Every time a monster goes on a killing spree in a school, post office or business, the same cry begins:  "we've got to do something about all these guns!"  I don't know if they get tired of shoveling the same of crap (sorry) but I do get tired of having to say it:  guns are not the problem.  But there is something that does need to be said, and here it is:  When a nut with a gun goes on a killing spree, only one thing will stop him ... someone else with a gun.

Everyone with any common sense knows this, even the anti-gun nuts.  But they want that to be the police, charging in for the rescue with their weapons drawn to confront the maniac ... who will then shoot himself.  The problem is that (and we all know this too) during the ten minutes or so that it takes the police to arrive, a maniac with a gun can kill a lot of unarmed people.  And (as we see in almost every case where this sort of horror takes place) the police are not going to go charging right in to the building.  They are going to cordon off the area, establish lines of communications, pass out weapons, come up with a game plan, etc.  This is not to criticize the police!  It would be foolish for them to rush into an unknown situation.  But in the meantime, unarmed people are running around in a panic, trying to escape, and being shot down like fish in a barrel.

Virginia has a concealed carry permit system, but those who have such a permit are not allowed to carry their weapons on Virginia Tech property.  In 2006 an attempt was made in the VA legislature to allow licensed carriers to bring their weapons onto state-supported campuses, but it was defeated, in no small part because of virulent opposition from the VT administration.  As VT spokesman Larry Hincker said at the time, "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."  

Such irony would be funny, except that it isn't funny.  How long must the unarmed innocent continue to die in our government enforced free-fire zones?