylor chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group in favor of gun freedom in schools. "I believe anyone with a CHL should be able to carry a gun everywhere," he said. "Most people don't even have to fire, just showing it is usually good enough (to control a situation)." Sugg, who has been a licensed gun carrier for almost two years, recalls a time near campus in 2005 when the mere presence of his weapon distilled a potentially dangerous individual. While Sugg was having a cup of coffee at Common Grounds, a homeless man started "aggressively" asking for money, he said. Feeling threatened, Sugg called the police, but before an officer made it to the scene, the man pulled a knife on another customer. "I drew my weapon, the guy saw me, dropped the knife and ran," Sugg said. "I just put it back in my holster and went back to my coffee." While this situation ended positively, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Alexandra Neville, president of Baylor Democrats, said she thinks gun control on and off campus are entirely different issues. "What you do with your gun on your own time and for your own protection is up to you, but college campuses have their own protective measures and having students carry guns isn't one of them," she…
creator: Claire St. Amant
date: 2007-10-02
contributor: Haeyong Chung
language: eng

Students fight for guns on campus
description: Aug. 20, 2007 By Claire St. Amant City editor In Texas, it isn't surprising to see cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots glistening under the sun. But there's one piece missing from the cowboy ensemble when Texans mosey on over to school campuses: a gun. According to state law, guns are banned in several places, including schools, places of worship, correction facilities, bars, sporting events and other locations. Currently, individuals with concealed handgun licenses must check their weapon at the door, but maybe not for long. In late April, Gov. Rick Perry called for "gun freedom" across Texas and said students should be allowed to protect themselves on campus. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg couldn't agree more. Sugg is the leader of the Baylor chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group in favor of gun freedom in schools. "I believe anyone with a CHL should be able to carry a gun everywhere," he said. "Most people don't even have to fire, just showing it is usually good enough (to control a situation)." Sugg, who has been a licensed gun carrier for almost two years, recalls a time near campus in 2005 when the mere presence of his weapon distilled a potentially dangerous individual. While Sugg was having a cup of coffee at Common Grounds, a homeless man started "aggressively" asking for money, he said. Feeling threatened, Sugg called the police, but before an officer made it to the scene, the man pulled a knife on another customer. "I drew my weapon, the guy saw me, dropped the knife and ran," Sugg said. "I just put it back in my holster and went back to my coffee." While this situation ended positively, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Alexandra Neville, president of Baylor Democrats, said she thinks gun control on and off campus are entirely different issues. "What you do with your gun on your own time and for your own protection is up to you, but college campuses have their own protective measures and having students carry guns isn't one of them," she…
creator: Claire St. Amant
date: 2008-02-05
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
language: eng

Letter to the Editor
description: PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2007 To the Editor: I agree with Mara Richard ("Triumph Over Tragedy," April 19) that sexual assault occurs far too often to be tolerated. Richard proposes that Americans "start asking how we can create a culture where women don't have to defend themselves." What a wonderful world it would be if nobody ever had to worry about protecting herself or her possessions. In reality, our society contains a critical mass of people who prey on the innocent and use force to overpower victims. Both the massacre at Virginia Tech and the brutal attack committed near Columbia illustrate the damage a single assailant can do. We may never know what prompted these thugs to action. Incarceration alone can ensure that they won't ruin more lives, and armed resistance alone would have stopped them in their tracks last week. Clara Magram, Barnard '06 Apr. 19, 2007 -- Original Source: Columbia Spectator http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/24955
creator: Clara Magram
date: 2008-02-17
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Tom Faure (tomfaure@gmail.com)
language: eng

