"Never give up your guns US citizens. They are your last defence against tyranny." This does however, beg the question, "So why aren't you guys manning the barricades?" Because tyranny has come to the United States. And given time, doubtless Authority will contrive to stage more school shootings thus to justify the final removal of firearms, even from US society.

Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Kanagawa

I'LL TRY TO ANSWER.......

Apart from the English language, The UK and the USA share many values, customs, traditions, laws and ideals in common, due to the strong historic links between the two countries.
However, naturally, the USA has developed its own strong customs and identities, independent of British influence.

Individual ownership of firearms is a custom that goes back
to BEFORE the establishment of THE USA...to a time when
each man had to have a gun for hunting and protection in a vast and often hostile and lawless land. When the indians, the outlaws and the bears came calling, and the nearest lawman was 500 miles away.."who you gonna call?"

Distances are still vast in the USA, and the police are not always walking up and down outside your home, apartment building or isolated ranch. The concept of the individual having to be PRIMARILY responsible for his own security has never died....and the right to keep and bear arms is both guaranteed and keenly guarded.

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA

I agree with the article.

If you look at the statistics, it shows that countries where there is strict gun control tend to have much lower gun crime rates. Britain has strict gun control, Canada has loose gun control and the USA has no federal gun control:

Britain has 12 times less murders involving firearms per capita than America and 4 times less than Canada. Murders in general - Britain has ... off the top of my head ... about a quarter of America's murders per capita and Canada has about a third of America's murders per capita. In burglaries, assaults, rapes and so forth, there's no real correlation.

The presence of a gun can act as a deterent, but unless everyone has a gun and is educated to use it responsibly, this isn't very effective. This is why Switzerland has very little gun crime whereas the states in the USA with more gun control have a lot of gun crime. Everyone in Switzerland has a gun and uses it responsibly, someone in Virginia could just get a gun from Texas

Duncan Moore, Warwickshire,

For the presence of a comma, clarity was denied.

Following the academic debates on the interpretation of the 2nd amendment of the US constitution, one realizes the controversy boils down to the significance of the comma before the phase "the right of the people to keep...". Where, oh where, are the experts on 18th century punctuation, (paleopunctuationist?)?

Virginia Tech and, by extension, a lot of killings-by-gun would not have happened if a zeal to enforce was on par with the zeal to prohibit.

Instead of calling for new controls, which would depend on the old enforcement, or lack thereof, we should be screaming, shouting, and voting to ensure enforcement of existing laws, rules, standards and limits.

DanO, Mt. Vernon, USA

Even if gun control laws worked, they would still be grossly unconstitutional.

The facts, however, suggest that gun control does not work.
Case in point: Crime statistics of murder and violence in the US have been steadily decreasing since the widespread passage of concealed carry laws in over 30 states. Anti-gun critics warned that blood would run in the streets after concealed carry laws allowed almost any ordinary citizen to pack a handgun with an easily obtained legal permit. The opposite happened. Common sense would confirm the idea that muggings, carjackings, armed robberies, and so on might decrease if criminals seriously had to ponder whether or not their next victim might be armed.

Incidentally, Washington DC, cited above for its very strict gun laws, consistently ranks in the Top 25 most dangerous US cities, ordered by violent crime statistics.

Kevin Tuma, Hillsboro, TX

If gun control works, why didnt the gun control already in place fail the students of VTech?

erika, Minneapolis, US/MN

Being what many would term as a youth, I suppose that I am in quite a good postion to comment on this. Admittedly, I am white / erring towards middle class to my shame / British / villaage-dweller, so the most experience of gun crime that I have is rabbit-shooters that I hear in the mornings.

But a rural idyll it ain't - a boy from our school was killed last year by a rival gang less than ten miles away. By gun or knife I can’t remember, I’m not sure if I wish to, but my point is that there is a culture of violence spreading across the world, and we
are the genration which is to inherit the mess that you leave it in. He who has the youth has the future, and if American laws allow their youth to be slaughtered, those bright young people, mother's sons, father's daughters who are just a few years older than me and my friends, I ask all those in favour of gun ownership: what hope is there?

Hannah, Wellingborough, Northampton

(continued) I am not saying ban guns, because the people who will use them to kill people probably aren't worried about buying them 'under-ground'.

What I am saying is this: guns have to be harder to purchase if such massacres are to be stopped. It is of very little use checking someone after they have bought the weapon. Were I of dubious mentality, I could have killed someone by the time you've spotted I'm a bit odd.

you cannot break this cycle of violence by adding more violence, ie giving everyone guns. The only way that it can be halted is by drastic policy overhaul, reaching in and snapping the circle.

Stop it with a snap, not a shot, before more lives are lost.

Hannah, Wellingborough, Northampton

The legality of US gun ownership stems from one the founding principles of this country and that is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. We, as Americans, would rather have the freedom to choose whether or not we want to own/carry firearms because we are willing (or not) to undertake the personal responsibility of owning that weapon.

Personal responsibility is inherent in the freedom and liberty that our country fought for and was created to protect. We'd rather take responsibility for controlling our own actions instead of relying on our government to pass laws to control us because we are inherently distrustful of government. The price of liberty and freedom is that occasionally people abuse that to cause harm to others... but we should not limit the freedom of all to protect ourselves from the few.

Chris, Atlanta, GA, USA

It is interesting noting the number of Americans that use WW1, WW2 and the more recntt Balkan wars as a justification for carrying guns in the USA. Not only are the two issues not related, they are totally irrelevant, as the greatest standoff, causing greatest fear in Europe was probably the nuclear standoff and the arms race between the USA and Russia. For all of the period of the cold was it was Europe that was in the front line. The USA will never be invaded, as Mexico and Canada will never have the forces to do it. And as for the US enforcing peace in Europe........what a laugh, don't forget that various US leaders have endorsed the IRA and fundraising in support of terrorist activities in Northern Ireland and the UK mainland went on for many years.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

I've never seen how anyone can endorse or support a law, or society, which allows firearms and bullets to be bought legally in an everyday supermarket.

Ian, London,

Even if gun crime has increased in the UK since the total ban in 1997, in 2005/6, the number of people killed by firearms was 50, which represents 0.09 people per 100,000, compared to roughly 2.9 people per 100,000 in the US. I think that shows the real difference.

Stephen, Paris, France

I am not a gun owner and have no intention of becoming one. However, I must say, the yattering by europeans about violence in America is laughable. Any rational examination of the subject will reveal that viewed over the last 100 years, europe has been by far the most violent part of the planet. Now, I'm sure you will say that this has all changed since WWII. The reality is, that America enforcing a peace on europe has changed things. But, the reality of new peaceful europe was shattered by the quarter million dead in the former Yugoslavia, a travesty ended not by europeans but, once again by the U.S. for europeans.

WILLIAM LANGEMAN, Tucson, Arizona

America really is a vast country with many different areas. The huge and vast number of gun deaths are suicides and young men in the inner cities defending their drug turf.

This is a gun owning country, so is it any wonder that we kill ourselves with the handiest and surest way available? Would our suicide rate be lower if we weren't a gun owning society? Since we're about mid-pack with other western countries, the answer would seem to be no.

As for the inner city drug trade, poor people are doing the rational thing and dealing drugs to make money. Since this trade is illegal, they can't go to the police if they are threatened or robbed. They use a firearm to defend their businesses. So, how do we drive down the firearm's murder rate? Take the profit motive out of narcotics by legalizing them.

Pete, Ridgecrest, CA

To truly gain perspective on gun ownership in the US, one must understand why so many American's defend their right to own a gun.
I am NOT a gun owner; in fact, I find them to be primal instruments that produce barbaric outcomes.
However, as an American, I defend the citizen’s right to bear arms. Am I in no less danger of a knife wielding killer than if he/she carried a gun? Obviously, the concern abroad is reflected in the scale of the dead... well over 30. However, I like most Americans see this as an issue of local/state government and Virginia Tech's failure to not only protect, but respond to this incident.
I do not favor assault weapons or hand guns that can carry 17-20 bullets at a time. However, rooted in our independent nature is the right to defend oneself from criminals and/or government.
The author of this original opinion piece was spot-on in his term exceptionalism. We are an exception here in America, proudly so in fact. We must do better though indeed.

Kristopher Wiggs, Hughson, CA, USA

Obviously Charles Norris is a bit confused. I don't think that the reason that the US government hasn't killed millions of Americans is because of the Constitution, after all, there has been no state killing in Western Europe (bar WW2) since the French Revolution (a bit pre-wild west). The banning of private gun ownership ppost Dunblane has not made any difference, we weren't allowed to carry guns in our pockets or keep assault rifles etc in our houses at any stage in the proceedings. The only paradox is amongst the US citizens that feel they have the right to kill other US citizens, by accident or design, because of the corrupted 2nd amendment to the US Constitution.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

The Second Amendment in the US Bill of Rights is there to prevent democide. That's when a nation begins to murder its own citizens. The USA has not killed hundreds of millions of people in North America despite its liberal gun laws. Europe and Asia cannot make the same claim.

Furthermore, since the UK has outlawed the private ownership of guns, has not the incidence of gun crime increased? This paradox is not lost on those Americans who favor that any citizen in good standing, has the right to be armed.

Charles Norris, Los Angeles, California, USA

UM Kasper let me get this straight - you somehow think that because europe has had two world wars and separate countries within europe have suffered at the hands of their militia we should then shut up and close our eyes to the horrors in America? the key term here is progress - we had two world wars more than 50 years ago and the last of the British empire was dissolved 50 yrs ago, we are attempting to move forward - we had two world wars and two were enough, how many more shootings and deaths will it take for America to start banning guns? Eventually America solves its problems you say - sorry HOW? exactly are you solving the school shootings?? you are not even thinking logically about your argument you are so determined to rebut what the article is saying. The problem here is that your problem can be easily stopped. If 2/3 of the state opened their eyes and looked at the horrors they would agree to a change in the constitution and carrying a gun would no longer be a right

Victoria Princewill, London, England

Harald Kasper, if memory serves the USA didn't enter either of the World Wars until years after they had started, and then only because of direct attacks, you were all sitting around on your comfortable fat asses for most of the time. More US citizens lost their lives during the American Civil War than at any time since. Remember Vietnam. The UN (note UN) forces hands were ties due to UN resolutions, sponsored by the USA, and couldn't do anything. I'm not sure where Rwanda crept in, that's in Africa, but remember Somalia and 'Black Hawk Down' also in Africa. The thing is, most Europeans don't wander around with guns in our pockets, therefore the amount of people killed by guns in Europe is far lower, per population, than the USA. Stop hiding behind the half of the US constitution that you like, whilst ignoring the half you don't like. And DON't USE BLOCK CAPITALS, IT ISN'T POLITE.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

I am always amazed when the Euros lecture and lament about America's propensity towards violence. Forget about the 100 or so million slaughtered in Europe during the last two world wars. And disregard the collective Euro rape and plunder of thrid world nations during the colonization era. And forget about not even having enough consensus to stop genocide in Kosovo and Bosnia - not to mention sitting on your fat and comfotable asses while nearly a million Rwnadans were slaughterd - YOU DON"T HAVE THE RIGHT TO LECTURE US ON ANYTHING!

America has its' problems, but eventually we solve them without Europe's help. Too bad Europe can't say the same thing.

Harald Kasper, Herndon, Virginia, USA

they should have to run a check, have a waiting period, and give the gun.
the law in VA is have id, fill form, pay for gun, leave, then they check your form- which in this case (and here is the PC tragedy as noted) raised no alarm that he was poss suicidal/prescribed/stalker.

Kevin, Blacksburg, VA

First of all I'd like to point out that it's a month's waiting period, not a week, that separates gun purchases in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Second, I would disagree that Americans remain attached to guns from fear of their government primarily, but that incidents such as Blacksburg just feed the fire of fear. I don't know how many people in my home state of Pennsylvania have commented that if the victims of Virginia Tech themselves were armed then they would have been able to defend themselves-so the gun culture, grounded in fear, just gets perpetuated.

On a sidenote, the US Constitution's Second Amendment does guarantee the right to bear arms "for the keeping of a well regulated militia." The original intent was to allow citizens to protect themselves from the government if need be, but they didn't envision Americans styling themselves as vigilantes as I think they do today. Unfortunately it is difficult to escape one's own fear, and enact much stricter gun regulations.

Amanda Gilmore, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Until this incident, the most deadly school shooting occurred in Erfurt Germany, a country with pervasive gun control and never labeled a "gun culture".

Tim McVeigh murdered 168 people with a fertilizer bomb. The London bombers murdered 52 and wounded 700 with common chemicals. 3000 Americans were murdered by terrorists armed with box cutters. If mass murder is in the heart, the tool is available.

There are roughly 70+ million law abiding firearms owners in the U.S. who are decent people from every walk of life. I defy the condescending Euros here to come up with a "gun culture" demographic that is not some shallow stereotype you got from TV, or your politicos.

Numerous red flags were missed, which could have stopped this atrocity. Among them, a judge mishandled a court-ordered mental hospitalization, which would have automatically shown up on the Federal Insta-Check, blocking Cho's purchase of the handguns. But ultimately, the blame and responsibility rests with one person.

Peter McMullen, Reno, Nevada, USA

I am an American who came over here 41 years ago, not with the intention of living here: it just happened to turn out that way. On a visit back home, I asked my mother whom did we know who owned a gun. My mother could name one man with certainty: I think she excluded men who hunt for sport. Personally, I felt I knew no one: maybe that was because of the milieu in which I grew up. But I grew up in the "safe" suburbs, however even as a teen ager I was aware that they were not so safe. Bored people need something to do: in Northern New Hampshire they shoot the Stop signs! So maybe I knew more Americans who owned guns than I thought i did!

Carlyle Braden, Croydon, U.K.

BBC News 2002 - Violent crime in England and Wales has risen 14%, and handgun crime in the UK rose by 40% in the 2 years after the 1997 gun ban passed

USA Today 2002 - "Since Australias 1996 laws banning most guns and making it a crime to use a gun defensively, armed robberies rose by 51%, unarmed robberies by 37%, assaults by 24%, kidnappings by 43%

March 2005 - The Chief Constable of Nottingshire said his force was overwhelmed with violent crime, and "could no longer cope".

April 2007 - The mayor of Nagasaki is murdered with a handgun.

Good luck to the countries that have imposed draconian gun laws and watered down sentences for convicted criminals. You have relegated your collective citizenry to permanent victim status. The criminally inclined love you for it.

Karl Holfeld, Hana, Hawaii, US

most anti-gun people do not think about two basic facts about gunowners and guns,One there are several million legal gunowners in this country . A vast number of these people would just flat refuse to conform to any law that would take their guns,it could very easily cause a civil war,Remember the very old saying about they will take my gun when they pry my cold dead fingers from around it,,That saying is very true to millions of Americans,We dont have enough jail space to house all the people that would just say NO. ,Two ,,just the shear numbers of guns out in America ,both legal and illegal would make it impossible to collect them all,you would have an underground gun business just like the drug business making the bad guys even richer. Just think what would happen if the only people with guns were the life long robbers and rapist,,no schools , no child, nobody would be safe

garry cross, clinton, ar

Most Americans believe their own movies and try in real life to be like the characters in them, good and bad

Bas, NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND UK

I understand the americans not wanting their right to bear arms taken away,it is part of their culture. the N.R.A. say" its people that kill people not guns" Lets move that quote on a little, its bullets that kill people not guns.
Retricting the amount of bullets a person may buy will not stop these slaughters but it may reduce the numbers.
The second amendment will also stay intact.

alan fletcher, birmingham, england

GS Kennedy, Miami. A gun during civil disorder would be useless? Talk to people who protected their homes, businesses and *LIVES* during the Rodney King riots and in the aftermath of Katrina. Your naivete is astonishing.

Peter McMullen, Reno, Nevada, USA

To Geoffrey in Sydney... You believe that Aussie criminals don't sell guns to loonies? How would they know? Cho purchased his 2 handguns from federally licensed, heavily regulated gun dealers, and underwent the Federal FBI NICS background check and a Virginia state background check as well.

My understanding is that there was substancial non-compliance with the Australian gun licensing and surrender, and there is now also a thriving black market in Australia. Even your local gun control groups apparently acknowledge this.

Thinking that a criminal would care, let alone know, whether a buyer is psychotic is naive. Handgun, rifle, even a double barrel shotgun... when you are talking about coldly tracking down and shooting frightened, cowering college kids one at a time, any of these weapons would be as tragically deadly and effective.

Peter McMullen, Reno, Nevada, USA

Scaramanga, London, London: "The killing of 33 people could easily have happened here. In fact it has happened here, remember Hungerford and Dunblane? Don't be so hypocritical."

Even the NRA admit that a million Americans have died within their own country since 1960 because of guns. Add up the stats for the UK during the same period and come to the same per-captia rate before you cry hypocricy.

Guess what, you won't even come close.

John T, Winchester, England

Vic in Burlington. I want to make sure folks are clear on a couple of things regarding registration. In the U.S., while a Federal database is not permitted, each person purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer must fill out a Federal 4473 form, which the dealer is required to keep on file.

