4-17-07-UPDATE: The Virginia legislature nixed a law that would have let these Vir. Tech students defend themselves… Gun bill gets shot down by panel HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died in subcommittee.

A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly. House Bill 1572 didn’t get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. “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.”

It is unfortunate that Rep. Rick Boucher's proposed expansion of the concealed weapons permits did not become law. Earlier this year the Virginia General Assembly failed to act on House Bill 1572.
If armed civilians had been present on the campus of Virginia Tech they could have stopped the murderous individual that killed over 30 people on Monday.

So whats y'r point?

This guy Cho did not mind committing murder, so what makes you think he would obey some law about carring concealed weapons?

...having more permits available might have saved lives albiet with tougher restrictions and more testing especially mental..., no kidding, because in the end only lawful people will follow the law...having restrictions on carrying weapons or owning weaponing does not stop in any way someone from doing what happened yesterday.

Even if Mr Boucher and Mr Stearns had gotten The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, VT is still shamefully a gun-free-zone.

Law Enforcement, airline piolets, educators, some folks just need to be armed.

I fail to see the connection to any of this? I don't think a nationwide recoprocity law would ave any affect on this incident. He voted for bills that would bar suing gun manufacturers when their products were misused? Is the writer implying that someone should sue Glock now? This is merely an example of someone tryign to advance their own personal agenda by linking a tragic event to it in order to gain attention. This writer should be banned.

So whats your point?

seems like a stand up guy...
He is on the right track too. With 220 million firearms in America, there is no way in hell htat we are going to stop people from getting them. Instead we nneed to arm people who are decent upstanding citizens against criminals.

Rep. Rick Boucher is a man that represents the majority of responsable americans about the right way to handle guns. If a professor or student would have been carrying a gun to stop this unstable person, it may saved a lot of lives.

I am sure a lot of people will use this tragedy to push their anti-gun politics. But to say this is the fault of the "gun" and there for we should outlaw guns would be the same as saying, "if we did not allow these forgieners into our country this would not have happened" so we should no longer allow forgieners into our country. This is a horrible, senseless act, to use it to forward a political ideology in my opinion would be morally wrong.

I do not see how one fact links with another.
1. This crazed gunman was not a concealed carry permit holder.
2. Concealed carry permit holders are not allowed on school campus

I think you are right in the middle of a logical fallacy.

The Virginia Tech massacre is a good example of why concealed carry permits should be recognized on campus.

The killer was shooting un-armed fish in a barrel.

It's a shame none of the victims were armed.

This is why "gun free zones" on College campus is nothing more than an illusion of safety.

If you want real safety, get a concealed weapon permit and become proficient with your firearm, and carry it with you at all times.

Nice...should be kicking his own rear end right now. One cannot legally carry a concealed weapon in S. Korea and no school shootings ever...hmmm coincidence?? I THINK NOT!!

Well the other side is obviously, if the massacred students were permitted to carry concealed weapons would this tragedy have ended much earlier, or perhaps not at all?

Maybe this lunatic gets popped before he draws his pistol fully? Who knows, all I know is if an evil person is commited to doing an evil act, gun laws won't stop him. If we take away guns the only ones with guns left are the criminals and we're lambs to the slaughter.

What's the relevance of concealed weapons permits to the Virginia Tech murders? If anything, allowing permit holders to carry on campus might have prevented some bloodshed. If this reporter's intent is to imply some kind of connection between permit holders, the NRA, or Boucher to the whacko student, I think that's pretty disingenuous. Why must we politicize this issue? Gun control can't prevent these crimes and arming everybody can't either.

BET THEY WISH THEY WOULD HAVE PASSED THAT LAW NOW. YOU LIBERAL'S ARE PUTTING US ALL IN DANGER.

If the US in fact had a true "gun culture" like we did in the early 1900s when every 3rd person was carrying a side-arm or pearl-handled pistol in a purse. This guy wouldn't have made it past the 3rd victim.

Just because the average US citizen isn't smart enough to put together a bird feeder... let alone create a functioning hand gun, doesn't mean it can't be done with a few machining tools at any local shop. If we spend a lot of needless energy trying to rid the land of guns, it only assures that the next maniac will get to 40, 50, or 60 people before someone has the ability to put an end to it.

As a graduate student and a gun owner, I just want to say I think it is irresponsible to blame Congressman Boucher for only supporting policies which his constituents elected him to support. The actions taken by the gunman at VT serve as a reminder that random acts of violence are situations which require us to be reactive in nature, reactive in immediate response, and in subsequent political debate. This is the United States of America, and as citizens, we are entitled by the Consitution to possess firearms. The shootings at Virginia Tech serve as a tragic reminder that in a free society, laws cannot ultimately prevent the acts of desperate men. The focus should be on why were these crimes committed rather than how.

Robert B. Kramer III, MPA
BA Criminology

If only the ban had been lifted it is possible someone may have been able to stop this killer. I am glad to see it was a Democratic Congressman who pushed for the repeal. This shows that gun rights for responsible, law abiding citizens is a bipartisan issue.