BU community honors Va. Tech
description: Students reach out with support to VT campus By: Clarissa Bottesini and Angela Marie Latona Posted: 4/24/07 After last week's deadly shootings at Virginia Tech, many Boston University students have joined efforts to offer their physical and emotional support. The BU community is still in the early stages of organizing how to best aid those directly affected by the shootings, though Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said many students have approached him about how they can reach out to the Virginia Tech community. "It's a tough one, because people are thinking, 'What does the community need?'" he said. "People are trying to figure out how best to be effective and what can be done to reach out." Marsh Chapel and the Office of Residence Life are in the process of sending support letters to Virginia Tech. A candlelight vigil held last night at Marsh Plaza marked the second time the BU community came together to reflect on students affected by the shootings, in which 32 people were killed by a Virginia Tech senior who then shot himself. Elmore said students have also discussed ways to help hospitalized victims and offer assistance to fire department and police officials. In an email sent to students April 20, President Robert Brown expressed his condolences to the Virginia Tech community and announced efforts to improve campus safety and communications procedures. "Our hearts go out to the students, parents, faculty, staff and families impacted by these senseless killings," Brown said in the letter. "Many members of our community are grieving." Response has also reached the Internet, with some BU students changing their Facebook.com profile photos to Virginia Tech tributes that read, "Today, we are all Hokies." Some groups, including Champions, a College of Communication community service organization, are taking small steps to help Virginia Tech by planning to compose support letters at its upcoming meeting Monday. However, members have not decided whom the letters will b…
creator: Clarissa Bottesini and Angela Marie Latona
publisher: The Daily Free Press
date: 2007-08-13
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

LETTER: Massacre is 'senseless loss'
description: By: Clarissa Nemeth Posted: 4/18/07 To me, a college campus is one of the best places to be on earth. A university represents a lot of great things: youth and promise, for starters. A sense of community. A devotion to a life of the mind. Personal improvement. Ambition, dedication, discipline. All kinds of respect -- respect from students who want to learn, respect from professors who are honored to be able to share their knowledge, respect of colleagues and self-respect for a job well done. And above all, a love of knowledge, learning and teaching, with the idea that these things can improve the quality of life for everyone in the world. This is why what happened at Virginia Tech horrifies me so much. Any senseless loss of life, especially in such high numbers, is numbing and saddening. But the idea that this took place on a college campus -- especially with the shooter being a student -- is particularly difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Such a thing is in direct reproach to all the wonderful things that a university, one of the civilized world's oldest and most respected institutions, stands for. This was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, and it happened in a community devoted to higher learning. How does a university community -- teachers, students and staff alike -- begin to recover from such a horrific turn of events, especially because the betrayal came from within? There is already much criticism of the way the university handled itself during the crucial hours. But how much better could it have done it? How prepared could it have been for something like this? I'm certain that, had it happened here, Boston University would have not have fared much better. University administrators do think about student safety, but they are generally not thinking about their own students going on shooting rampages. And what a horrible precedent this has set. Clearly, now they will have to start thinking about it. I have a friend at Virginia Tech, and thankfully, …
creator: Clarissa Nemeth
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

Flashback
description: I was in college in the 1960s. During that wild decade, there were so many acts of violence that it felt like a time never experienced before and in many ways, it had never been known before. The assassinations, the war in far-off Viet Nam, the demonstrations against the war, the Kent State killings by National Guard troops, the murders on college campuses happened over and over like a horrible wave of increading disorder. With each event, we felt a sense of impending disaster build. On April 16, I had finished the very ordinary task of getting my hair cut and was paying at the desk when I noticed a silent tv screen behind the receptionist. Cutlines spilled across the images and I was so shocked that I had to ask the young woman if she knew what had happened. She reponded that there had been shootings at VA Tech. I was so stunned that I couldn't move, I wanted to watch and I wanted to leave, but I could only stand there transfixed and horrified. Because I am older and the mother of now grown daughters, I reminded myself that these were two young women the same age as those in peril on the campus in Blacksburg and I wanted to be reassuring. But shock overcame maternal instincts and I must have showed it. The other girl turned to her computer and quickly dialed up information. The other turned away from the screen and looked busy. It took me back to the shootings at the University of Texas and all of the other shocking events of the 1960s that came with less coverage but the same announcement on television...my first feelings were the same-- a sense of shock and disbelief --that I had felt then. I couldn't protect these two--or myself--from the television images and it made me deeply sad. Sad for the innocence of the students and faculty on the campus that day, sad for the parents who must have been in agony, and sad for all of us who remembered this cruelty from a time long ago. My sympathy to the Virginia Tech family. Claudia Smith
creator: Claudia Smith
date: 2007-08-18
contributor: Claudia Smith
language: eng