Under Federal Law, a private party transfer, which does not cross state lines, does not require a 4473. However, *any* "interstate" transfer must go through a licensed dealer at the receiving end. The Federal BATF and FBI can track down those forms, so there is in effect, a de-facto registration maintained.

Also, individual states maintain their own regulations. California for example requires that all transfers (with limited exceptions) go through a licensed dealer and be recorded in a state database. In the case of California, this database maintains the make, model and serial number of handguns, along with the name of the purchaser. Long guns are recorded simply as long guns.

Peter McMullen, Reno, Nevada, USA

Many here live in a world of fantasy. The right to bear arms to protect the homeland is long gone. No one is going to invade the US and in a civil disorder today the gun would be useless.

The biggest threat to the general population is not a government domestic or foreign, it's a fellow countryman upholding his 2nd amendment rights!

Oh the irony....

G.S. Kennedy, Miami,

The only difference between Americans and Europeans is that Americans kill each other individually for free. Europeans organize and kill each other while on a State salary.

And, the American death toll is less.

Viet Dinh, San Jose, California

Casey in Washington, your historical "facts" are so completely wrong that your words only help to illuminate your ignorance. World War 2 began September 1st 1939, Pearl Harbor Dec 7 1941, that's roughly two years three months. Britain declared war as a result of Germany invading Poland, it was a declared war but not a war in fact as Britain was in no position to wage war against Germany until nearly a year later, even then limited. The USA prior to entering the war in Europe supplied Britain with as much food, fuel and war materials as we could ship to them.So even though we weren't an active belligerent, we were definitely participating in a meaningful way right from the start. If you are going to attempt to make some corelation between the shooting at Virginia tech by a mentally ill person, and people who support gun ownsership, stick to an analogy that's within your apparently limited capacity to convey your point.

Ian Turner, Austin, Texas

Perhaps a fact check is in order: in Virginia, you can buy up to one gun a month. You have to go through a background check (called an FBI NICS check), and in Virginia, the State Police must also give the go-ahead before the dealer can sell the gun. A crazy person without a record unfortunately can get firearms legally, (but if he could not, there is a black market for them). Nobody wants that, but here, we have a right to self defense. Gun registration is also illegal.

Since Britain is now rid of pistols and semiautomatics you should be free of gun crime. So why is gun crime rising? Why are home invasions so frequent? Why did CBS say Britain's overall violent crime rate is worse (and rising) than in many large US urban centers?

Some 75 lawful guns at Virginia Tech are locked up at the Police station as required by campus rules. We can only wonder if a gun was locked up, which might have made a difference in the hands of a victim in one of those "Gun Free" classrooms.

Vic Au, Burlington, USA/NC

Just down the road from me is the University of Technology Sydney. It is possible to imagine there could be a psychotic student there - perhaps their brain addled by drugs. But where would they get a gun? And don't tell me that the carnage in Virginia could have been done with a knife, I don't believe it. I don't doubt that it is possible to acquire a gun in Sydney but you'd have to have good criminal connections. Crimals don't sell guns to loonies. They just want to get on quietly about their unlawful business. When a few years back a similar tragedy occurred at Port Arthur, the Australian Prime Minister launched a "buy back" of guns. There was a wave of community approval even though an explicit tax was imposed to pay for it. I'm not saying that this awful thing could never happen in Australia - just that I think it much more likely to happen again in America. A country, by the way, that i believe to be the best thing that happened to the modern world.

Geoffrey, Sydney, Australia

It was our "lethal commitment" to our freedoms that led us to give you chaps the boot in the first place. Sorry, but there it is. I don't need anybody telling me I need to just die and get over it should some punk with a weapon of whatever sort threaten my life. I will resist with whatever means necessary, including the firearms I own. I hope that never happens, and I tend to avoid trouble. Sometimes though, trouble finds you.

celticdragon, Greensboro, NC, USA

This maniac was not an American, he was one of many immigrants we allow to live here, including my wife who is from Engand. I went to the Embassy during the visa process, the line for Brits wanting to immigrate to the US was wrapped around the Embassy. I imagine the line of US citizens looking to move to the UK is much smaller. But I cannot be sure, here in America we focus on our news, not the news of the UK. We are so bad, yet everyone wants to live here and reap our benifits. You should focus your attention on your issues. Or if you would like to comment on our news, do it with respect. I have been to England many times to hear nasty comments about the US, yet anyone in the US you talk to loves the UK. I wonder how long that will last with commentaries like this. I do know one thing, as soon as England is in trouble, as every time in the past, we will be there to bail them out once again. You really should respect the ones who save you time after time. god bless the USA and the Uk.

Mike McAuley, Kent Island, , Maryland/ USA

To all who believe that the answer to this problem would be to LOOSEN gun laws ("If only some of the students in VT had guns, this wouldn't have happened"): take a step back and look at your logic. Are you trying to say that the more guns there are, the safer we are? If you think thats true, why don't we make it a "god given right" that all countries are allowed nuclear weapons? More means safer doesnt it? You say that even if there were gun laws, the killer would have found a different weapon and done the same thing. Yes, but it would not have been on the same scale. It would be much more difficult to kill 32 people with a knife. Criminals will always find ways to get firearms, but a gun ban would make it difficult for the average joe to do so. The idea is to ensure that when a normal person simply snaps or "looses it", they will not have the capacity to cause such damage as we have seen through this incident. Until this problem is fixed, incidents like these will continue to happen.

Steve, Markham, Canada

It's amazing how "aghast" Europeans are about gun violence in the U.S. However, when I go to the local gun store most of the popular, high magazine capacity 9mm handguns are:
Beretta (European)
Glock (also European)
Sig (also European)
Heckler and Koch (also European)
Wather (also European)
FN (also European)

So please, while Europeans are "aghast", they're perfectly willing to make a buck (or in this case a "Euro") feeding the violence with its preferred implements. Spare us the sanctimonious criticism and the hypocrisy.

Phil , Yorktown Heights, NY, USA

Why all this talk about gun control, and no one is advocating swimming pool control. In America, death by drowning in swimming pools is 400% greater than death by gun accidents or incidents. How many innocent lifes could have been saved if we had only placed greater restrictions on these killers. No, it is not popular to critisize swimming pool owners...even irrisponsible ones. Pools don't look scary and well.. we like them. It is more fun to go after what we don't understand and more importantly, to join the group-think and be part of something. If we were really concerned about innocent loss of life, we would ban all swimming pools. After this is done, then we can begin to talk about gun control.

Kent, Wylie, TX

The reason for our second amendment is well known. We prize the right to bear arms because at heart we are a culture that teasures its rights to individual liberty. We secured that liberty because an army of farmers had guns with which to use against Redcoats and their German mercenaries. Americans don't trust government. A despot could not take root in the U.S. easily because he would find his army facing a well armed citizenry on every corner. We would fight back. Others can laugh at that notion. I don't care. Our criminal element also would have no problem securing guns. Before you carry on about something that is purely a domestic matter you should look at the statistics on the crime rate in states that allow concealed weopons to be carried. Crime rates fall dramatically. Thugs and governments act differently if they think you might be as well armed as they are. i think this shooting was tragic and i'm sorry it happened but you often pay a price for individual liberty.

Mike Sims, Louisville, kentucky

I am not so sure about Virginia Tech having high academic standards. Why didn't they fail the killer for his substandard assignments?

Emma Haethorne, Ottawa, Can

Right! Scream loudly enough about why guns should be confiscated from law abiding citizens and it becomes unnecessary for the politically correct to explain why a malcontent who sets fire to his dorm room, stalks women, and is feared by many of those who knew him got a pass.

The more the libs excuse anti-social behavior, the of such behavior we get.

Robert Carson, Houston, TX

I can’t believe the hypocrisy from the British criticizing. You band virtually all gun ownership in the late 80’s yet your violent crime rate is igher than ours. Yet, over the same time period, we have made it easier for citizens to obtain concealed carry permits and our crime has decreased. Before you criticize us review the facts. I can easily find articles on the BBC’s web site to support my claims. You can also review crime studies conducted by the UN and by Leiden University in Holland for further information. Before opening you mouth and showing you ignorance, review the studies listed above and review current US gun laws.
Also,
-DC has had a handgun ban in effect since 1976, but this has not stopped the city from being in the top 5 of US cities for murder over the last 30 years.
-Before the Gun Control Act of 1968 firearms were bought and sold through the mail in this country, and there were no age restrictions, but somehow students managed not to kill their classmates.

Rick, Kansas City, MO, USA

What distinguishes the U.S. from Europe is that we're free. That's the American Dream. Not safety. Not security. "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave." We have guns because we are each responsible for our own lives. Don't believe me? If you're ever the victim of a crime, try to sue the police for not protecting you. Good luck with that. We have guns because we have rights that exist independent of any government. We, the people, are the militia. From the Declaration of Independence: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..." That's what the 2nd Amendment is for. Europe? They spent the 20th century as mass murderers of the defenseless, and are starting the 21st as cowardly pacifists. Either way, not much freedom there.

Bill, Pittsburgh, PA

I have to agree with those people who say it's got nothing to do with guns and everything to do with a desire to kill. Tony Blair edged his way into No10 with the slogan "tough on crime,tough on the causes of crime", but, as many have pointed out there are more people being shot to death on Britains streets than ever before, and those who are not being shot to death are being knifed to death. There are few police on the beat in UK and many say this is the root cause of street violence, whereas the dreadful event in Virginia was an out and out act of terrorism carried out by the equivalant of a suicide bomber, and there is little protection against that kind of atrocity. However, it is noticable that the College heads are already covering their backsides - not a good sign. Forget the Keystone Cops...it's the head of security who won't be sleeping well. 2 hrs! The Iran '15' debacle might just pale into insignificance after this little show of incompetence. Roll on the enquiry.

Harry Gaffney, Riga, Latvia

The far left has long opposed any sane legal gun laws. When ever the NRA has tried to give schools gun safety classes free of charge MRS Brady and her stormtroopers arrive to deny it. The fact is that People like MRS. Brady in the US cheer every time a crime young infant is killed with a gun. More collateral damage for their agenda to replace our beloved Red, White, and Blue with a swasitka. In America those who grow up with guns in the house learn to respect these tools, and learn proper safety precautions. While none of this could have prevented the VT tragedy perhaps if the radicals of this nation did not insist on gun free zones or AKA target rich environments perhaps some student who spent time as an infantry grunt or a cav scout could have once again defended his fellow countryman and put 2 rounds center mass in the guy and one round in his head. Oh yeah on the all mighty alter of polictal correctness that is no longer acceptable.

Kenneth Falconer, Minden, NV/USA

Europe has in place strict control laws and Europe has experienced similar school massacres in England, France and Germany. The Oklohoma City bombers and 9-11-01 demonstrate that psychos don't need guns to terrorize with carnage.

What America DOES NOT need is nauseating lectures on violence from Europe. It was Europe-- NOT the United States--that ignited two world wars and Jewish genocide that desimated the 20th Century. Total: 85 million dead.
If it wasn't for America Europe would be under the guns of homocidal ATHEIST Nazi and Stalinist's thugs. It's because America (and Britain) shoulders the global military burden that Euope can afford to sit back from the safety of their welfare states and pontificate "peace" while an Islamic Third Reich terrorizes the world with all weapons possible to enforce a Nazi ideology.

When the subject is violence America will PROUDLY stand by it's history V.S. Europe, Maoist China, U.S.S.R, Japan, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Mideast.

cathy, Ruckersville, Virginia

Perhaps the primary question should be why every "soft target" massacre is seized upon by the spineless few as a good reason for MORE defenseless soft targets... or, how more and more free Americans have come to the supine conclusion that surrender maks frei? How gullible are they to enlist 17 year-olds as infantry, but deny adults the right (and responsibility) of self-defence?
Thanks for all your good wishes, but I'll defer to experts on the issue of self-defence, not the French, not the Italians, not the Germans, and not the Brits. Yeah, I'm Irish-American. Don't bother to say "Thanks" for the Lend-Lease armory, just keep on promoting authoritative confiscation.
In case you've never learned history properly, your kow-towing way of life is the reason many of the folks with vision, hope, ambition, and spine left Europe long ago.

Dennis Tully, People's Republik of Chicago, USA

Yes, Mr. Baker, we Americans have a deeply-rooted suspicion of Government. We not only allow, but REQUIRE free access to arms for our citizenry, even with its risks. "WHY?" is always the question posed by you Europeans. The answer? Because we will not allow our governments to send selected portions of our populace to remote, hidden camps to be worked to death, shot,or gassed , as have France, Germany, Poland, Russia, China, Italy...need I go on? We will not allow walls to be built and let to stand for forty years and shoot those trying to get from one side of a city to another. With a nod toward Mr. Putin, we will not allow government agents to murder members of the press for investigating a "democratic" government reinstalling tyranny. You will also notice that we use our "gun culture" as a basis of rather regularly rescuing you "civilized" Europeans from invading and slaughtering yourselves from time to time...WWI, WWII, or Bosnia come to mind. Grow up, sir.

T. Lopes, Los Angeles, USA

Joe Rooney : "American murderers can't hold a candle to the mass murders perpetrated by European Governments"

Come on Joe, You're being far too modest! Several million native Americans deliberately butchered or starved to death, at least that number of civilians carpet bombed or executed in Vietnam, unconditional support given to the most murderous regimes in south america and the middle east and an estimated extra million US citizens shot by other US citizens since 1960. How's operation "Iraqi freedom" working out? Several hundred thousand civilians may be dead, but didn't Halliburton's stock do well! Your government IS a contender Joe, your government IS somebody!

Oh, and this may be a difficult concept to grasp but Europe is actually composed of a number of different countries, some with very long histories indeed. But why let the facts get in the way of a good ol' rant?

Dan, Hampton, uk

I'm amazed at all the experts on the American Constitution and American morality that live in Europe.

I don't believe that the misplaced religious zealots would have infected 9/ 11 with their murderous and cowardly deeds had they known there was a good probability that passenger 23A was packing a .45.

Imagine this: John is walking down the hallway on the way to class when he rounds the corner to see a South Korean student draw a gun and shoot a fellow student. John drops his books, draws his handgun and shouts at the student to drop his weapon. The assailant refuses, and in fact aims his weapon at John. ** BOOM! ** Evil game over. 1 dead, not 32 and 28 wounded. This can only happen in a society where you realize that for the purpose of self-protection, you do not draw unless your life or the life of other innocents are involved. You do NOT use them because someone stole your girl or cut you off in traffic. The people of VT need our compassion and prayers, not yak.

Keith, Indianapolis, IN/ USA

"Let em shoot each other. Its obvious from most of the comments here that Americans are insane!"

A foreign national comes to America and shoots up a campus of young people, and the world leaps on the chance to blame the victims. Wow. (Except for Rainn from Dusseldorf who decides to blame the blacks, because... wait, there HAD to be some blacks involved in this somehow, right?)

All that's going on here is a chance for everyone to air their old cherished prejudices and feel self-satisfied.

I am tired and I'm not even going to try to fight this anymore. I'm going to concentrate on the poor victims, and on trying to understand what kind of mental anguish and imbalance would drive an otherwise quiet soul to such a heinous act.

C Lofters, New York, New York

While my family has always owned guns, I personally never wanted the responsibility of gun ownership. The lawlessness that occurred after Hurricane Katrina changed my mind. I am a 5’ 3” woman who lives alone. Should a disaster occur, more likely than not I will have only myself to rely on to keep me safe from harm. Therefore, I purchased a handgun as part of my “emergency survival kit,” and have taken courses to familiarize myself with my weapon. While I hope never to have to use it in self defense, I find comfort in knowing that should the streets of Los Angeles descend into anarchy, my .357 gives me the ability (and credibility) to say to those who otherwise would do me harm: “Move along, there’s nothing to see here.” To all those who write that only the police should have guns, I ask you: How effective were the police when New Orleans descended into chaos? I resent those sanctimonious few who would take from me the ability to defend myself and protect my life.

Danielle, Los Angeles, CA,

I must say to all you Europeans out there don't stereotype all Americans as gung-ho gun lovers. I am embarressed by my felllow American's oversimplification of the second amendment and gun control. Why is it that every time stricter gun laws are brought up there is a huge outcry by gun owners that the government is trying to take away all our guns. Did these people ever stop and think that stricter gun laws will not violate anyone's right to bare arms. For example, why it is necessary for people to own AK-47's and other assualt rifles when these guns are clearly not going to be used for hunting or self-defense? Our president allowed the assault rilfe ban to expire and did not renew it, making it easier for people to buy extra large magazines and assault rifles. I had a family member who was a teacher at Columbine during that awful tradegy and was in fact wounded, and I hope no one else will ever have to go through the emotional experience that myself and family had to go through.

Phil, Denver, Colorado USA

Until this incident, the most deadly school shootings occurred in Germany and Scotland, countries with pervasive gun control and never labeled a "gun culture".

