I plead the second

"The unfortunate situation in Virginia could have been avoided," she said, "if congressional leaders stood up to the gun lobby." -

-Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was killed by a gunman in 1993

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
- The Second Amendment

Monday's deadly rampage at Virginia Tech University has lighted the fuse for another round in the long-running debate over gun control, an issue that will be very important in the upcoming presidential election of 2008.

Leaders of both major political parties focused their reactions on expressions of sympathy for the victims and their families while avoiding comment on gun control.

In brief remarks from the White House, President Bush expressed the nation's grief.

"Schools should be places of sanctuary and learning," Bush said. "When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community."

Bush, a longtime champion of the right to bear arms, said nothing about the gun-control debate.

Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed sorrow at the event but remained silent on gun control. In the past, Democrats often have been at the forefront of the fight for tighter gun laws, but the party recently has been trying to broaden its appeal to hunters and others who oppose more controls.

Virginia's gun laws, like those of many states, make it easy to buy and own firearms, including handguns, and the state has been criticized often as the source of guns used in crimes in the Washington area and in other East Coast cities. But the lack of information made it impossible to say what role, if any, state laws might have played.

The incident has led many Americans to demand a uniformed federal standard for all gun purchases. This would mean closing loopholes on background checks (currently, these checks are not performed at gun shows and through private transactions).
As the debate heats up, PO’ 76 wants your stance on gun control. Could this incident have been prevented? Or could the effect have been lessened if VA Tech students or faculty were armed as well? Is the second amendment outdated? How would you handle this if you were a politician?