WVU Reaction
description: Issue Date:Tuesday April 17, 2007 Section: HeadLine News Section In response to the shootings at Virginia Tech, West Virginia University President David Hardesty said Monday afternoon in a statement that the "campus police are alert to the incident and are monitoring the situation as it unfolds. If deemed necessary, increased coverage by our campus police will be initiated." Students in need of counseling are encouraged to visit the Carruth Center in the Student Services Center next to the Mountainlair. The center, open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., offers walk-in counseling services and an after-hour emergency phone consultation service (293-4431). On Monday, the center extended its walk-in services to 8 p.m. A candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the shootings will be held Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Woodburn Circle on the Downtown Campus. The University community and the general public are invited to attend. The WVU United Methodist Student Movement will sponsor an interfaith vigil today at 9 p.m. in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. — cls -- Original Source: The Daily Athenaeum http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=27564
creator: cls
date: 2008-02-18
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Leann Ray <Leann.Ray@mail.wvu.edu>
language: eng

Hokie Helmet
description: In honor of the Virginia Tech Tragedy, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series driver Corey Agee of Martinsville, VA, shows his newly designed helmet for the 2008 racing season.
creator: Corey Agee
date: 2008-03-01
contributor: Corey Agee
language: eng

Virginia dean Benson '73 recalls tragedy
description: Alumnus defends administrators' actions but says he understands complaints By Cornelia Hall Princetonian Staff Writer Richard Benson '73, dean of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, has spent the last three days struggling to maintain composure while confronting his own grief over the deaths of his colleagues and students. In his first media interview since Monday's shooting, Benson relived his emotions in the aftermath of the incident, praising the nation's sympathy and the cohesiveness of Virginia Tech's campus while reflecting on ways to move forward. Benson was at a conference in Puerto Rico when the tragic violence unfolded Monday morning. The gunman, Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui, shot two people in a dormitory before moving, around two hours later, to Norris Hall, a central building in the School of Engineering and home to Benson's office. Cho shot and killed 30 people in Norris Hall before taking his own life. Benson, who majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, was attending an Engineering Deans Institute meeting over the weekend. He first heard about the shooting when he checked his email during a coffee break and read that there was a gunman loose on campus. It was only when he switched on the television at his hotel that he saw that the shooting had moved to Norris. It was then that the reality of the situation hit home for Benson. "That's my building ... I walk through those doors every day," he said of Norris Hall. "It was just terrible to see that and not to be there." Upon hearing the news, Benson first tried to call his staff members in Norris Hall. "I was unable to get anybody, anybody," he said. He immediately booked a flight home and waited through flight delays and a layover to arrive in Blacksburg after midnight. "I would've gotten in a car and driven home," he said. His distance from his campus when the violence unfolded made the tragedy even more devastating, Benson said. "Being away heightened my emotional rea…
creator: Cornelia Hall
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Tragedy hits close to home
description: Campus comes together to mourn victims of shooting By Cornelia Hall Princetonian Staff Writer Photo by Gabriela Aoun Students gathered in Richardson Auditorium last night for a service in memory of the victims of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech. With solemn faces, some stained with tears, they listened to musical performances, prayers and speeches. Associate Dean of Religion Life Deborah Blanks took the podium first, addressing the assembled students with deliberate, heartfelt remarks. She emphasized the renewed interconnectedness of the student body, calling the Princeton community "united in heart, spirit and solidarity." "We dare to affirm that there is strength in community," she said. In addition to the sense of unity on Princeton's campus, Blanks spoke of its tie to all academic institutions. "When tragedy touches one life, its universal reach reminds us of the fragility and the vulnerability of all life," she noted. She closed her remarks with a prayer. USG president Rob Biederman '08 also stressed the transcendence of the college experience, bringing the events at Virginia Tech closer to the Princeton campus. He spoke solemnly as the audience kept their gazes fixed on the podium. "Every college campus should be a place apart; I imagine Princeton and Virginia Tech are no different in this regard," he told the gathering. "Here at Princeton, some casually refer to this as the Orange Bubble. At Virginia Tech yesterday, the bubble was ruptured, and we felt the shocks of that rupture here." Monday's gunshots reverberated across the country, with President Bush seeking to console an appalled America and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offering a moment of silence on the House floor. "Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate," Bush said at a memorial held at the Virginia Tech campus yesterday. "They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone, and they leave behind grieving families and grieving classmate…
creator: Cornelia Hall
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Letters to the Editor: Self-defense could stop violence
description: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 The tragic event that took place at Virginia Tech on Monday raises many questions in students' minds: How safe are we? What measures are in place to keep us safe from harm while we're in class, in our dorms, or walking across campus? Heaven forbid that a shooting should occur on our campus, but if it did, what would you do? What could you do? The truth is ... not much. Current law, as well as UC policy, prohibits you from providing yourself with a means of self-defense. UCLA's weapons policy prohibits common defensive items. Like Virginia Tech, UCLA doesn't allow firearms on campus even for law-abiding individuals trained and licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Even if UCLA did, California state law forbids it. As UC students, we're forced to remain unarmed and defenseless. Because of this, we can only hope that suspension or expulsion will serve as a sufficient deterrent for those that mean to harm us. Forgive me if I'm less than confident. While you could always call the police if such a situation were to occur, their response times are measured in minutes. However, in life-threatening situations like the shooting at Virginia Tech, survival is measured in seconds. A single armed student or faculty member could have quickly ended - if not prevented - any and all school shootings. It's time for change. It's time to rethink the "feel-good" legislation that is leaving thousands of innocent people defenseless. It's time to let our state and national representatives know that we want to be safe. It's time that we let university students and public school teachers protect themselves and those in their care. I urge you to call, write a letter or send an e-mail to your representatives to ask them to make public schools and college campuses places where law-abiding citizens can defend themselves. Craig Chi UCLA graduate student, Electrical Engineering -- Original Source: The Daily Bruin - April 18, 2007
creator: Craig Chi
publisher: The Daily Bruin
date: 2007-07-15
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
language: eng