McVeigh murdered 168 people with a fertilizer bomb. The London bombers murdered 52 and wounded 700 with common chemicals. 3000 Americans were murdered by terrorists armed with box cutters. If mass murder is in the heart, the tool is available.

There are roughly 70+ million law abiding firearms owners in the U.S. who are decent people from every walk of life. I defy those condescending Euros here to come up with a "gun culture" demographic that is not some shallow stereotype you parrot from TV, or your politicos.

Numerous red flags were missed, which could have stopped this atrocity. Among them, a judge mishandled a court-ordered mental hospitalization, which would have shown up on the Federal Insta-Check, blocking Cho's purchase of the handguns. But ultimately, the blame and responsibility rests with one person only.

Peter McMullen, Reno, Nevada, USA

A gun-free society will never work in America, it is far too ingrained in the culture. Americans have the uncanny ability to abuse any law or regulation for their own benefit, therefore, anti-gun legislation would just be used, abused and misconstrued to serve their own selfish needs.

If you want to live in a society without firearms, it will be far more expeditious to just move to another country where they are illegal , or at least better regulated. I'll see you there !

Carmen, Nashville,

With hundreds of millions of guns already in this country, any debate about stricter laws or meaningful legal change is academic. It's too late to do anything about the cancer of gun violence here.

Adam Bernstein, Charlotte, USA/NC

Despite claims of individualism, I am puzzled by everything from US anti-drug laws to seat belt laws, which assume I will not protect myself of my own free will. Simultaneously, our accountability, both individually and nationally, is vanishing. Sadly, it is easy for the world to write us off as spoiled children shouting for rights but rejecting responsibilities. We have created a culture in which life is worth less than might-- I may see torture on TV but not a breast, and more vent fury over gay marriage than will raise their voices against injustice and murder in the Sudan (indeed, religious right leaders consider this nightmare “distracting”). We cannot yet again wash our hands with “this man was not American,” or “there’s nothing we can do.” He was raised here and ingested America as inexorably as any of us. No one can say, “if we had done __ this would not have occurred.” We can once again take responsibility for effecting historic change, immediately.

AM, San Francisco, CA

I am glad that we are different from your civilised world. That would be the reason my family left Europe in the first place. Last time I checked America was the ecnomic leader of the civilised world. The freedoms that we enjoy have served us well and If I remeber correctly saved you twice in the last century.

Jeff, Baton Rouge,

KC Ramsey, New York, New York: "The day Europeans quit talking about the genocide of Native Americans as if they were somehow completely uninvolved will be a glorious day."

The US was responsible for over 95% of deliberate murders, deliberate infections and campaigns of planned starvation to say nothing of mass theft. The numbers of dead run into the millions comitted over a sustained period. Apparently, this does not bother you in the slightest.

Head north past Seattle and you'll find a country that at least makes something approximating an honest attempt to provide for their decendants. When will the US?

Dan, Hampton, uk

It now appears that the individual had been previously involuntarily committed. He should have been turned down on the background check if the NRA and the Law had their way. However because of privacy concerns mental health records are not included in background checks. So ironically it is not the US’s gun culture that is to blame but Political Correctness.

Eddie, Nashville, Tennessee

Europe has fewer gun deaths.

America has fewer bomb deaths.

Roy, Minnesota, USA

To Viv: It's precisely the measures taken after Dunblane that are the reason we haven't had any more Dunblanes....

To M. Fernandez: there must be a word for the tortuous logic you use to compare gun deaths in the US with genocides in Europe (many?)... we might as well bring in the genocide of the American Indian, and just think, if the Indians had had firesticks, they might not have dwindled to a few thousand leading lives of quiet desparation on reservations...

Janni, Elkridge, Maryland

Just a quick corrective: Almost two-thirds of all gun-related deaths in America are suicides.

This still leaves an astonishing and tragically high number of violent and accidental deaths, but to say that 30,000 American lives are stolen each year by guns is tremendously misleading.

Furthermore, a vast majority of gun murders take place in areas with a concentrated population of low-income households. What makes yesterday's events so tragic and so newsworthy is the fact that, in one day, bullets from guns ended the lives of more than 30 people who - statistically - should have never been affected by gun violence in their lives.

paul, arlington, VA

Contrary to what Mr Baker says, the NRA is in fact enormously powerful and has a cadre of allies in congress which block attempts to contain this problem which btw extends far beyond regular shootings in just schools. Never a week goes by without an incident somewhere. Post offices are popular locations for some reason. The statistics are these. There are about 32,000 gun deaths in the USA each year of which about 12000 are homicides(ie. murders). In the UK murders involving guns are in the high twenties. The very tight control of gun availability in the UK by contrast with their free availability in the USA is an obvious cause of the difference but Americans simply refuse to accept it. More American exceptionalism or simple stupidity.

John, CT, USA

Who cares?!?!? Let the Americans kill each other in name of their "Freedom". The world will definetly be a better place. They are the least free people in the world but don't dare to open their eyes and see their sad situation...

Tatiana, London, UK

Well, let's just cut to the chase:

If you want my gun, you're going to have to come and get it. Make sure you're carrying a bigger gun and know how to use it. You might want to bring a few friends with guns too.

Now, have a nice day.

Viet Dinh, San Jose, California

Violence begets violence ! It is high time that the American people stand up to organisations such as the NRA and others and reduce the potential for this sort of carnage ( its impossible to eliminate) by much tougher gun controls. To those that argue against such controls, have they ever asked themselves why the US suffers from such spree killings disproportinately compared to the rest of the "developed" world. Its time to wake up and do something about it or these killings will just continue,only the names and numbers will change ! Do it and do it now !!

Peter, Vancouver, Canada

Enough critisis of America's gun laws and the fact this terrible event happened. I think most readers are using this as excuse to 'America Bash', but are forgetting our own problems in the UK. Gun problems exist here, air guns and BB guns are easily converted to live round firing 'Saturday Night Specials' at around 50GBP, not to mention illegal imports coming in from the former Yugoslavia. Just ask any of the victims or anyone working on Operation Trident. These weapons are used to maim and kill as seen in the recent events in South London. Don't be so quick to judge our allies across the Atlantic as we have extensive problems in our own backyard. If guns are made illegal in the US, as they are here then criminals would revert to knives, as they are doing here and the problem is rife in every borough of London.

The killing of 33 people could easily have happened here. In fact it has happened here, remember Hungerford and Dunblane? Don't be so hypocritical.

Scaramanga, London, London

As an American (Democrat) living in London I read with interest the comments made in the Times. I find it remarkable that these arguments focus solely on the right to bear arms. Gun control is not the problem; LACK OF COMPASSION is. The US is becoming increasingly divided both politically and socioeconomically. We must learn to respect and empathise with our neighbors, something the current administration fails to do time and time again.

Lisa, London (Boston, MA USA), UK

All the anti-american claptrap here, is just that ,claptrap. The killer was Korean. Aren't the Koreans supposed to be well-behaved Confucians? A lot of good that did his "gun-loving American" victims. Perhaps if VT had not instituted a politically correct "gun-free campus", there would be fewer dead today. What Americans realise is that you can only protect yourself... the authorities won't. That is as true in the UK as in the USA. Just ponder on the victims of UK criminal violence, before you start on your paroxisms against American culture.

Bob Kanazawa, Toronto, Canada

I'm an American who's quite proud of most forms of US exceptionalism but likewise mystified by these school shootings and the nation's attachment to guns. It's not a frontier society anymore; hasn't been for over a century. The self-defense argument is a canard; violent crime is almost exclusively found in drug-ridden dysfunctional neighborhoods; the vast majority live in neighborhoods so safe and peaceful that one can leave his house unlocked at night without any fear.

The only explanation I can come up with for why the intolerable's tolerated is that our political class once again is so terrified of a tiny minority -- the National Rifle Ass'n and other gun nuts -- that it ignores the silent, unorganized majority, esp. those families with school-age children who find this situation absurd, intolerable, and yes, un-American. Not much diff. from the illegal immigrant debacle or the inability to ensure universal health insurance: blame a corrupt and incompetent political class.

thibaud, san jose, california

I love it!.... A guy from Nevada suggesting that the UK is culturally void. Let me guess, you probably think you're a quarter Irish, right?

And another slipping in a jab at universal healthcare. Yeah, the US really looks after their "most vulnerable" now don't they?

OJ, Ottawa, Canada

It is curious how the only mass shootings happen in "gun-free" zones. You don't hear as much about the ones that were prevented or stopped early, like in the high school shooting in Pearl, Massachusetts, the mall shooting in Trolley Square shopping mall in Salt Lake City, or the college shooting in Appalachian Law School, Virginia. In each case there was a deranged killer ready to go on a rampage same as in Virginia Tech; in each case, not a single person was killed (although some were wounded); in each case, the killer was stopped quickly by an armed civilian bystander. Successful self-defense by responsible armed citizens is the real American ritual that gets acted out literally millions of times every year. The main lesson to be learned from Virginia Tech is that you cannot be safe by disarming all law-abiding citizens, sticking your head in the sand and pretending that the criminals will go along with your happy "gun-free" fiction.

Bruce, Los Angeles, USA

As an American (Democrat) living in London I read with interest the comments made in the Times. I find it remarkable that these arguments focus solely on the right to bear arms.

Gun control is not the problem; LACK OF COMPASSION is.

The US is becoming increasingly divided both politically and socioeconomically. We must learn to respect and empathise with our neighbors, something the current administration fails to do time and time again.

Lisa, London (Boston, MA USA), UK

Joel, Phoenix, AZ, USA: "Reading all these comments from the Brits makes it easy to see why they're are all subjects to their government. They'll give up anything in the name of safety!"

Owning millions of privately registered firearms has made you less subject to your government - how precisely???

Seems to me that you and many other Americans are buying into this whole "I need a gun to be safe" philosophy perpetuated by corporations and special interest groups that are run by a handful of horribly rich people who inherited their wealth and tend to make up your government. For that false sense of security, all you're doing is lining their pockets even further.

Listen carefully Joel, You may hear them sniggering.

Dan, Hampton, uk

Joe Rooney : "American murderers can't hold a candle to the mass murders perpetrated by European Governments"

Come on Joe, You're being far too modest! Several million native Americans deliberately butchered or starved to death, at least that number of civilians carpet bombed or executed in Vietnam, unconditional support given to the most murderous regimes in south america and the middle east and an estimated extra million US citizens shot by other US citizens since 1960. How's operation "Iraqi freedom" working out by the way? Several hundred thousand civilians may be dead, but didn't Halliburton's stock do well! Your government IS a contender Joe, your government IS somebody!

Oh, and this may be a difficult concept to grasp but Europe is actually composed of a number of different countries, some with very long histories indeed to say nothing of individual nationalism. But why let the facts get in the way of a good ol' rant?

Dan, Hampton, uk

The problem was, as has been pointed out more than few times on the radio in the US lately, is that NOBODY except the murrderer was armed. and that was because the university prohibits licensed gun owners from bringing their weapons in campus! So, despite that there were definitely veterans and reservists in the area, who knew how to shoot back, and could have, and most definitely would have, they were disarmed.
Unlike too many Europeans, and I suppose today that unfortunately includes most of you once formidable Brits, we Americans are not yet willing to become sheep completely dependent on government to protect us. Dear God at least I hope not!
Do we have a 'gun culture'..yes, we do. I should think that besides ourelves you Brits would recall its usefulness more than others. After all, you did at one time ask us to lay down our arms. The day we do that we will become just another Euroweenie, totally beholden-to-government state.

Ken Siegel, Needham, Massachusetts

The day Europeans quit talking about the genocide of Native Americans as if they were somehow completely uninvolved will be a glorious day. The cash went both ways (and the microbes, purposefully distributed and not, originated in the Old Country.). Please descend from the high horse -- we darklings remain unimpressed.
I do not own a gun. Likely never will, as they terrify me, and I do not want the ready means to end someone's life at my hand -- I'm just a city girl, I'm not ready for that level of realism in my life. I see no logical reason why there are more regulations concerning the safety standards teddy bears then there are for firearms.
And yet... there are countries in this world that were converted from liberal democracy to police state overnight because 50 or so illiterate guys were better armed than the general public. And seriously, people who commit illegal acts are by far and away not doing this with guns from Wal-Mart. Ponder the efficacy of the "war on drugs."

KC Ramsey, New York, New York

Let's look at the numbers. 11,624 homicides were committed by firearm in the US in 2004 (latest CDC stats, cdc.gov). In the UK, 46 people were murdered by firearm last year. So 250 times as many firearm murders are committed in the US compared to the UK. The per capita firearm murder rate is 50 times higher in the US than the UK.

So why are people saying UK gun-control laws are ineffective? Clearly they're extremely effective.

Owen, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

An excerpt from a non-negotiable portion of a 220 year old governing document:

"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. "

Liberals get hung-up on the word "militia" but even a cursory glance at the Federalist Papers will reveal that the intent of the founders centered around stanzas two and three, a free state and the RIGHT of THE PEOPLE.

If only the "educated" who all too often in casual conversation decry the 2nd amendment (without actually reading said amendment) as a relic of past times were as cavalier with the 1st.

Edward Doloughty, Chicago, USA / IL

I suppose there's enough ground for George Bush to start a pre-emptive war on South Korea or whatever country the killer came from, isn't there?

Claudio, Ascoli Piceno, Italy

"Local people frequently have their rifles in the back of their pickup truck. It makes for very polite people" -Joyce Wilson, Douglas Ga, USA

What kind of a society are you living in, if politeness is precipitated by a fear of being shot?

Pete, Cov,

I was very shocked and saddened to hear about this latest event. The only thing that suprises me is the very naive and idiotic idea that guns make us safer. Most European countries have a couple hudred gun deaths at most, hear they number several thousand. The dumbest idea I have heard is to let the teachers or possibly even the students carry guns. Just what we need is to have college students over a girlfriend or something stupid. Sure sometimes you hear about criminal being stopped by someone with a gun, but that is the exception and not the rule. Gun advocates like to point out that school shootings do not happen every day in this country. What they don't like to admit is that the vast majority of gun murders in this country take place in private homes or public places where guns are allowed. Quite often the victim is someone who owns a gun. I do not own a gun and would never consider buying one. How many more people must die before Americans give up this insane WildWest mentality.

Kevin, Lancaster, US

Do you know how many people died by firearm homicide in in the US in 2004? 11,624. (cdc.gov)

Do you know how many died by firearm homicide in the UK in 2004? 78. (homeoffice.gov.uk)

Yes, that's more than 11,600 deaths vs. 78 deaths.

That's a ratio of 150:1. We, at 300 million people, have 150 times more firearm murders than the UK, population 60 million, 1/5th our size.

Clearly we have a problem with guns in the US. An enormous problem.

Owen, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

My goodness..

Reading some of this stuff below is scary. I can't imagine what people are saying on the FOX News website!

All in the name of making themselves feel better about the havoc that their "Freedoms" seem to impose on others.

Note to self: Don't ever live in the U.S.

Hmmm. I heard that 170+ people got killed in Iraq today, but it seems that people don't want to talk about how disgusted they are about that.

As for the guy arguing that cars should be banned because people get killed by them.. The last time I checked the main function of a car was not to kill something with it. A gun on the other hand....

OJ, Ottawa, Canada

A quick question for those of you who do hold a hand gun.
If you travelled to Norway or Switzerland, would you carry your hand gun with you? 1. No because you're not allowed to. 2. No Because you don't need to. Would you be more "free" if you travelled with a gun? In these countries your freedom is not linked to whether or not you have a gun. I can understand that in certain parts of the US, where anyone can own a gun, people buy arms to protect themselves, but this just contributes to a viscious circle. For me, the real question is how to break this viscious circle as events like these will happen again. I doubt that the solution consists of buying more guns. It is urgent to stop trivializing violence in the US and for example start removing the presence of guns in children's cartoons (really, what's the point of having them in there??). And plenty more things can be done in this sense.

Nicolas, Buskerud,

A big ironic round of applause for all the Americans who are trying to justify the useless gun laws of their country. Blaming the no-guns on campus rule is ludicrous, the only answer to everyone having a gun would be that instead of the 32 killed more would have been killed by the likely cross-fire.

It's time the Americans woke up and realised that it is no longer the 18th century and to raise the standards of behaviour it expects from it's people with guns playing no role. Until the dumb gun-toting Bush doesn't go this is unlikely to happen.

Time for everyone to take responsibility for society's ills rather than laying them at one doorstep.

Observer, London, UK,

Not a bad article. Spot on about the price of freedom. You must admit though, American murderers can't hold a candle to the mass murders perpetrated by European Governments - and their European enablers. (think of any eastern block country, England in Ireland, le Terror and the Vichy, our good friends in Russia, Germany and Italy, Spain and Portugal, the Scandinavian deporters in WWII ... the list is endless.) Please read your own history books before you gape open-mouthed at us.
God Bless the USA and please grant eternal rest to those poor souls tragically lost.

