VT Tragedy/Gun Control

[CrimsonFrost]

Xeno Edit: Split from "damn!"
http://herebegames.com/StarGateWars/vie ... hp?t=72313
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This split thread is for speculation as to motive, causes, gun proliferation and control etc.


Of course it is silly to blame video games to motivate someone to do something, however, I'm curious how much the video games he played to improve his ability to kill.

Don't get me wrong, I'm your typical Doom 3, FEAR player etc, but even the US Army / US Marines utilize video games to help with quick reaction thinking, unit tactics, etc.

How else could someone with an ENGLISH MAJOR be able to walk from classroom to classroom and able to shoot each student at least 3 times as reported by the ER doctors there?

I'm not trying to make a scapegoat of video games, they obviously didn't provide the motive, perhaps made it easier to achieve?

Most of what I said is just thought and conjecture, regardless, this is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the people whom have to endure the pain of this for the rest of their lives.

Being shot at is not fun.

[Grand Admiral Martin]

Terrible thing to happen. I read its the biggest single shooting in US history, not just in schools.

As for games playing their part thats rubbish, playing a game doesnt give any real training as you use a mouse not a real weapons. if he was good at shooting he must have be going to a range or gun club or something.
This just gives more weight to the anti gun crowd.

[Apadizamek]

Of course it is silly to blame video games to motivate someone to do something, however, I'm curious how much the video games he played to improve his ability to kill.

ditto.

Trajedy galore, i mean what could draw someone to kill over 30 people. But i hope he didn't play video games, i mean if he did. Were in for a tough day in the video game business.

*remembers the parent teacher conference where i was told i was on a path to killing real people by playing marathon after columbine*

[Grand Admiral Martin]

More people get shoot by people that dont play video games then by those that do, so I cant see how games can be blamed at all. If gmaes are to blame then movies will be next and then people will probably go back to music and blame that.

[Apadizamek]

More people get shoot by people that dont play video games then by those that do, so I cant see how games can be blamed at all. If gmaes are to blame then movies will be next and then people will probably go back to music and blame that.

they blamed columbine, i can see if they blame this guy,

[Fear Of The Duck]

Hypothetical situation: he enters a classroom and starts shooting. But the other students are also armed. How many people die in this scenario? I think no more than 2 or 3.

[CrimsonFrost]

More people get shoot by people that dont play video games then by those that do, so I cant see how games can be blamed at all. If gmaes are to blame then movies will be next and then people will probably go back to music and blame that.

You zeroed in on the wrong part of my post. Appy however zoomed in on my point:

"Of course it is silly to blame video games to motivate someone to do something, however, I'm curious how much the video games he played to improve his ability to kill. "

I agree that scapegoating video games as the reason is ridiculous, however, saying that it did not provide any benfeits to the shooter is equally ridiculous. The US Marines and the US Army regularly use video games at certain commands to enhance squad tactics, quick reaction thinking, helps desensitize troops to violence / death, etc. The only people that say it does nothing because it is just "clicking the mouse" obviously isn't in the military. (US Navy uses it as well for leadership training.)

I regularly play all types of video games that are pretty graphic because I enjoy them. I seriously doubt that any video game will give someone the motive to kill 30 people in real life. (Save the person being mentally / psychologically unstable.)

As I stated before, this wasn't some pissed off guy simply randomly shooting. This guy was able to kill over 30 people, put 17 in the hospital; most in critical condition. The ER doctor in charge said all of them had no less then 3 bullets in them.

Going to a shooting range does not give you quick mental focus while moving from room to room. You stand in one place and shoot, only improving your aim.

What do you do in 3D shooting games such as Doom, FEAR, America's Army, etc?

Go room to room and shoot people.

No it didn't give motive but it clearly aided him in what he already wanted to do.

An English Major did all of that. Not an Army ROTC guy, or some NRA nut. Think about that.

[JKA]

The reason he killed so many was large amounts of ammo, he lined them up against a wall and he had more than one weapon firing at once.

[CrimsonFrost]

Ah, that explains the multiple news reports of people barricading themselves in class rooms while he was trying to push his way in and shooting at them through the doors.

[Fear Of The Duck]

Ah, that explains the multiple news reports of people barricading themselves in class rooms while he was trying to push his way in and shooting at them through the doors.

IMO they should have had guns themselves and shoot the b***rd instead.

[Grand Admiral Martin]

Ah, that explains the multiple news reports of people barricading themselves in class rooms while he was trying to push his way in and shooting at them through the doors.

IMO they should have had guns themselves and shoot the b***rd instead.

I can only imagine what the world would be like if everyone was armed 24/7. but yes what if someone else hada gun on campus and had killed him sooner? that point really does counter the anti gun side. also makes allowing guns more appealling in non gun countrys like ireland, where only criminals have them.

[JKA]

Ah, that explains the multiple news reports of people barricading themselves in class rooms while he was trying to push his way in and shooting at them through the doors.

IMO they should have had guns themselves and shoot the b***rd instead.

Well if they didnt allow people to freely buy guns this would likely not have happened thats the solution that should be implemented like it is in the UK, im not saying the UK is gun crime free but it is on a much smaller scale.

[The Xeno]

Well if they didn’t allow people to freely buy guns this would likely not have happened that’s the solution that should be implemented like it is in the UK, im not saying the UK is gun crime free but it is on a much smaller scale.

I think my main concern is to insure that these "ban all gun/video game/rap music/death metal/emotive rock" cries, are not just a knee-jerk reaction.
Whether this youth had a knife, axe, gasoline, rifle or handgun - he would have done something. I think it is more important that we target the disease that motivated him (not literally, I don't know about his mental condition) and not the means of it's symptoms execution.

Guns aren't the root of the problem here - Though clearly they magified the result to horrifying proportions.
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As for gun control... I am opposed to extremes. I believe that criminals will get their hands on weapons irregardless of laws. This is not to say that background checks and waiting periods are not good - I'm sure they filter out a great amount of stuff.
But I think that going much farther begins to have a negative cost-reward balance.

[Tal_Rasha]

... <- my reaction, really donno what to say about this...

[CrimsonFrost]

Well if they didn’t allow people to freely buy guns this would likely not have happened that’s the solution that should be implemented like it is in the UK, im not saying the UK is gun crime free but it is on a much smaller scale.

I think my main concern is to insure that these "ban all gun/video game/rap music/death metal/emotive rock" cries, are not just a knee-jerk reaction.
Whether this youth had a knife, axe, gasoline, rifle or handgun - he would have done something. I think it is more important that we target the disease that motivated him (not literally, I don't know about his mental condition) and not the means of it's symptoms execution.

Guns aren't the root of the problem here - Though clearly they magified the result to horrifying proportions.
----------------

As for gun control... I am opposed to extremes. I believe that criminals will get their hands on weapons irregardless of laws. This is not to say that background checks and waiting periods are not good - I'm sure they filter out a great amount of stuff.
But I think that going much farther begins to have a negative cost-reward balance.

I agree =with you 100% there. As a humorous quote from a movie said, "Guns don't kill people. *I* Kill people."

Before there were guns there were people with knives, bats, whatever else.. Whats next, are we going to ban household cleaners when they are used as explosives to kill people? Or ban glass if people start using it for shanks to stab people? People should look at the mental balance of the person wielding the weapon instead of the weapon itself. Identify and work towards the root cause, not some easy scapegoat like guns or video games.

It's pretty obvious by now, but I'm very much pro-guns. If there was an invasion of North America, states withlike Texas are the last place invaders would want to hit.