S-a sacrificat pentru studentii americani!
description: 17 Aprilie 2007 Cristina Botezatu Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica la Universitatea Tehnica din Virginia, a murit dupa ce l-a infruntat pe atacatorul care a produs cel mai mare masacru din istoria scolilor americane. Tragedia, produsa ieri, s-a soldat cu cel putin 33 de morti si 29 raniti. Conform ultimelor date oferite de politie, numarul victimelor se ridica la 33, inclusiv autorul atacului care s-a sinucis inainte de a fi prins de politie. Din primele date, atacatorul era un student chinez, de 24 de ani, care venise in SUA cu o bursa, in august 2006, din Shanghai. Unul dintre motivele vehiculate este prietena sa, pe care o banuia ca il insala. Cei doi s-au certat, o alta persoana intervenind pentru a stinge conflictul. Atacatorul i-a impuscat pe amandoi si a parasit caminul. La scurt timp a avut loc atacul in cladirea Noriss Hall, unde se tin cursurile Universitatii Tehnice. Politia nu a stabilit inca daca cele doua incidente au avut acelasi autor. "Avea ca 1,80 metri, infatisare asiatica, era imbracat ciudat, aproape ca un cercetas", a povestit pentru CNN Erin Sheehan studenta in primul an la inginerie mecanica. Politia federala Americana (FBI) a anuntat ca nu exista indicii care sa sugereze ca atacul ar fi un act terorist, dar ancheta nu exclude pentru moment nicio pista. Conform Star Tribune, unul din lectorii din sala de cursuri in care s-a dechis focul era roman: Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica si specialist in mecanica fluidelor, numit Doctor Honoris Causa de catre Institutul Politehnic din Bucuresti in anul 2000. Romanul a murit incercand sa blocheze usa pe care a intrat agresorul, conform unor surse apropiate familiei. (Stefan Oprea) Un individ inarmat a facut cel putin 33 de morti intr-un campus universitar din Virginia, apoi a fost impuscat si el. Printre studentii si profesorii universitatii se numara si romani Un macel de proportii fara precedent s-a produs ieri la Universitatea Tehnica Virginia, din Blacksburg (estul Statelor Unite), c…
creator: Cristina Botezatu
date: 2007-06-21
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Calin Hera (calin.hera@evz.ro)
language: ron