Semper Fi,
Joe Rooney
Lifetime member of the NRA

Joseph Rooney, Ardsley, USA/PA

Those of you getting your nickers in a twist over U.S. gun laws need to consider for a moment that Mexico and Russia both have absolute prohibitions on handguns but have murder rates 2 and a half times, and 4 times that of the U.S, respectively. If high rates of gun owership cause violent crime, why isn't Switzerland having a murder problem? After all, they are possibly the most heavily armed nation in the civilized world.

It's also amusing that Mr. Baker cites Washington DC's gun ban, aparently ignorant of D.C. 's status as the murder capital of America...

Mark, Florida, USA

The same people who say ban handguns, probably say there are too many illegal aliens in the US to make deportation possible. Okay, let's accept that premise. Regardless of what you think about America and guns, there is no way that we can ban all guns here - just due to sheer numbers. If someone is willing to murder someone else, a gun ban isn't going to stop him. Hence, we should be able to protect ourselves. Banning guns in the US, will mean only the criminals have guns, and a lot of them. Why can't people figure that out? If you have questions about the positive impact of concealed carry and it's affect on crime, take a look at Florida and the results after it instituted the ability for law abiding citizens to get training and obtain permits. Unfortunately, when it comes to concealed carry, I now live in Illinois. We have a handgun ban in Chicago, maybe someone wants to review the statistics?

John, Wheaton, IL

So what are you going to do when all the guns are gone ? ban knives ? ...and when all the knives are gone ? ban rocks ? Maybe you and Michael Moore can get together and investigate why the JUSTICE SYSTEM is so lax. Not only in the US but in the UK and Europe mainland as well. It takes a living, breathing human being to decide to pull the trigger. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

Average Jo, Hicksville, USA

Enough with the critique of American culture by the European's. America and it's culture is no more (or less) violent than Europe. There was NO holocaust in the US. It occured in Europe. Germans, Japanese, and European Russians slaughtered countless millions of defenseless people...However, the Euro elite media regards these countries as the most peaceful and enlightened in the world.

This was a horrible incident that occured in Virgina (by a non citizen by the way). It had nothing to do with American culture or a "gun crazed" population. The vast majority of America is much safer and better managed than any city in Europe or Japan...And we have much more freedom.

The British model would NEVER work here. American's are more "individual" in their thought. Freedom is the most valuable possession an American has. The right to own a firearm is included. We have a great country.

Travers, Paris, France

After reading the comments of a few of my fellow citizens, I feel deeply embarrassed by their rabid defense of guns. The assertion that gun ownership reduces crime defies all logic.....and fact that most of the comments here are some Americans leaving rude, sanctimonious hyperbole defending guns makes my heart very sad. And such hypocrisy.....making comments like "letting the bodies cool before commenting" when you are obviously making comments yourself. What do you do? Search for different opinions than yours and then rush off to bash them? We in this country have got to learn to take and listen to constructive critcism. Our country is not above moral reproach. The Europeans have been at it much longer than we, and we may benefit from having a listen and a rational conversation. The gunman killed with LEGALLY purchased guns, as have most, if not all, in mass killings. My heart is broken at the tremendous loss of so many families, in a senseless, and sadly somewhat common tragedy.

Amanda, Knoxville, Tennessee

Last year the Virginia legislature voted down a law that would have forced universities in Virginia to allow people to carry firearms on the universities with a permit.

If a few other students had been carying guns, perhaps the killer would have only gotten off a few shots before getting killed himself. We'll never know, but I'm sure the students would have liked the opportunity to defend themselves.

Most states in the U.S. now allow permits to carry concealed firearms. It's never the people who get the permits to carry firearms that do these shootings.

What will the MP's in Great Britain do if the next mass murderer in their country stabs a bunch of people? Will they ban knives? Just wondering.

Dan, Onalaska, WI USA

VA Tech shooting is very sad and I am sorry it happened.

The reason guns are allowed here and should be are simple. A government that fears its citizens, responds to it's citizens concerns. Once the government takes guns from law abiding people that right will never be given back and other rights will then be reliquinshed by the people out of fear of the government.

Our history/constitution tells us not to trust the government or the King.

William, Salt Lake City, USA

Americans have the right to bear guns. That right was granted in the Constitution; also, soldiers cannot be billeted in private homes. Guns don't kill people;people kill people. Americans won their independence by owning and using guns.

Years ago, people in the US never locked their doors. An intruder knew the owner might be armed.

Today, America is over run by immigration. Europe is losing its face to other cultures. England has its own problems. The US is a land of the free - that's why people all over the world seek to come here. Banning guns will simply take guns away from law-abiding citizens - the crooks will still have them.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn Phillips, Fulshear, Texas

Those who don't live in this country will never be able to understand this issue. Europeans have been trained for so long to rely on the all powerful and benevolent government that they cannot understand the frame of mind that the self-reliant American is in. First off, it's a different world here. We tried banning guns in DC, didn't work. Worst murder rate in the country. On the other hand, a town in Georgia made it illegal NOT to possess a firearm and the crime rate went down to next to nothing. Like was said in the article, we don't always trust the government, and for good reason. The right to keep and bear arms isn't just for hunting or self defense but also to prevent tyrrany from rising in our own country, tyrrany that may already be too close at hand.
Americans are a revolutionary and rebellious people by nature. The only way I can see another revolution however, is in the event that the government would be stupid enough to confiscate arms. See what happens then.

Danny , Archbold, Ohio

"Consent of the governed" is a quaint and meaningless slogan absent the ability to enforce withjdrawal of that consent. By my reading of history, organized governmental actions have murdered perhaps 10,000 times more innocents than armed individuals since the advent of the firearm - particularly where citizens arms have been confiscated. Europeans, it seems are quite exemplary in that regard. Perhaps then, you may forgive this despicable American NRA member for putting little stock in effete European rantings. While I find much to admire in European history, the European present is uninspired to say the least; its future is likely nonexistent.

Steven Chernus, Pittsburgh, PA

This event is very sad. But it happened using guns illegally purchased, in a gun-free zone. And as long as a sizable minority of our citizens continue to be properly armed, it creates a culture not naive to the use of force, and largely responsible, and a whole lot free than other countries. China might brag about it's tough gun control laws, but how many Chinese have died at the government's hands in the last 50 years? Germany might brag about it's low murder rate, but the Holocaust will always be a stain. These are but two examples of what happens when you remove guns from responsibile, law-abiding citizens- mass murder, not just a random atroicity. Even Britain once had a proud history of having ordinary citizens carryign weapons- from being the first to allow citizens to own swords and spears, to a long history of private gun ownership. Sadly, the British are forgetting their history- and thus losing their glory, honor, and influence inthe world. The US will not.

Kyle, Detroit, Michigan, USA

With regards to the comments by Jim in New York: I have not been “brainwashed” by the NRA. Your statement that “Well cars perform another somewhat practical function unlike guns which are to kill people only” confirms that as a true liberal, you will never let facts get in the way of a good argument. This website is full of half-truths and outright falsehoods by the anti-gun crowd.

Here are some facts: Guns have many functions, the least of which is “to kill people”. I have been a recreational, competitive shooter since I was 10 years old, I have used guns to hunt and provide food for my family and on two separate occasions have thwarted the attempts by armed criminals to bring harm to my family or myself. In both cases my possession of and knowledge about how to use a concealed weapon resulted in the safety of my family and the incarceration of the criminal.

I will never subordinate the right to defend myself or my family to the government.

Karl Holfeld, Hana, Hawaii, US

The funny thing is, that Americans must be feeling that they aredefending a Status Quo which is indefendable.
Even without tyhe mighty accusations that they try to falsify.
Just count the American posts and the european posts.
A lot of americans defending themselves to very few accusations.
Seems like you realy try to concince yourselves that you are right.

Other Thing: Many Americans refer to Bosnia or similar european countries, when they say: "Europeans mind your own business!"

Bosnia is as much of a foreign country to brittain, or germany as America, or Saudi Arabia.
Besides that we try hard to get rid of these inequalities instead of pointing at our neighbours and saying: "But they are just as bad!"
Germany is not Bosnia.

Besides that I can't believe that Americans are actually that obsessed about weapons as it seems here.

Anton, Berlin, Germany

We'd need three more Cho Seung-Huis to equal one Hillsborough riot.

Seven more Cho Seung-Huis to equal one Harold Shipman.

300 more Cho Seung-Huis (or ten Hurricane Katrinas for that matter) to equal one hot French summer's worth of law-abiding, state-trusting people left to die by a state and a people too busy with their summer vacations to bother with their most vulnerable citizens.

The US has its pathologies, to be sure, but look in the mirror Europe before casting so much mud at the US

Carole Miller, Austin, TX, USA

"But we Europeans do constantly thank the Russians that we don't speak German!"

Where I come from, we thank the Canadians ;)

starling, Lancaster,

"GUNS DONT KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!!!!

If the guy'd had a knife, he wouldn't have been able to kill 32 people.

And could you read the rest of the comments? That phrase has been used (and refuted) to death.

starling, Lancaster,

I wish you would all just read your own constitution.

"Amendment II

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."

This clearly means that American's have the right to bear arms TO ENSURE THE SECURITY OF A FREE STATE. This does not give any individual the right to sleep with five guns under their pillow, much less walk into their local Wal-Mart or wherever it is you get them and buy them off the shelf.

Also, Josh from Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as many others who have commented here may want to take into consideration the fact that more Americans are killed every year from gun crime than are killed in the UK from car accidents. Obviously the UK is only about a third of the size but I think the point is made.

Auriol, Oxford, England

H. Rapp Brown said it best:

"Violence is as American as cherry pie."

What is the use of the stuff about praying for families and repeating the trite, "my heart goes out"?

This stuff, too, is so sadly American.

Kill and pray. Isn't that what the Marines do in Iraq?

John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada

Fortunately guns allowed our country to kick the criminal England out of our country. It seems interesting that there is more people killed in England, where guns are outlawed then in America. Millions of Americans with guns protect themselves every single year. Long live the 2nd amendment!

Gregory, Medford, OR

As a citizen of the United States I will say the gun laws are too laxed. Criminals can easily buy guns through black market. Guns are sold with few regulations at gun shows. Many law adbiding citizens also buy hand guns because they are afraid. Guns among gangs are many. As mentioned in another reader's response, jail sentences are very light for persons caught with guns, especially those under the age of eighteen years of age. Guns, gangs and violance are glorified in rap music. Living in America is dangerous. Law makers..please help.

Claudia P., Rancho Cucamonga, CA, United States

I have to chuckle at the condemnations by those in the old world. What contintent saw the two most vicious, deadly conflicts in world history? Ahem, I believe it was Europe. And what settlers started the genoicide against the Indians...I believe it was the English in the lead.
I agree that no regular Joe needs a semiautomatic weapon. But I have no problem with Americans being able to own hunting and weapons for self-defense. I own NEITHER, but in America, that is my choice.

Mordechai, Fairfax, VA

"Why is it that I notice that most comments are almost by us Yanks and UK people hardly ever comment in their own paper? Are you all too shy?"

When the comments are overrun by you Yanks, the mods get so busy that the UK people don't get posted.

starling, Lancaster,

The 2nd amendment was written for muskets. Not automatic weapons and grenade launchers.

Nick, Milton Keynes, UK

How does one keep an obvious mental deranged person from this type of horror. It reminds me of suicide bombers, who use anything to kill and think nothing of including innocent victims.

I believe if a gun was not available, he would have found a way to commit this heinous act anyway.

Stella , Marshall, VA

Susan, Franklin Park, NJ

Yes, lefties want to abolish guns to stop the killing yet have no problem with partial-birth abortion. You're a HYPOCRIT

MCD, Elmhurst, USA

"...oh my god, you call that freedom?..."

Yet another of the billions worldwide who have no concept of the word Freedom.

Keith, Indianapolis, IN/ USA

Ok, as an US citizen I apologize for my right to bear arms neighbors. I don't think any death by gun violence is less important than my right to bear arms. What the gun nuts won't say is how many of their weapons are stolen on a daily basis and then used to commit a crime. The right to bear arms is not more important than our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The killings have got to stop. The right to bear arms has to be readdressed.

Cathy Snedeker, Kettering, Ohio

Guns are tools designed to assist people in killing people - and they are extraordinarily effective in that task.

We don't allow sarin gas to be sold with just an ID check. US citizens aren't allowed to purchase one cyanide canister a month. Flamethrowers are not available at Walmart. Uranium 235 isn't available for purchase at the sporting goods store. Why? Because these are tools designed to kill people, and for some reason, we think they're too dangerous to be sold to the public. Why then do we turn a blind eye to guns, the tools that result in over 11,000 homicides a year in the US?

Guns are tools of death, and should be treated as such.

Owen, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

We'd need three Cho Seung-Huis to equal one Hillsborough.

We'd need about six more Cho Seung-Huis to equal one Harold Shipman.

And about 300 more Cho Seung-Huis to equal one hot French summer's worth of people relying on the state to take care of their most vulnerable.

Whatever your opinion of guns, Europeans should look to themselves before hurling such easy criticisms at the US.

Carol Miller, Austin, TX, USA

And this from a country which is economical powerless, culturally void and militarily weak. Sure, America has problems, all of which are opened to debate and discussion. Thats what makes America the strenth of the world. Where would any of you worthless Europeans be without America? Critize US all you want, but who among you wouldn't give your left leg to be US? I wish Britian would rediscover her Greatness again. America could use the help. Oh, and be sure not to stare at those victumized Muslims in your country.... you wouldn't want to offend them.

ernest, Reno, Nevada, USA

It's people like you who are ruining this country..... To quote one of mine and millions of others favorite sayings.

"GUNS DONT KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!!!!

Taking away guns from the people will do no good. If a deranged person wants to kill people, he or she will simply use another means of doing so. Face it, the liberal gun control lefties will never have power in this country. THANK GOD!

Tom Corkins, Hood River, Oregon

Either nobody should carry the gun or everybody should carry the gun ... you guys choose.

Master thinking from a Chinese man

wx, SD,

I should add that I have the capacity to make a gun if I want with no trouble at all from stuff from the hardware store. I could make a bomb with directions from the internet. So, how well would a gun and bomb ban work with those Palestinians?

Tony Harkin, Copperas Cove, Texas

That pesky little document, the United States Constitution, always upsets your quite clearly more well developed sensibilities. However, ponder this: the application of the Fourth Amendment's exclusionary rule routinely allows criminals back onto the street to commit more violence, which is a small price to pay to keep the state from arbitrarily searching property or seizing persons. Similarly, the Second Amendment, so hated by leftists here, and all sensible, cultured Europeans, was included to assauge the fears of the anti-federalists of overarching federal power. See The Federalist Papers. However, all the amendment did was to codify and give political meaning to the existing common law right to possession of firearms for the defense of one's home and hunting. While tragic, the loss of life in this instance, as in every instance of gun violence, is but a small price to pay for a retention of that most charished societal good: freedom!

D. Vincent Berg, esq., Memphis, TN

Our problem is not the lack of laws but the enforcement of the laws we have. This nation was found as a Christian nation and try as we may to seperate church and state the government has done nothing to ESTABLISH a national religion, yet, all our laws are based on the simple Ten Commandments. If only we could find a way to enforce the basic laws we have and stop adding we might find a way to prevent another Virginia Tech trajedy.

Richard, Sandusky, Ohio

A majority of gun owners are responsible law abiding citizens who use keep them for recreational and protection uses. Putting stricter gun laws in place will have no effect on the exceptional, delusional few who decide to commit such heinous acts. The maniacs determined enough to go through with it will find a way to obtain weapons, just as drug addicts have found ways to obtain illegal substances. There are already significant gun laws in place in the US. It's repetative, but: Guns do not kill; people do.

I thank God those closest to me at Tech are safe, but a number of my loved ones have lost friends and family at yesterday’s massacre. I cannot imagine the pain that they must be going through. I am outraged that instead of focusing on helping those affected, so many people, both in the US and and in UK have immediately began placing blame on Virginia Tech’s admin, on gun laws, on the American society. The only one to blame is the murderer himself, and that man has already rid society of his existence.

Denise, Fairfax, VA, USA

Interpol 2001 crime statistics (rate per 100,000):

* 4161 - US
* 7736 - Germany
* 6941 - France
* 9927 - England and Wales

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/01/ncrime01.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/12/01/ixhome.html

We may hold the record on gun crime, but overall crime..... Britain takes the cake...

Chris, Altanta, USA

i'm not going to read all the comments (153 so far!) b/c i'm sure there are plenty of inane, stupid, hateful etc among the bunch. i'm a proud american and believe fervently we live in the greatest country in the world. is it perfect? of course not. no country is. but there is more freedom here to do whatever you want then anyplace in the world. there's more of just about anything you could want available, too. the truth is, we're the envy of the world. our culture dominates the world. that is why so many people want to live here.
i was not offended in the least by your commentary as i found it to be well balanced and accurate. but, we do have a 2d amendment that, as an individual right, guarantees the right to bear arms. now, you folks in britain and the rest of europe might think this quaint, but this right should not be usurped by the make-up of our Supreme Court but instead changed only by amendment (i.e. the people)as envisioned by the framers of our const and bill of rights.

mryan, okc, ok

I wonder if those Americans who so fervently support the freedom to bear arms would be as supportive of the Iraqi government, if it decided to enact gun laws that mirrored the USA's own?

