[CharlesWayneCT]

The question is not a simple one (except from the concept of the absolute right in the constitution to own a weapon).

It is clear that, in a situation like this, having armed people in each classroom would have ended this sooner.

But what is not clear is how many people might have been killed by guns after minor traffic accidents, fights over women, normal violent behavior at school, if a lot of kids had guns readily available. I’m not saying there is ANY evidence that having guns available WOULD lead to them being used in these other situations, just that it is not without merit to think about it.

[John Felix]

I have a few questions that seem to go unanswered:
Why is a person with a 9mm and a 22 caliber handgun called “heavily armed”? What does heavily armed mean?
Why would the police at the first shooting conclude that 2 dead with no gun at the scene be called a “murder suicide?
Finally ,this morning, when asked if the gun man was identity was known the President of VT said: “We do not know where he was from” , then in the next breath he says the gunman was a student who lived in another dorm nearby. Do they know or not? What am I missing?

[Aquinasfan]

But what is not clear is how many people might have been killed by guns after minor traffic accidents, fights over women, normal violent behavior at school, if a lot of kids had guns readily available. I’m not saying there is ANY evidence that having guns available WOULD lead to them being used in these other situations, just that it is not without merit to think about it.

It's possible; maybe even probable. But then again, the people who are most likely to shoot someone in these situations probably already own an illegal handgun.

I'm very concerned about a Beslan situation here in the U.S., and the only effective way to prevent it or to minimize the casualties is by allowing adults to carry.