Tragedy at Virginia Tech 1

Yesterday a horrible tragedy took place on the campus of Virginia Tech, when a 23-year old senior English major brutally killed 32 people.

It’s still a little bit shocking and overwhelming at the moment. It’s been a lot to take in in a short amount of time. I just keep thinking, “why would someone do this?” How can you get to the point where you are that angry/hopeless/depressed, etc. that you brutally gun down 32 innocent bystanders? How does one get to that point? It’s just shocking.

The sad thing is that you can already feel politics working its way into this situation, which isn’t even 48 hours old. That’s really a shame. These people haven’t even had time to cope with the situation, let alone grieve, and we’re already hearing about renewed calls for gun control.

I’ve heard a couple things that bothered that I thought I’d address.

1.) This incident could have been prevented by extensive use of security cameras.

While the following statement probably has some truth to it, you know how people are when it comes to their privacy. People bristle at the thought of that privacy being invaded in any way, shape, or form. My guess is that if there had been calls for greater amounts of security cameras on the campus, it would have met with much protest.

Of course, now everyone thinks this would be a great idea.

2.) Stricter gun control could have prevented this tragedy.

Sorry, that’s simply not true. When someone has reached the point that this young man did, there isn’t anything anyone can do to keep them from their “mission” (except for a miracle). If the shooter hadn’t been able to get a gun, he would have constructed some sort of homemade bomb, or come up with some other way to carry out this horrific act.

It may sound cliché, but guns don’t kill people – people kill people. We as a people have a constitutional right to bear arms. Now, that also means that we have a responsibility to bear those arms in an appropriate way. I think people don’t understand that sometimes when they get on their “ban all guns” campaigns.

I feel horrible for the families that lost loved ones in this tragedy, but taking away peoples’ guns is not the answer.

Hopefully something can be done to help prevent this kind of situation in the future. However, that action needs to be something that does not infringe on inviduals’ constitutional rights.

The scary thing, as I mentioned earlier, is that it is hard to stop someone who is bent on carrying out this sort of act. I think it goes to show that people can have a positive impact on other people’s lives. Keep your eyes open. Keep your ears open. Be that person that someone can turn to – that someone can confide in. Share Jesus’ love with people. That doesn’t mean that you shove Christianity down someone’s throat, but that you be there for them, like Jesus would be. You listen to them. You love them. You pray for them. Perhaps if more people had been able to be that kind of influence in this young man’s life, this tragedy might have been avoided.