Tim , Gibraltar, Gibraltar

I am not a gun nut... I dont own one, never shot one, and am moderate to liberal in my views. However, stats show that the more people that armed and have weapons, the less violence. There are arguments on both sides of the issue however if more people were allowed to carry arms.. law abiding citizens, maybe 2 people would have died rather than 32.
No matter if you ban guns or not, those who want them, need them, and carry out senseless acts like that of yesterday, all of the gun ban laws won't prevent it.

Chris, Boston USA,

Do you see now, my friends in Britain, why it is so hard for those of us who favor strict gun laws to make any changes? I've never owned a gun, never wanted to, never needed one. I have no illusions that this or any other tragedy will change minds here. Either guns are a macho status symbol, or people are so terrified of those who are of a different race, culture, neighborhood, or economic status that they feel they must arm themselves against those they see as the enemy.

Denise Alter, Loxahatchee, FL

TIME OUT!!!!......THANK YOU TIMES, where else but on a British on-line paper can you find American patriots arguing so passionately about gun control. Not in the states. Thank you Times for providing the forum!

Mike Hermsen, Omaha, Nebraska/U.S.A.

Gerard Baker's selective morality is the usual straight-from-the-factory Euro hypocrisy. Let's compare Bosnia to Virginia Tech University, shall we?

Elsewhere in the TimesOnline, another columnist extolls the virtues of butchering developing human life that is still in the womb. Talk about violent love affairs!

I'll take our gun culture over your love affair with ethnic cleansing and genocide (this would also include Euro sanctimony and cowardice in the face of these episodes). Lets compare body counts from Euro massacres of the past 20 years to the periodic gun massacres of deranged individuals who represent a tiny subfraction of American gun owners.

Louis C., Los Angeles, CA

Typical reaction from the wooly left. Mr Baker should really spend more time looking at the Times' stories about the gun crime in the "gun-controlled" UK, which, it seems to me, is really out of control. I was planning on going to the UK on vacation but have recently changed my plans due to the violence there.

J. Fiennes, Denver, Colorado, US

"Lethal commitment to its own freedoms." Imagine that! People from all around the world come to the United States for that freedom and thousands die yearly in pursuit of similar freedoms. It would seem that no commitment to freedom is too great, especially in a time when those freedoms are being threatened from within our own societies. The right to bear arms is a citizen's final protection against the tyranny of his own government. Without it we have no way to fight back when all other methods have failed and they do fail. Long live the "lethal commitment" to freedoms.

Jo Daley-Croft, Salt Lake City, Utah, US

Wow, where to begin with the utter nonsense from Mr. Baker and others like him in the comments section.
First, the perp in this case was CHINESE!!! If some American came to the UK and shot up a schoolyard full of kids, who would the British be blaming do u think?
Second, some people have asked how arming teachers and students would help. Well, let's say you were a student on the VaTech campus yesterday and you were actually allowed to carry a gun on campus. Wouldn't you have done something to prevent further bloodshed, or even any bloodshed at all?
Third, there is the old anti-American nonsense that this is all due to those nasty colonials and their violent tendencies. Never mind the fact that the crime rate is much higher in London than in New York or that even a cursory look at Euro history shows that Euros favorite pastime seems to be starting world wars and murdering each other, or conquering non-European countries and murdering the natives there. Spare me the lecture

John, DC,

Ah yes, the typical holier-than-thou elitist drivel spewing forth from the ever so pious and arrogant socialist Euro-crowd. I find it ever so amusing when the culture that has given us Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and a host of assorted tyrants and blood lusts over the centuries comments on something of which they have no expertise or knowledge. Please do us barbarians across the pond a favor by keeping your nose out of our busines and calling upon someone else to be your fire brigade the next time the flames of tyranny are licking at your boots!

Patrick Prater, Fenton, USA / MI

The guns obtained in this case most likely were obtained illegally. Criminals and potential criminals find sources to obtain illegal and unregistered firearms before they perpetrate crimes. There are so many illegal firearms throughout the U.S. and the world at large that any criminal could locate these weapons and ammunition for their nefarious actions.

As in all previous mass murderer school situations this disturbed maniac appeared to be a loner, had social/communication problems, was an outcast, didn't fit in with any social circle of friends and apparently had psychotic psychological problems. The main question is why didn't anyone notice this ticking timebomb before he exploded? He obviously didn't wake up yesterday morning and decide at that moment to carry on the murderous rampage. He must have planned this for quite some time. This is a very disturbing matter. It's not entirely about the choice of weapon. A crude roadside bomb could have yielded the same result.

Christine, Delray Beach, USA/Florida

Gun control by itself is not the solution. There are similar per-capita levels of gun ownership in other 1st world countries outside the US. The reason why upwards of ten thousand Americans are shot to death each year (almost 100% by other Americans) is a purely United states malaise. There is something within the national psyche that permits this to happen and this is what needs to be adressed.

In short, I don't believe that there are any easy answers, particularly where self-analysis is involved. But when you figure that somewhere like half a million United states citizens have been shot to death by other United states residents since 1950, the answers have got to be worth finding.

That particular task can only be done by the United States populace. Good luck to them, if enough of them stand up to be counted they can do it.

Dan, Hampton, uk

Lobbyists have a lot of power in the US. Therein lies much of the problem; there are a lot of voters in the U.S. who would like to see smarter and tougher restrictions regarding gun control.
VT's horrible day yesterday sickens and saddens; i also think of how quickly we are forgetting that the perpetrator was over here on a student visa---something else that desperately needs tightening over here!
The enthusiasm of some of the writers on this board to jump on the anti-American sentiment wagon is almost laughable. This country is a wonderful place and just like many of the other wonderful places in this world you will find quality people and people of no quality.

R.C., Lebanon, USA/Ohio

Gerald Baker is typical of the European tendency of looking down his nose from a mangy fast degrading British lion that thinks we are nothing but cowboys. England had a school that was shot up with I believe seventeen dead. Australia had similar incidents, and there was one particular bloodbath in a school in 1927 that killed 45 people involving explosives by some chap. While we cherish freedoms, albiet with sometimes dreadful cost, I am watching a Europe whose falling birthrates, lack of faith in their nation, culture, and future, make them easier pray to those historical forces which will one day overtake them, inspite of a big brother who they easily deride, that has saved their pathetic posteriors several times in the last century.

John Kirschman, Peyton, Colorado

While it may be true that we do have frequent shootings, these deaths are much smaller amount than the mass deaths that frequently occur in countries where private ownership of guns is banned. I'd much rather take the occasional mas murder by psycho's when you compare it with the mass executions of millions by governments run amok. Remember Germany (6 million+), the USSR (40 million+), Cambodia (1 million+), Rwanda, China, etc, etc. ?Do we have a murder rate higher than these countries. Yes, of course, but unlike those places our government will never kill millions of us because we have the will AND the means to resist.

Tim P, Central New York Sate, New York

Having scanned through the responses already posted I am, as always, embarrassed at the way Americans represent themselves on the world stage. I have to assume that someone who is a member of the NRA or some other pro-gun organization read this piece, and sent out a call for outraged responses. Otherwise I cannot understand how so many of these postings are so pro-gun.

I hope that my one opinion can try to represent the millions of Americans who truly agree with the rest of the industrialized world: we need much stronger gun laws, including outlawing all handguns and automatic weapons. Many of us hope that, given a new Congress and a new President (soon, thank god), we will be able to stop the culture of violence and war that our current government is spreading both here and, very unfortunately, all over the world. This culture is largely responsible for the violence we see all too often, and throwing up our hands in despair cures nothing.

Eliza, Easthampton, MA

T. Roth, Danbury, CT, USA: "That said, the disgusting, sanctimonious, stereotyping crowing coming off every British news comment board is so disgusting..."

Count 'em up. There's not many that would make that grade. Perhaps even less than the bile coming back in the other direction. Remember, these comments are chosen by the board admins.

Dan, Hampton, uk

Instead of blaming the means by which a crazed man committed these horrific acts, it is time to ask why the university killer had the opportunity to do so. While very intellectually convenient to blame the big bad American gun lobby for the circumstances that facilitated a shooting spree, perhaps the focus should be on why this killer was on that university campus in the first place. Could it have been because it would have been politically incorrect to remove an Asian immigrant with “emotional challenges” from a state-funded, public institution? The issue is not about the American obsession with guns: it is the American obsession with a political correctness that refuses to see anything more important than pandering to a hypersensitive concern for individual feelings while ignoring within society the existence of a greater good.

David Ruppert, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Andrews from Vail Co:

But we Europeans do constantly thank the Russians that we don't speak German!

Bill, Portsmouth, UK

Haven't you Brits ever heard of the deterrent factor? In the UK, only the criminals have the guns, & the innocents are helplessly walking the streets while they are beaten / stabbed / killed. The answer is not banning everything as you Brits (& more recently, my home country of Australia) always suggest whenever there is a firearm death. The US is the only country i have ever felt safe in. I was robbed & bashed twice while living in Australia, & my brother was robbed at gunpoint. Neither of us have had one single problem in our 5 years in the US. The gun deterrent works, & if some London style gang-banger happens to walk up to me in downtown Houston - intent on kiilling me just because he knows i can't defend myself - he has another thing coming. The fact that the US hasn't decended into a bloodbath is evidence enough of their level of social civility. Can you imagine US-style gun rights in the UK? You bunch of heathens (anti-Christian connotation intended) would exterminate yourselves

Andrew, Portland, OREGON

Enough of the arguing back and forth and pointing out each others ills and problems. This is a tragedy whether it occured here in America or elsewhere in the world.

Thank you, Julie in London, for pointing out that "America bashing" is not need.

I would like to offer another thought...isn't the real problem the breakdown of the family in our societies. Whether we are in Europe, Asia, Australia or the Americas the strength of the family unit has weakened causing people such as this young Korean man to find strength and power by other means. I ask, how did his family fail him? Were they clueless to his needs?

Isn't the real issue the loss of respect that young people have for parents, family, God and authority?

Unfortunately, in our modern society these are overshadowed by money, greed and power.

Christopher, San Francisco, California

Robert, London, UK: I must admit that I'm still trying to find anything anywhere within your diatribe that addresses the topic under discussion. Is that because you have no point to make?

Take a wrong turn down any city in the US and you're at the same risk you pontificate about. If Britain is a "brutal society" how much worse is a country with a greater per-capita murder rate?

Ironically enough, I agree with you regarding sentencing. This is a problem that is getting worse, not better. We urgently need more draconian laws to combat crime comitted by the under 16's and we need it now.

The US's problem with gun ownership is not ownership per se (as evidenced by other 1st world countries with similar levels) but rather the US attitude of shooting each other dead. Almost 100% US citizens BY US citizens. The only people who will ever change this ARE US citizens. Guns are a huge industry in the US and it seems money and macho selfishness are still more important than life.

Dan, Hampton, uk

Nice, Chmaps.
Surely you need to protect yourself from the oh so dangerous world.
But, statistically, families who posses guns are far more likely to kill, or be killed.
In Germany even criminals hardly have actual guns.
A knife is the most dangerous thing you might expect when coming across a killer.

Sure. A massacre can be done everywhere, if someone really wants to.
but what about the ones who are now being discouraged by laws.

don't you understand that your personal freedom is cut down by the fact that any junky can easily get a gun in America?
You have to feel unsafe all the time.
In that situation I would want a gun as well, but I would also fight to change hte status quo.

Anton, Berlin, Germany

Interesting to see that most of the comments here are not about the huge loss of life, but are seemingly geared towards debating the validity of US gun law. Something worth considering is why the Police (those with the most reason to bear arms) did not respond in a timely and appropriate fashion. If they had done so then the question of other students defending themselves with their own guns might be of no consequence. I personally have no problem with people owning firearms, but would a campus full of university students be a bright idea?

Alex, York, England

Don't we just love to point the finger and moralise. Let's start a sensible debate about our own problems, for example a government that has essentially turned to thuggery in its desperate pursuit of taxes for one, a lot of strange people immigrating that we don't much like for another (and there's many more). Our problems may not have the drama and finality of shooting and death, but they are just as insidious and soul destroying. In fact there's precious little evidence that a kind-hearted soul can actually survive in this 'culture' of ours that we're so ready to claim as superior.

Our hearts must go out to the deceased families and all good hearted Americans who would like to change their culture for the better. This is *their* problem to solve in *their* way. Now is not the time to climb into the pulpit and preach the tired sermon of gun prohibition. Give it a rest and start to work on our own problems. God knows, we have enough of them.

Rob Riches, Croydon, UK

You nailed it james from mooresville. Most these people are just drooling for a chance to bash America.

daniel , salina, ks

Nothing like a tragedy to bring out a little (or a lot of) America bashing.

Our culture is not "at odds" with the rest of the civilized world, it is at odds with leftists who haven't even a modicum of common sense left.

Bob Dearman, West Bloomfield, MI, USA

In many of the above posts Americans have used the deluded argument that the difference in gun fatalities between British and American countries is the number differences in populace, however with British gun crime at a huge 20 a year and US with just a mere 20,000 is the argument still viable when you see that America only possesses three times the amount of people than the United Kingdom. With the united kingdom being more densly populated wouldn't you expect the figures to be the opposite?

The gun laws in the UK state that it is illegal to possess a such a weapon...guns are near impossible to get hold of where i live. Notice how although we have large amounts of crtime, they usually do not result in fatalities because of the lack of a weapon to inflict these kinds of wounds so easily.

The americans who use the arguments "it's illegal anyway" to have a weapon on campus obviously don't understand the concept that even if it is illegal to bring a weapon onto campus it won't stop the

Ben , Oxford, UK

The ignorant, knee-jerk reaction to such crimes is always to call for more gun-control. Well, the utilitarian argument for more gun-control was just proven wrong, again! How many more have to die before people realize that we cannot outsource personal safety or ever perfectly prevent anyone who wants to do evil on the innocent? If the Virginia legislature had not struck down a law to permit concealed carry on state campuses then there is a very good chance that between 3%-6% of the faculty/student body would have had a weapon (the national average in states that permit concealed carry). As has happened many times elsewhere, responsible individuals on the scene would have been able to stop the carnage much sooner, probably limiting it to only the first two murders. Making schools "gun-free zones" only puts a sign out for crazies -- here's a target-rich, low risk environment! Come and have your way. Has banning drugs worked? No! Banning guns only lowers the risk for criminals.

David, Keene, New Hampshire, USA

Gun laws? Last I checked, criminals don't obey laws. Much like this shooter broke the law by bringing a gun on campus. I don't own a gun and have no desire to own one but I wouldn't want laws which made guns illegal for the millions out of law abiding citizens who own one.

Jack, Tampa, USA

oh my god, you call that freedom?

amy, london,

At the news conference, one official even said if only some of the victims also possessed a gun, then they might well be able to defend themselves. Presumably students should take fire power to classroom just in case there is a shooting match? They do have a point for who in their right would trust one of those well-fed, pot-belly, tip-toed walking policemen who are armed to teeth but only arrived when everyone had died!

ruth wong, london,

Typical blather gives more evidence of why the "Great "left "Britain" a long time ago.

Gerry Shuller, Los Angeles,

(Samuel, Edinburgh)

This coming from someone in bloody Europe is laughable. My grandfather was called to serve and help stop Europe's blood thirst in WW1. My Father was called to serve and help stop Europe's genocide in WW2. So please enough of the lecture from a European, I noticed you said the last 50 years why not the last 65 years or 100 years hmmmmmm. No wonder the Fourth of July is so important to me and many American's.

Gerry Kubly, Beloit, WI

"ghast at US gun violence but willing to make a buck (or a Euro) from it eh ?"

I'm not. Most Europeans are not. So why are we hypocritical? What a strange, twisted argument.

starling, Lancaster,

Reading all these comments from the Brits makes it easy to see why they're are all subjects to their government. They'll give up anything in the name of safety!

Joel, Phoenix, AZ, USA

I believe that, in fact, the uncertainty criminals have about who may be carrying a concealed weapon (or have weapons in their home) is a deterrent. Even a suicide bomber risks being gunned down by a citizen in the US before he an unleash his cargo in a shopping mall or in a subway. I'm safer if good, law-abiding citizens in my community have guns as well as the criminals. You may not like it or understand it, but millions and millions of Americans agree.

Marjorie, Columbia, Missouri

If you read the comments here there are an alarming number of people who have been completely brainwashed by the NRA.
"Cars kill people so why not outlaw cars". Well cars perform another somewhat practical function unlike guns which are to kill people only.
" If you outlaw guns then outlaws will have them" precisely. If caught with one you are a criminal and should go to jail. That is the point.
"It isn't guns that kill people it is people" Indeed but if it turns out that this Asian student walked into his local Walmart and bought these guns doesn't that magnify his crime of passion ?
"Arm the teachers or other students" Brilliant idea. 26,000 students all with concealed weapons. Let' all send our kids there, it will be much safer.
" There are so many guns already it is too late". We have been so wrong for so long let's not even bother to try and change.
"I happens in other countries so it is not just our problem" Yes but it happens here a lot lot more
I wonder why NRA .