¿Por qué SEUNG CHO?
description: Escrito por Cronista en 11:11 AM jueves 19 de abril de 2007 Intento redactar una nota sobre lo ocurrido en Virginia Tech pero no puedo. Me perturba leer los testimonios. Me perturba la fragilidad humana. El punto de quiebre tan variopinto como difícil de entender. No sabré nunca esa respuesta... qué lo llevó a cometer tal masacre. No entiendo la situación, no la asimilo. Intento rearmarme de valor y seguir escudriñando en este entuerto de emociones, de contradicciones, de tristeza y desamparo. Estoy con las víctimas, estoy con los muertos. 33 velas levanto hoy por los muertos y espero, solamente espero que esa sociedad tan violenta como marginadora entienda que el éxito no solo se mide por los triunfos materiales, sino por la correcta convivencia, por el respeto a los demás y por interesarnos despojándonos de la filosofía de que somos más que todos... Paz en 33 tumbas abiertas por Seung Cho... -- http://cronicacero.blogspot.com/2007/04/por-qu-seung-cho.html Derechos Reservados: Creative Commons Atribución-SinDerivadas 2.5 Argentina.
creator: Cronista
date: 2007-07-27
contributor: Elva Orozco
rights: Creative Commons Atribución-SinDerivadas 2.5 Argentina
language: spa

Candlelight Vigil for VTech tragedy
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/
language: eng

https://april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/611
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/
language: eng

https://april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/612
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465087372/in/set-72157600093950887/
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465087372/in/set-72157600093950887/
language: eng

https://april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/613
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465094395/in/set-72157600093950887/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465094395/in/set-72157600093950887/
language: eng

Americans have a right to feel safe from gun violence everywhere
description: By: Letter to the editor | Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Commentary In response to Elon Glucklich's article ("Controlling the threat," ODE, Apr. 23, 2007), I am also outraged by the increase in gun violence in America, especially the recent shooting at Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, incidents like this happen all too often in all parts of this nation. All Americans have the right to be safe from gun violence in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work. And all children have the right to grow up in environments free from the threat of gun violence. It is too easy for anyone - children, teens, and troubled adults - to access firearms in this country and the lethality of guns make death or severe injury more likely. This must stop! Curtis Taylor Eugene -- Original Source: Daily Emerald http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2007/04/26/Commentary/Americans.Have.A.Right.To.Feel.Safe.From.Gun.Violence.Everywhere-2882636.shtml
creator: Curtis Taylor
date: 2008-02-19
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Judy Riedl <jriedl@uoregon.edu>
language: eng

WAITE: Shootings show a need for change in gun laws
description: By: Cyndi Waite / Junior film studies major Posted: 4/23/07 Guns kill people. People kill people. Guns help people kill people. It's an inevitable truth that firearms in the wrong hands lead to the deaths of innocent people. As a nation, as students, we witnessed and felt the tragic deaths of 33 individuals; Virginia Tech is a forever-changed campus, cloaked in confusion and fear, anger and resentment. Pointing fingers and placing blame does no good, but learning and moving forward in such a way that will prevent similar future tragedies is not only a good idea, but a necessary one. And in order to make positive, permanent, preventive change that will ensure not one more innocent life will be taken from mass shootings in our nation, we must address the issue of gun control. This is not a liberal or a conservative issue. It's not a rural or urban argument. This is a conversation among Americans who value their lives and their neighbors' lives. Gun control has become such a politically taboo subject that politicians, on both sides of the fence, avoid discussing it and refuse to make it a part of their campaigns for fear they will lose Midwestern, Southern, rural and many conservative voters. "Cries for stricter gun-control laws by some Democratic lawmakers following the Virginia Tech mass murders have been met with caution from their party leads," William Douglas wrote in his Fort Wayne News Sentinel article "Democrats unlikely to revisit gun-control legislation." "Other Democrats recommend steering clear of the issue because it could jeopardize their party's recent gains in pro-gun Southern and Western states," Douglas wrote. It's still unclear as to whether or not the Bush administration plans to officially address the issue; the Chicago Tribune quoted the administration as saying, "We understand that there is going to be, and there has been, an ongoing national conversation about gun control ... We are going to be participants." Whether those conversations happen i…
creator: Cyndi Waite
publisher: Daily Nebraskan
date: 2007-09-03
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>
language: eng