Jim, New York, NY

Local people frequently have their rifles in the back of their pickup truck. It makes for very polite people.

My blue collar working class neigbors participate in the local turkey shoot (a shooting contest from pioneer America). They ;don't miss. No one breaks into their houses, assualts their children, or steals from their parked trucks in spite of the fact that there are drug dealers one block away.

Joyce Wilson, Douglas Ga, USA

I am an middle-aged American woman who thoroughly OPPOSES the right to bear arms!

This massacre is an atrosity and surely is proof that something needs to be done about gun laws.

The NRA needs to be crushed so that the politicans in Washington don't feel the pressure to pass weak gun laws, or no ogun laws at all.

This type of "gun" crime makes me ashamed to be an American.

Katherine, Boston, MA, USA

The chances of getting stabbed, beaten, strangled, poisoned etc are pretty much the same in the US as the UK. The chance of getting shot is about 100 times greater in the US (were guns are common) than it is in the UK (where guns are rare). These figures speak for themselves.

Matthew, Ringwood, UK

I am an American, I am anti-gun and anti-NRA. I have never owned or used a gun, and I know no one who has. That said, the disgusting, sanctimonious, stereotyping crowing coming off every British news comment board is so disgusting that I'm starting to think that our unfortunate gun society is less sick than one that produces people who revel in others' misery for the sake of underscoring their prejudices or reaffirming their bigotry. Never in a million years would you find Americans crowing "I told you so" or "only in Britain" or "they got what they deserve" after, for instance, a terrorist tube bombing. Shame on you.

T. Roth, Danbury, CT, USA

How about asking the 8,000 men and boys murdered in Bosnia while being protected by the UN whether they wanted to die or have a weapon? Why not ask the people in Darfur if they want to be defenseless, or have guns?
We have already experienced the British government; that is why we keep our guns. of course, you can't help feeling the way you do, you aren't free anymore.

Robin Roberts, Leavenworth, USA/Kansas

To Goldberg, Flower Mound:

Comparing things to hitler automatically makes your position false. It's a Reductio ad Hitlerum.

And to John Shanley, Feasterville: I like your ammo tax idea! Like Scott Adams said:

"I believe all people should be able to have any weapons they want. But only I should have the ammo."

Jack, Gosport, England

It doesn't surprise me that there is a general lack of knowledge here about the 2nd Amendment, but if you're going post about it you should at least educate yourself.

The 2nd Amnt. says, "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."

If one does a little research into the discussions at the time the Bill of Rights was being debated , it is clear that the founding fathers defined the "militia" as all citizens not part of a regular army AND that the reason for the Amendment was for the people to protect themselves from danger, including that posed by their own government. "...The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed", is crystal clear.

The idiot who did this broke at least a dozen laws to do so..a few more wouldn't have stopped him. Washington DC has had a gun ban in effect for years and it has more gun violence than any city in the country. Wake up libs.

American, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Why are these shootings you mention universally in schools? Why not in corporate offices or gas stations or resturants? Because it is only in schools that people are universally disarmed. I.e. the so called "Gun Free School Zones".

The killer was able to casually walk around, gunning pople down, reloading as necessary. No one had the means to stop him.

The problem is not lack of gun control, the problem is too much gun control.

Abe, Columbia, MO

It isn't the prevalence of legal guns. Most guns in the U.S. are legal and most are longguns in private possession. What this Korean man had no ordinary American would own. I'd like to point out that Virginia is a concealed weapons state, meaning that it is legal with a permit to carry a firearm legally on your person out of sight.....except...on college campuses. One reason the carnage was so terrible is that the Virginians were law-abiding. They didn't bring their weapons into the university. If they had, that gunman would have been killed immediately and 30 lives saved.
Outlawing guns doesn't work. That just deprives the ordinary law-abider of justifiable defenses and we all know that in countries that have very strict gun ownership policies or outright bans, the criminals still are armed.
I keep a longgun at home for protection out in the country. It's too long to just shoot without a conscious decision. Shortguns do make me nervous. Anything automatic should be illegal.

M.Paul, Springfield, MO., USA

I wonder why this comment forum has turned such a sad story into UK/Europe v USA. Some Commentators here are missing the point.

Charlotte, Wiltshire, UK

I only wish Germany had the same fear of their government in the 40's that we have now.

Darren Bettinger, Warsaw, IN

Chad in Utah: "Guns are a lot less accessible than they were 20 or 40 or more years ago. And 40 years ago, these sorts of things did not happen hardly at all"

In the 80's the murder rate by firearm in the US was marginally higher than it is now. More than a million US citizens have died in the US by being shot since the 60's. Your self-proclaimed facts don't seem to be holding much water. Chad, denial's not a river in Utah either.

Dan, Hampton, uk

I blame violent video games. They should be banned, or age restricted.

Tom, London, England

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a country whose so called ' royal marines ' even with guns won't defend
themselves should lecture us in America just because
that south korean kook was lucky enough not to run into
one of us gun totin' Americans who would have .The
problem wasn't the guns in the shooters hands it was the lack of guns in the hands of the other 32 people .

Jim Barrow, Lake Charles, U.S.A.

You Brits just don't get it. Simply put, the damage inflicted by a maniac with a gun is an acceptable price to pay for our freedom. We will pay that and much more.

Bob, Langhorne, US/PA

the bill of rights (that they state they have a right to bear arms) is in the context of the time it was written and that only if there is no local militia(police) so in todays world they are breaking their own rules,by selling these guns in supermarkets.madness that always reeks havoc.

darrell prest, halifax, england

No matter if you agree or disagree, as an American, I have the same right to own a firearm as I do the right to free speech and the right to vote, end of story. I have the right and the duty to defend myself and my family from those that would do us harm. No matter what laws there are, the guns are not going to go away. When you make guns illegal, only the criminals will have the guns. How do I defend my family then? I can't help but wonder how many fewer would have died if the staff or students had the right to carry a legal handgun on campus.

Matthew, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Baker apparently does not live in the
Washington DC area which has strict gun laws and enforces them. A woman used a pistol to protect her teen daughter from being raped by an intruder. The mother went to jail and intruder went free. No guns means no guns. Perhaps that is why during the past 18 years Washington DC has been known worldwide as the Murder Capitol of America.The poilice have no interest in protecting anyone. They come in AFTER the fact. You want my guns, Molon Labe.

Wanda, Belton, Texas / USA

We live in a tough world. People are unpredictable and capable of horrible acts, as we saw yesterday. Simply put: our Founding Fathers had the foresight to constitutionally guarantee our right to self-defense. Had Virginia Tech not second guessed this right, at least people may have had a chance to defend themselves.

This young man from South Korea committed an atrocity - thanks to policies based on political correctness and irrational fear, the students were led as lambs to the slaughter. Don't think for a second that this is the last time something like this will happen. Will we give the future victims of evil deeds a chance to protect themselves, or will we continue to sacrifice lives to naive idealism?

Also: too many of these posts come from Europeans who forget the means whereby they now don't speak German.

Andrews, Vail, CO

Gerard, you got one thing right in your article: "This is rooted deep in the American belief in individual freedom and a powerful suspicion of government," which in turn is the reason for our Second Amendment. Don't forget that these shootings happen on schools where the Second Amendment is being ignored and no guns are allowed on campus. Whenever a shooting occurs at a mall or some other public place, the rampage is usually cut short by an off-duty police officer or another responsible citizen with a concealed-carry permit. Along with individual responsibility comes the responsibility to defend yourself. The government cannot be in all places at all times, less we give up our freedom to a "big brother" state. You are right that most American's support gun ownership, which is one of the main reasons Al Gore lost the Presidency in 2000.

Shawn, Pleasant Unity, USA/PA

The horror of yesterday's shootings at Virginia Tech will stimulate a national debate about gun control, perhaps even amongst presidential contenders. The debate will be shrill on both sides and will last approximately six weeks or until another disaster pushes it aside. It has become that predictable. We are a nation with a pathological taste for sensationalism, horror, and scandal. We are the Romans of the modern world, sad to say.

Gary Goins, Atlanta, Georgia

I find it interesting that citizens of a country with such an imperialistic past of imposing their rules and laws on the indigenous people of other countries can honestly comment on this forum about American's "tainted" past. Many Brits here are quite happy to jump on the hypocritical bandwagon of America-bashing. Get over your bitterness and try to have some empathy for your neighbors across the Atlantic. For goodness sake: 32 people have been killed.

Julie, London, UK

I heard about Gerard Baker's commentary on the university radio station in Boulder/Colorado while driving to work. Thank you for the well-taken points. I cannot believe that in the face of this unbelievable tragedy some of my fellow Americans suggest that more wide-spread gun possession would reduce the problem. Are they among those with the "Respect Life" car license plates? America - land of antagonisms. The right to bear arms may have been justified when the continent was conquered. As the population density rises, this cannot be upheld. Sadly, many more of these incidents will have occur before the country is ready to change. What's next? Suicide bombers on American soil? And what's the Dept. of *Homeland* Security doing about all this?

Arno Laesecke, Louisville, Colorado, USA

If some of the VA Tech students had been armed they might have been able to fight back. Criminals will always get weapons and disarming the law abiding leaves them at the tender mercies of those bent on mayhem.

Nat Trayger, coral springs, usa Fl

It turns out that Virginia has a state wide ban on guns on most campuses. Didn't seem to stop this killer. The Virginia Assembly (legislature) last year killed a Bill that would have allowed properly licensed concealed weapons holders to carry their guns concealed on campus. If this Bill had passed, there would most likely have been one or more people around "packing heat" who could have put an end to this early and saved many lives. But the Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again and leaves many dead behind it. Responsibility for this tragedy lies with the killer himself. However, the Virginia Assembly has blood on its hands now for killing this Bill and allowing the tragedy to be much worse.

Chad, S Jordan, Utah, USA

I notice the lack of mention of Kent State, where our own National Guard fired on a peaceful group of protesting students. Students died there too.

Secondly - the police in the US are only useful AFTER something has happened. They are a deterent against 'property' damage.

My brother (a recently retired police officer) once told me that I will have to protect myself and others dependent on me, until the police respond to the emergency 911 call. If I'm lucky the line won't be busy, and an officer will show up, maybe, in about 15 minutes!

If it is a choice beween a woman defending herself with a gunn or being strangled to death with her own pantyhouse - which has happened here in Phoenix AZ, US - then I choose to carry the gun.

Kay Clay, Glendale, Arzona, USA

It turns out that the Shooter in Virginia had purchased his Glock a full 5 weeks in advance. And had taken the time to try and remove the serial number. That shows this was a very premeditated criminal act, not a crime of passion, and he probably would have obtained a firearm illegally on the streets if he had not been able to get one legally. So strict gun control would not have helped.

Gun Control apologists keep claiming that it is the "easy access to firearms" that cause these tragedies. They say that firearms are easier than ever to get. Besides being illogical, it is not true. Guns are a lot less accessible than they were 20 or 40 or more years ago. And 40 years ago, these sorts of things did not happen hardly at all -- and kids brought their guns to school so they could go shooting on the way home. The facts speak against the apologists and their irrational fears.

Chad, S Jordan, Utah, USA

Allowing concealed weapons in campuses? Clearly, more guns won't equal security nore freedom. And please, Rick of Indiana, no government exchanges live of its people for nothing.

Eric Hutchinson, Irvine, CA

"The Constitution shall never be construed . . . to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed."
- Gunshot victim Alexander Hamilton

If one reads the writings of the Founders beyond the Constitution, it becomes undebatable that they intended for private citizens to own and maintain their firearms. The early U.S. government did not possess huge caches of weaponry ready at a crisis and any "well-regulated militia" was obviously expected to arm itself.

That said, there are few barriers to individual states regulating the ownership of firearms to the extent each sees fit.

But to enact strict firearm ownership laws at the national level, gun control advocates need a constitutional amendment and nothing less. If they pretend otherwise, they'll eventually get overturned in court (as they did in D.C.) every single time.

D. Sean Rowley, Tulsa, Okla. USA

I am an American. I am usually proud of this fact, but in times like these I am embarrassed as hell. The world should know that the internal struggle for the power to make policy change by someone other than a so called Republican in this country is at hand. I do not affiliate with any one political party, but I do affiliate myself with the "always be Just, Right and Honest" principle. I am shocked at the amounts of Americans that believe more guns equals less crime. Americans would rather fight to the death, than admit they're wrong and you should forget about changing anything in the US Constitution. This argument will never end. The underlying change that needs to be made in America is if a corporation produces and profits from a product that kills people that the corporation should be held responsible and not just financially. I don't own a gun and neither does anyone in my family and we've had members serve in the military who've fought and died to preserve that right.

Billy Pilgrim, Detroit, MI

The simple answer to our reluctance to give up our firearms comes, curiously, from Mao, "Power emanates from the barrel of a gun". When the people have the guns, the people have the power. When the government has the guns, only the government has the power.
History tells us that it is utterly naive to think that democratically elected governments are immune from becoming tyrannies. Firearms in the hands of the general populace is the best insurance against that occurring.

David, Coronado, CA / USA

Why can't the US follow Australia's lead? When there was a horrible massacre at a tourist site in Tasmania a few years back, the government moved quickly and banned all semi-automatic weapons. That way, people with a valid need for a gun - sportsmen, farmers etc - could still own one under licence, but it was impossible to buy the sort of weapon that can kill large numbers in such a short period of time. Why would anyone need a weapon that is designed for the military? A rifle has to be reloaded; with a semi-automatic little effort is needed to create a devastating effect. There will always be disturbed people who kill others, sadly, but how many lives could have been spared at Columbine, in Virginia etc if the killer(s) hadn't been able to fire off so many rounds so quickly?

Banning all guns is not the answer. As the US learned through Prohibition, if you ban something outright, you just send demand underground and it becomes harder to keep track.

Anna Herve, London,

Ban cars, they kill more then guns

Josh, Las Vegas, NV

Just to correct emma, Dorset, UK, it was a result of the treatment of then citizens by King George III and the British Parliament that resulted in American's inclusion of the 'right to bear arms' in the Constitution.

Michael Robertson, Charleston, SC, USA

Actually Merrill, the gun was legally obtained, and he even had the receipt on him when he killed himself and all those innocent people. I am an avid hunter but I firmly believe that gun control is a myth in America and drastic change needs to happen quickly. I am not advocating outlawing guns, but why do we need to register cars and boats and not guns. Guns are too easily bought and then untraceable. Surely the founding fathers never imagined citizens walking around with semi-automatic pistols when the most advance weaponry they had was single shot muzzle loaders. Stronger gun control in this country will help take dangerous and unnecessarily advanced weapons out of criminals hands and prevent tragedies like this one from happening.

Mark, Rockville, MD

"It's strange that the tone of the above emails is quite consistently self righteous."
...
"It is quite clear to the rest of the world that your attachment to guns is sick and crazy. Guns are bad. Wake up."

Oh, wait...the non-hypocrisy of your "argument" has convinced me! I'll run out right now and throw my 9mm in the garbage!

Oh, and by the way... "I've never seen a hand gun. I wouldn't want to be within 10 miles of something..." you do realize you probably walk by many people who are packing heat every day, right? Yes, even in Canada, especially in the central and western parts.

Dan, Glenwood, USA/MN

Think what you will about the American "gun culture" but the reality of this situation is that this could happen in any country at any time. No matter how strict your gun control laws are, there are mentally unstable people out there who ,for whatever reason, intend to cause death and destruction by whatever means possible. Guns, knives, bombs etc. We could have stricter gun laws here but someone could intentionally kill people using an automobile. Do you pass stricter car ownership laws? I think the rest of the world has the misguided concept that we are a country of gun-toting buffoons. We have a population of 300 million people and as sensational and tragic as this event is...it is a rare event. Right or wrong, we have the right to bear arms. As an American, I agree that we have a major gun problem, but if we give up this right, what's next? It's a short step from curtailing one right to curtailing all rights in the name of safety for all citizens.

RR, Lafayette,, LA USA

The truth of all the statistics is that during the 1890s, at the height of the "Wild West" of myth and legend, an estimated 25,000 deaths per year in the US were caused by gunshot wounds. In the 1990s the quoted figure was the same. Now it's gone up to 30,000 per annum. There's progress for you!

KR, Stockport,

Criticism from countries with more peaceful societies than the States is justified. Perhaps we Americans do have a thing or two to learn from you. While living in Germany I was envious of the lack of concern of female old age pensioners as they walked the streets of their country after dark. After living in the UK for the last 3 years however, I find any criticism from the Brits laughable. This is truly a brutal society beyond the comprehension of Americans who have not lived here. You keep your opinions to yourself in this country if you do not want to be stabbed or hit with a brick. Tell a child not to litter and expect to be stabbed by the youth or attacked by its father. This culture's disregard for people is institutionalized in the legal system. Property has priority in this country. A group of failed jewel thieves receive an average of 14 years in prison each. A young adult stabs another in the eye and receives 18 months. So Brits spare us your hypocritical self righteousness.

Robert, London, UK

Britain once again is flogging the Gun Control Moral High ground.. unfortunately Home Office Stats paint a different picture. We have Stringent Gun laws and even banned ALL Handguns... it doesn't work.
4,347 offences involving handguns
78 homicides up 10 on last year!
Firearm crimes rose from 2,378 to 5,358.
Over 50% of Handgun crimes occurred in London, Manchester and the West Midlands.
Well done Snowdrop and Tony Blair. The dead teenagers recently shot on the street and in their homes lie in testament to the failure of the ban.
Unfortunately I don't have a simplistic fixall answer to this complex problem, unlike so many contributors.

David Edwards, Burnham on Sea, Somerset

Darron S., Los Angeles, USA is correct in saying that the "the right to bear arms" has worked. but it also means around 60 children per day are killed by guns. the american people need to realise that the British won't be invading, so there is no need for everyone to have a gun.

Vik, London,

The American comments here are telling:

Europeans are 'feminine' for outlawing guns. Gun crime has 'spiralled' out of control due to citizens being unarmed.

This is the main problem; it's not 'macho' to own guns, it's idiotic. Most human beings alive today are no better than large children, especially so in America.

We have, in the last month or so had a spate of shootings in the UK, and yet our gun crime pales in significance when compared to the slaughters that are routinely carried out in the US, pretty much on a daily basis.

Americans are prepared to pay the price for freedom? You have no freedom! You are a nation that is so terrified of the unknown you are 'forced' to arm yourselves in your own homes! What sort of freedom is that?

You don't need a newspaper or government to tell you whether you can own a gun. Unfortunately neither do the mad men and criminals in your 'free' country.

Lets be realistic, the price you pay for gun ownership is in your children's blood.

Fraser, Edinburgh, Scotland

I think the point here is that guns are just a means to an end. Maybe next time someone will poison a whole school. The result will be the same. Worldwide media coverage. They die a hero (a hated one albeit). Would he have done it if no television or newspaper/internet site or radio even mentioned it afterwards? How about calling for a worldwide pact amongst all media not to report such events - for the sake of our children, so that they can have the right to be educated in a secure environment?

Mary, Buskerud,

Although it is clear that you reside on the far left of the political scale, as evidenced by your mundane commentary on the differences American shares with the world, let us assume for a moment that you possess a normal intelligence level. I ask you and those who would agree with you this; If one other individual who happened to cross paths with the Va Tech criminal had in their possession some sort of firearm, do you believe the number of victims would have been nearly as large? I do hate to use cliche, but as we in America say, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

Michael Marine, Valdista , Ga USA

The USA remains an alien culture despite a hundred years or more of cultural export and the relentless foisting of American 'values' on the rest of the world.

The USA is the ultimate outsider-nation: obsessed with individual freedoms which lead inexorably to a bewildering mix of national selfishness, grotesque extremes of wealth and poverty, murder and mayhem on a biblical scale and a shaming rejection of alternative ways of being.

The ridiculous harking back to the historic rights of Americans to bare arms - as if these practices hadn't existed all over the world. Of course they did! But the rest of the world has GROWN UP! So, please Americans GROW UP TOO!

Chris Thomas, Oxford,

I'm sure it's already been mentioned here but the Virginia Tech campus was a designated gun free zone.

Apparently the killer didn't get the memo because naturally no one including himself would be crazy enough to violate a gun control law.

A free man protects himself... a slave looks to others for protection.

Dana Dennis, Ottawa, Ontario

" A people can never be deprived of their liberties, while they retain in their own hands, a power sufficient to any other power in the state."

Noah Webster

Brad, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA/ Utah

I'm one of those Americans who share a powerful distrust in government. Americans have the right to bear arms because our Founding Fathers were smart enough to realize that the real enemy of freedom is totalitarian government (whether fascist or communist). And, just like in 1930's Germany, totalitarian rule happens with the obliteration of one freedom at a time. We cling to our belief in the right to bear arms because it is the one freedom that ensures our ability to protect ourselves against our government.

Sue, Dallas, TX

This massacre isn't the biggest in US history... Why don't people get the facts :/ The bath Massacre in 1927 killed more pupils..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_school_massacre

However that wasn't committed by a student or in recent years...

patrick Westermark, skelleftea, sweden

Interesting to read comments from non-Americans who claim to understand the American mentality. Foolish. As an American, I am against guns, I regularly vote to control access to guns and what guns are available, but am defeated by monied interests who override the wish of the common voter. But non-Americans who view us as Western-film gunslingers or urban gangstahs simply don't understand the true battle: getting the diverse people of a nation as vast as the U.S. to agree on anything. What non-Americans don't understand is the sheer size of this nation, and the vast differences of opinion held by people from every nation on Earth. We're not a homogeneous group. And trying to assign labels or place us in psychological cubbyholes simply doesn't work. I'm typically a fan of Mr. Baker's, but he doesn't understand the American psyche and , therefore, should avoid making pronouncements about it.

Ann Hanson, San Diego, CA

I am a firm believer in the right to bear arms. Who knows when some one of your seemingly peaceful neighbours might attack you without warning? The only way to achieve peace is to make sure there is a balance of power between the attacker and the defender. Just look at Iraq. They only got attacked because they were an easy target with no significant weapons. If they had nukes that they could deploy in the US there would have been no war at all. WMDs for eveyone!!

Rick, London, UK

The author has it right that we will never give up our individual freedoms including an individual's right to bear arms. The cowardice shown by the Royal Marines and Sailors in the Iran hostage flap would never be duplicated in the USA. The Brits have got to realize that the USA is unique because of our dedication to individual freedoms. That is why we are the world leader. We really don't care what the Brits or the rest of the world thinks of us.

Don, Hamilton, Montana

I was in England back in January/February this year.

Could someone remind me if it was 3 or 4 kids who were killed with guns in the Streatham area of London in a two week period in that time frame.

Lower numbers of course but then again you have gun control laws...

Jeff, FL, USA

As a recent freshman at an American university in suburban Detroit MI, I find this incident shocking and a bit nerve-racking yet I do not feel in immediate danger. This is a freak thing, but there are many many universities and schools in the USA and the probability of being at one that will have an occurrence like this is low. Yet it is very sad that something like this has to be a product of our nation’s culture.

The question that needs to be asked is whether or not Cho Seung Hui would have done this if he had not been able to get a gun so easily. Could he have found the means to get the guns illegally if they were banned? Possibly, but considering that he purchased the guns shortly before the shooting proves that it could be a deterrent.

I am not completely on the ban guns bandwagon, but I don’t necessarily see why a person needs to be able to poses a concealable rapid firing weapon. In my direct family no one has ever owned a gun, yet I have never felt less safe because I do

Josh, Metro Detroit, MI USA

All I have to know about the UK perspective is that they outlawed all guns and that when a citizen defended his home and safety with the use of an "illegally kept" shotgun, striking the miscreant, HE was convicted of a crime. All the moralizing from these enlightened types about how freedom somehow always equates with gun violence makes me sick. Indeed, freedom does involve a fair amount of violence. Recall how we broke your imperialist' shackles, Mr. Twitsworth? Freedom most definitely comes at a very high price, something that most of us fail to recognize in our daily efforts to do our jobs, pay the bills and love our families. Sometimes we're awakened to these realities and are called upon to defend freedom against unspeakable atrocities. We do so not by hiding from death but by steeling ourselves and spitting its face and fighting evil on its terms. If someone seeks to do harm with grievous intent, they'll meet with hellfire. I'll never let the government take away my 2nd amendment

Scott Smith, Boulder, Colorado USA

The main reason for the insertion of the "right to bear arms" in the American constitution was to protect ourselves against a British invasion. Well, it's worked, hasn't it? (1812 and the Beatles aside.)

Darron S., Los Angeles, USA

I agree that the US should ban guns. It only makes sense that if there are less guns, there will be less deaths. It really doesn't take a genius to figure it out. But my fellow countrymen probably do not agree with this, I really don't know why. Most of them just think its their "right"-- and that makes it OK. Yes, criminals will still get guns-- but so what? I would like some statistics on how many children are shot by the parents leaving guns laying around. Or drunken idiots taking pot shots at each other. Of course, maybe its natural selection!

janice kerr, Buena Park, USA

Amazingly enough, most of the European posters on here seem to take great pleasure in making this about how horrible and stupid Americans are. Yet another example of the lawlessness that runs rampant in America. And it's true that these tragedies wouldn't be as deadly without guns. And that a bystander having a gun likely wouldn't have made a difference in the final outcome. I'm against guns. Always have been. Always will be.
But please don't make these tragedies out to have happened because the Americans are lawless idiots. I don't know when we had out last soccer riot. How many have died in those countries who live for their sports? We really like football and baseball over here, but don't generally riot over them. It seems like it's a common occurrence in Europe to have riots break out in every major soccer game. With HUNDREDS dead.
Stop trying to make yourself feel good because America's tragedies won't happen in your country. You have your own issues we don't have.

Michelline, Jacksonville, FL

I just ask all readers to please, please realize that not all of us Americans are gun-toting wackjobs who climb out of the woodwork whenever anyone criticizes the motherland and her allegedly overactive trigger finger. Not all of us think that the solution involves giving students and teachers handguns (???). However, I also don't believe that gun removal is the answer. America needs a more moderate approach to gun control, one that is not so strict that we feel unsafe, but one that is more effective than the current legislation. We must accept that on a day to day basis, school safety is a more exigent concern than our need to muster a militia. While this is an impulse many may not understand, it is a tangible issue that even the most liberal Americans do face. Would YOU feel safe with the nation's weapons at the disposal of the Bush administration? Call us paranoid, Europe, but THAT is why I happen to like our second amendment, even if some of my gun-toting countrymen would disagree.

An American teenager, San Francisco, CA

I love British/European thinking. For the past 6-7 years all I have heard is how stupid the US Gov is (Bush/Iraq/Kyoto/pretty much everything we ever do) and how bloodthirsty all Americans are , equal to the terrorists in some regards, surpassing them in most. Yet some how they now think it is perfectly logical to hand over all weapons and to trust in our idiotic, bloodthirsty, terrorist government elected by a bunch of bloodthirsty, idiotic, terrorists to protect us. If our gov cannot do a dang thing right, and hasn't in around a decade, why should I trust the safety of my family to them? How could a rational person expect me to? My suggestion is the UK and Europe arm themselves, after all whats to stop the evil USA from invading them? Their citizens (proudly) posess no weapons and their military is something of a joke these days. The North Sea has alot of oil in it as well.

Stephen, San Antonio , Texas

Only people with a shocking misunderstanding of human nature think that gun control is the solution since:

-I could drive over 30 people in my big diesel truck easily

-humans are nothing if not resourceful, outlaw guns and maybe they will just make bombs (the law of unintended consequences)

-I could anonymously poison people and be uncatchable

Do you think outlawing a metal bullet firing device will put an end to people's deluded motivations? Well, duh! NO!

People have listed statistics back and forth in this forum that support both sides of the debate. An over-reliance on statistics is for people who can't figure things out with some "uncommon sense."

I used to think Brits were the coolest people, now I think you've been liberalized and feminized into oblivion in just the recent past; ironically, by a man (Blair)--when what you need is a person like Thatcher or a buttkicker like Winnie.

In America many are willing to pay the price for freedom.

Greg, Florida, USA

In your editorial you fail to mention that since guns were collected from law abiding citizens in Britain and Australia , violent crime has increased drastically in those countries, whereas it has declined in the US. I immigrated from England to the US, 20 years ago and am glad I did so. I do not need a government or a newspaper editor to decide whether I can own a gun or not.
MD. Riverside, California, USA

Michael Dickinson, Riverside, CA, USA

As an American, I join with others who are incredulous at how ridiculously easy it is to buy guns in some parts of the US. Must be some sentimental vestige of our cowboy past. Needless to say, there are other elements of this crime -- mainly, a very troubled young man -- but it sure seems to me that this crime might have been prevented if we had better gun control laws. Even hunters don't need semi-automatic pistols of the type that this murderer used. Hopefully, we'll get a sensible president next time around who will spearhead real reform.

Brendan, Scarsdale, NY

We live in a free society, people are free to do as they wish as long as it's in the bounds of law. The person that committed this horrible act could have do so with any weapon of his choosing. A car, a bomb, I could go on and on. If someone kills another person in a car crash, you don't condem the car do you? No, the person driving the car! Guns don't kill people, people kill people. There will always be "nut cases" out there in the world. 911 for example, " Radical Islamic nut cases" killed three thousand people. These murderers chose the whatever weapon was available. If someone is hell bent on killing people, they will do so. Taking away my firearms is not going to solve anything. If a criminal knows you're unarmed, he will attack you. If he knows your are trained and carrying a weapon, he will think first before he does anything stupid. Too bad the criminal in this case was the only one packing a weapon.

Mark Reynolds, Dallas, TX

How many shooting do you see in areas with many *legal* guns? Hardly any. However, these shootings happen in gun-free zones - like a campus this time. Had one of the students had a gun, this shooting would've lasted much shorter.

Alex Schmuller, Canton,

Gun control in the US is largely irrelevant at this point. There are 10's, probably 100's of millions of guns in the US. Sadly, its too late to do anything. Even if we enacted effective gun control measures and eliminated bullets from sale, it would take generations to clear out what is already out there. This is a sad commentary on the US who wishes to be the moral voice of the world.

JP, Lake Orion, Michigan

Americans have the right to own guns because they are not subjects of the government.

As true in 2007 as in 1789.

If Cho had used 10 gallons of petrol to kill 200 in a closed nightclub, should possession of petrol be outlawed?

There is no law that can prevent the evil or the insane from murder, there is only law that can prevent the honest from protecting themselves. VA Tech was a gun-free zone.

We see how well that worked.

RSweeney, Richmond, VA

Nice article. The fact is that the author is correct. Americans understand the first thing Hitler and Stalin and the British when they were here did was restrict firearms. We believe that an armed populus is a serious check against tyranny and we believe in the right to defend ourselves.

One story that never gets written are the daily occurances of guns preventing rapes, assaults, robberies and other violent crimes against innocent people, who were armed and could prevent these harms from being inflicted on themselves.

There are far more crimes prevented by armed innocents than committed by armed criminals.

ARMED, Washington, D.C.

Chad from Utah should consider the fact that thousands of Americans are killed by guns every year while here in the land of gun control, numbers have spiralled to over twenty.
Cause and effect.

Deb, manchester,

I am an American, a gun owner, and a supporter of my right to both. Americans like myself feel that the reason this person was able to kill and wound 50 others is that no one else on the campus was armed and able to defend themselves. If gun ownership, training, and the right to carry were allowed in all areas then an incident like this would have quickly been cut short by the actions of another student or professor.

John LaCour, Arlington, Texas, USA

Many people in the United States abhor guns and gun violence, and support restrictive gun laws. I live in Georgia, a state with similarly liberal gun laws and a predominantly gun-happy culture - but I don't share this attitude. Guns allow a person, a state of irrational anger, to inflict horrible violence on a mass scale. In addition, our popular culture (TV, music, movies, video games, comic books) glorifies gun violence. Young people, especially boys, see shooting someone as the way to get revenge, assert manliness, or solve problems. It's sick and tragic.

Susan B., Atlanta, GA, USA

First, I would like to say that personally I would support very tight restrictions on gun ownership. In my view our 2nd Amendment applies only to authorized militias. But I am also a realist. There are millions of guns already out there in our society and there is no practical way they can ever be recalled. It is a sad truth that in every large American city, one can go to any high school, ask students, and 75% or more will tell you that if they wanted to they could find you a gun in 30 minutes or less. The oft stated maxim "Guns don't kill people, people do." is unfortunately true. Tragedies like what has occurred at Virgina Tech will continue to occur until human nature, the human soul changes. And I do not mean just the nature of the killer who commits these senseless acts. We must take care to notice our neighbors, the people we pass on the street. We live in a fast paced, pressuried society. We must care more about each other. We must reform our own nature to avert such horror.

Richard Wabek, Shoreline, Washington

I am told you have your picture taken or are videoed many times a day if you are in London. Brits seem to find that level of daily surveillance acceptable. If the same level of surveillance were set up in New York or Chicago, Americans would never accept it. Gun control is something that, if strongly enforced like it is in Europe, would most likely seriously reduce the number of gun deaths in the States. However, our concern about government control of our lives makes that option not very acceptable.

Mel Jackson, Edison, NJ, US (but currently working in Kenya)

I don't mean to sound callous but every time this happens the same old tired points are trotted out, none of which are very illuminating. We all know that until Americans bring in some form of gun control, this sort of thing is going to happen again and again, so either do something about it or accept it. Just spare me the hand wringing/ hand washing. Either put up or shut up as some wise American once said.

Chris, London, UK

Little by little once proud and great America is turning into its over religious puritan gun toting alter ego Amerika,
little surprise who is at the helm

john, baltimore, us

The ownership of guns is not the reason for violence in the US. Had the student not had access to guns, he could have made a truck bomb like the one Timothy McVeigh used in Oklahoma City or maybe have flown a plane into a building.

I don't know the root causes of violence in this country. Is it violence portrayed in movies and music? Perhaps we are just bad people. I don't know. But if all guns were banned in the US tomorrow, the problem would not go away. We have, after years of trying, been unable to make a dent in the illegal drug trade and illegal border crossings. I don't see how we would be any more effective in stemming gun ownership.

Bob Dearman, West Bloomfield, MI, USA

"If I need say any more than.... Look at what happened at Virginia Tech yesterday....Then I sure do hope you tell your loved ones GOODBYE everytime they leave your eyesight, because you may never see them again. NO one and I do mean NO one has any reason to own a GUN. !"

You mean no one other than the 31 dead students in VT, who might have had a chance to protect their own lives.

But other than that...hey you're 100% right.

John, Pittsburgh, PA

Killers will always find the means to kill. Their twisted minds are the deadly weapons.
******************************
Putting those means on every street corner is just stupid though, wouldn't you agree?

phil, London, uk

I just have two questions and I hope that everyone is honest in their response.

1) Do you really think that someone who is determined to get a gun wouldn't be able to do so even with tighter gun laws or gun bans?
2) Does anyone not wish that one of the students would have had a gun to stop the killer?

Patrick, Chaska, MN

While the events at Virginia Tech are tragic, would they have somehow been less tragic if the perpetrator had used a Timothy McVeigh style truck bomb? Would they have been more understandable if he had been drunk or drugged and driven a car into a crowd at a sports stadium? The reality is that a crazy man committed a crime. There is no law in this country or any other that will deter the deranged or the sociopath.

It would be beneficial to all involved to refrain from blaming the tool, and focus on how someone who was bright and ambitious enough to attend a division 1 college, became a homicidal maniac.

Kevin, Salisbury, MD

Americans generally do have a deep mistrust of government. Is it any wonder when past situations like Waco escalate out of control due to government intervention. As for riding roughshod over the American Indians and shooting them all, well, European diseases like smallpox wiped out most of them.

Rob, Rochdale, UK

In my state you can obtain a permit to legally carry a concealed hangun. One can even legally own a fully automatic weapon if willing to go through the paperwork. We don't have running gunbattles in the street. We don't meet at high noon and shoot it out. We don't talk long walks to the sound of automatic weapons fire.
What happened is indeed a tragedy. Nobody is trying to detract from that. On the other hand the tens of thousands killed by drunk driving (more than are killed by guns) every year are tragic. Nobody wants to restrict the purchase of alcohol. Millions of people die from heart disease; no big rush to ban McDonald's is there?
We could be like Australia or the RSA. Now that it's virtually illegal to defend yourself, let roving gangs rape and murder your family members, afterall, it would be truly horredous if you were to even consider defending them with *gasp* a GUN!
I am working on my second MA. I am neither a 'redneck or a cowboy. But you won't take my rights away.

Jamie , Charleston, West Virginia USA

It is tragically apparent that we are in need of some critical introspection regarding our country. Individualistic, but with laws regulating everything from drugs to seat belt use that assume I won't protect myself of my own free will, it is sadly easy to see why we're cast as spoiled children screaming for our rights while totally rejecting national and individual responsibility. On any given night I can see a show with shooting-- but not sex-- on TV, and more Americans vent their fury over gay marriage than are willing to decry the nightmare in the Sudan (an issue pushed aside by religious right leaders as "distracting"). We simply cannot wash our hands with "he was foreign" or "there's nothing we can do." The man was raised here and absorbed America as inexorably as the rest of us. We can, however, take a hard look at what we have become and once again use the famed individualistic determination of which we are so proud to effect change, immediately.

whatnext, San Francisco, CA

The irony of this whole tragic event is that the reason that this person could kill all these people unchallenged is the fact that the student's right to own and bear arms had been crushed by the university and if carry permits were issued to students on campus this tragedy would not have claimed nearly so many victims.
In South Africa we see this so clearly that in areas that are declared gun free zones it is these areas that are the most inviting to criminals and maruaders.
The murder rate in South Africa has increased dramatically over the last few years in step with oppresive gun laws.
I urge Americans to fight for their gun freedoms as this is the only true yardstick of freedom and democracy.
The right to own and BEAR arms is a human rights issue and must be protected.
Unfortunately some people, particularly in the United Kingdom have been so brain washed by years of liberal anti-gun propaganda that they are unable to think logically about guns.

Dr Robert Davidson, Johannesburg, South Africa

The United States has a far larger population than that of the United Kingdom, or any other EU nation, for that matter. Gun restrictions, if heightened EU-standards, would be virtually impossible to enforce. The situation would be reminiscent of early 20th century Prohibition, and the results would most definately include a major rise in organized crime organizations.

In the United Kingdom, it would be a criminal offence to defend one's self with deadly force against a criminal attack. In the United States, it is legal in most places, particularly in the State of Texas, to use deadly force if neccesary to stop a criminal on personal property. I do believe that weapons policies in EU nations with small populations are effective in reducing crime and deaths, but it simply is not feasable in the United States, simply because of the sheer size of the population.

Clay, Texas, USA

In World War Two, Great Britain's population was placed at enormous risk by the gun control laws. As a result, thousands of American sportsman offered their guns to the British people to fight the Nazis and their allies. Sadly, Great Britain's love affair with gun control does nothing to prevent the same events to repeat some future day. No amount of legislation will protect us from evil. Guns are not the only answer but America--and Britain--are still free today because of American firepower, the the willingness to use it.

Jim Parker, Tampa , US/Florida

Europeans historically have not attempted or perhaps have not been capable of entertaining two mutually inconsistent political thoughts at the same time. The practical thought is that restricting guns to all citizens seemingly would reduce the number of these awful occurrences, although even that might be arguable, since had the U.S. not decided to disarm every passenger on commercial flights, 9/11 decidedly would have turned out differently. But take the practical thought as true.

Europeans, after the horrors unleased by that continent in the last seventy five years, instinctively recoil at all violence and stop thinking there, when Americans sadly and ruefully balance the competing thought that awful as derangement is, an armed citizenry is the last bastion against tyranny. It is true that Blacksburg and Columbine are in the U.S. It is equally true that Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin remained in power after their true natures became known only because of a disarmed citizenry.

John Rogitz, San Diego, CA

Criminals and those with deadly intentions will acquire the weapons to carry out those intentions whether the weapons are legal or illegal. The real tragedy here is that no law-abiding citizen student or faculty member carried a weapon that they could have used to disarm, disable, or kill the shooter before he killed or injured any more people. Had a law abiding citizen carried a weapon the scope of this tragedy could have been limited. Had all law abiding citizens carried weapons the tragedy might have been deterred and avoided all together. If I had to guess, I would bet it is illegal to carry a weapon on VT grounds and in VT buidings. Ironic and tragic. The right to bear arms is hallmark to the freedom of this country and to the citizenry's ability to defend the constitution that our legislatures and judiciary continually assault and deconstruct piece-by-piece. It is only in a liberal's upside world that only the criminals and thugs should have guns.

DM, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

You can't stop the ultimate weapon, a person willing to kill themselves and who doesn't care for human life. I would have thought you would have learned this with the bombings you have experienced. No matter how strict your laws may be, just remember you can't stop the ultimate weapon.

Amy, Newport News, USA/VA

Baker asks why Americans tolerate guns? Part ofd the answer is although such incidents don't make news headlines, nor sell newspapers guns are used in the U.S. more than two million times a year in self-defense. It's illustrating that in the U.K. half of all burgarlies occur when someone is at home, but in the U.S. fewer than 15% occur when someone, who might be armed, is at home. Yes, I own a gun or two, but I haven't shot anyone since soldiering in Viet-Nam. I pray nearly every night just before going to bed that I need not use a gun in defense that night. The Cousins & the Euroipeans, prefer to depend upon government, police forces for personal defense, but I can & will, if nrecessary, defend myself, thank you very much.

Dave Livingston, Colorado Springs, Colorado/USA

My sympathy is exended to all touched by this tragedy. As a Canadian, I rationalized again my strong support of strict gun laws. However, I have read some very compelling arguments here. It is never a simple path to understanding why this happens. It is natural to want to find a reason..gun laws, Mondays, failed romance, academic pressure, violent video games. The media will beat any drum that serves its profit purpose and that is usually knee-jerk gun law debate. I cannot help but draw a conclusion here between the Don Imus scandal and this tragedy. At first it may seem a stretch. But think about it. Yesterday and today on The Oprah Winfrey Show, they are exploring why this deplorable human behavior exists in the first place and who is responsible and why it is allowed to go on. Sociologists look for the root cause, not grasp at symtoms. Dr. Robin Smith stated on Orpah yesterday "there is a hole in the soul of America and this is largely a spiritual issue." Man's inhumanity to man!

Rosemary , Brantford, Ontario, Canada

M McGregor, great point.. Perhaps if the UK would have banned the sale and use of alcohol so many deaths in your Kingdom related to such would not have been.. or maybe if the sale and use of knives would be banned in the UK, so many who have been murdered by them would be alive.. maybe, just maybe, if the UK would have taken a tougher stance on the ability to acquire explosive material you would not have lost so many lives to the IRA and Islamic terrorists. It is not the right that an individual is given, as much as it is how that person uses that right. While this is a tragic event, it is not the weapon, but the individual. Do you recall what weapon was used to mow over the students at the University of North Carolina?. ill give you a hint, it wasnt a gun. Since you live in such a proper society, ask yourself how many lives would have been saved if Britain would top their arms trade throughout the world. It isnt the weapon, but the person who wields it.

MAC, Pittsburgh, PA

The comments posted below by Americans make me ashamed to be an American.

Owen, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The American gun lobby is relying on tired historical quotes to justify it's reason for retaining the 'right' to bear arms. You may have needed the gun to preserve democracy in 1787-1788 but in 2007? Just ask yourself this question, if we are living in a supposedly civilised and democratic society why does anyone need the gun? Is it because the society the Americans are living in just isn't civilised?
the military may need it to further their interests abroad but something that society as a whole does not. There is no justification for a general member of the public to possess a weapon that is designed and built to kill another person. It has no other use so why does anyone to have one. Period.

B Hunt, Nottingham, UK

I remember in high school being taught the importance of the right to bear arms. Specifically, a quote by Noah Webster that we all had to memorize,

" A people can never be deprived of their liberties, while they retain in their own hands, a power sufficient to any other power in the state."

Here in Utah, we recently had a similar incident where a gunman killed 11 people. I am at a loss as to why our television shows, music and movies glorify gun violence. Something needs to be done. I only hope it is not too late.

Brad, Salt Lake City, USA/Utah

As an American and also a health care provider, I can say that I would love to see stricter gun laws in force in my country. Yes, we have the Second Amendment, but everyone also needs to look at the year the Constitution was enacted. We are now in the 21st century, which I'm sure our forefathers never had in mind when they were writing the Constitution. The Bible is also one of the greatest manuscripts ever conceived, but I don't see many people sacrificing live animals anymore. However, in my field of work, I see on a daily basis the despair that grips people and I'm not sure that stronger gun laws will work. I have to say I feel that the visual media contributes to alot of people's fantasies and when you have someone dealing with a perceived wrong, those fantasies can overwhelm someone's common sense.

D. Sigman, Denver, NC, USA

Interesting to read the comments posted here. As a former European, I can perhaps offer the point that Americans see things fundamentally differently - there is an acceptance that all freedoms comes with costs. In Britain, you "accept" that a large number of people will die in exchange for the privilege and freedom of driving a vehicle. We Americans may not like it, but we accept that occasional incidences like this are the price we pay for the right to defend our persons and our freedoms. I hate to put it in these terms, but we Americans view our world from the perspective of independent citizens, whilst Brits and other Euros perceive and value themselves as subjects of the Crown... be it in Windsor or Brussels. That is the crux of it.

Danny Lemieux, Chicago, USA

I am an American and am also a supporter of the 2nd ammendment which gives us the Right to protect ourselves against criminals and also the right to protect ourselves against an oppressive government.
With this recent shooting, there will be more calls for gun control. If tighter gun control laws are enacted, I guess I will then become a criminal because I will not give up the right to protect my family. It is interesting to note that the author mentioned the tight gun control laws that exist in Washington D.C. There are over 20,000 gun control laws in D.C. It has the tightest hand gun control laws in the nation. Yet it also has the highest violent gun crime and murder rates in the U.S. Conversely, states that have liberalized rights for citizens to carry firearms have found a drop in crime. In the U.S. there are over 2 million incidents where citizens use handguns to protect themselves every year, yet this goes unreported. Since Britain banned handguns violent crime has increased

Mike Williams, Clearwater, Minnesota, USA

I dont think carrying a gun into a school would be allowed at all even if you want to prtoect yourself from a crazed gun-toting idiot as mentioned above. The question is how we handel the emotional side of a person which has brought him into this in the first place.

Ali, Thailand,

You are right. Most disturbing of all is the fact that not one news report in the past two days has even hinted at the easy access to obtain guns in the US as being a factor in the incident and number of deaths. How many people would have died if Cho used his fists? a bat? an ax? a car?... Instead our focus has been directed to blaming the campus and police for a failed security sytem... Unfortunately too, people will sacrifice a few to protect the rights of many. I am not in agreement. Thanks for your article.

ptahan, Philadelphia, PA

I appreciate, and share, your views on our culture's use of arms and more importantly, that it's the reason we are discussing such a tragic issue today.
I just want to note that I feel it does need to happen, but it just isn't that simple when you change the laws. What if it creates a black market? If so, the upstanding, law-abiding citizens will comply, but those more likely to commit these crimes can still access these guns. The crime would still occur, but these law-abiding citizens would be defenseless. Look at the illegalization of drugs, and where we, the US, stand with that. I fear the same scenario but WELCOME the change in policy. It just needs to be a well-thought, planned process. Something, again, our country is not known for.

Anne, Richmond, VA

It never ceases to amaze me how willingly people trade freedom for security, or how much they've come to trust their government to safeguard both. Many of the same people who gasp at the prospect of the NSA monitoring their cell-phone conversations would willingly submit to living in a world where that same government has a monopoly on Arms. Americans have a healthy distrust of government. They have an instinctive fear that even a written constitution is not an iron-clad protection from tyranny. Let the scholars and judges argue about the meaning of the word "militia" in the 2nd Amendment and let the NRA and the Brady Group argue about the efficacy of gun control measures. As an American, I am ultimately responsible for my safety and my freedom. I do not and would not want to rely entirely on my government for the protection of either.

AJ, Washington, D.C.,

I just ask all posters to please, please realize that not all of us Americans are gun-toting wackjobs who climb out of the woodwork whenever anyone criticizes the motherland and her allegedly overactive trigger finger. Not all of us think that the solution involves giving students and teachers handguns (???). However, I also don't believe that gun removal is the answer. America needs a more moderate approach to gun control, one that is not so strict that we feel unsafe, but one that is more effective than the current legislation. We must accept that on a day to day basis, school safety is a more exigent concern than our need to muster a militia. While this is an impulse many may not understand, it is a tangible issue that even the most liberal Americans do face. Would YOU feel safe with the nation's weapons at the disposal of the Bush administration? Call us paranoid, Europe, but THAT is why I happen to like our second amendment, even if some of my gun-toting countrymen would disagree.

An American teenager, San Francisco, CA

To Micahel Waterhouse, Limestone,

He absolutely DID use legal means to obtain his guns.

Denise Alter, Loxahatchee, FL

I didn't regard your article as "America bashing". In fact, it was remarkably restrained in its assessment of the American love affair with guns.

Daniel argues that all the gun control laws in the world wouldn't have stopped the massacre is not borne out by statistics from countries where gun controls are in force. Guns with their serial numbers sawed off were originally sold as guns with their serial numbers firmly in place. Gun advocates famously argue that guns don't kill people, criminals kill people etc. But they never tell us how to keep those guns that don't kill people out of the hands of the people who do. Gun control laws would do just that.

Stephen, Bothell, WA, USA

The original intent of the constitutional right to bear arms was to protect people living in a largely uncivilized new settlement. That reason has gone away, but not the legal precedent which it spawned.

Although I don't own a gun, never have, and never will, I don't support reforms outlawing guns, because I believe that the result would be that the ONLY people owning guns then would be the wrong ones! If criminals ignore all the other laws, why would they obey a law outlawing their guns?

I don't have an alternative solution to suggest (yet), but I know that outlawing guns isn't going to work here.

Rod Turnham, Charlotte, NC/USA

I’m pleased to see ignorance is alive and well in the US!

Please buy all the guns you want and shoot each other. Fortunately I have no children, Mums, Dads Sons Daughters or any loved ones in the US actually none of my family live there, but yours do?

Don’t feel sorry for me because I’m not allowed to own a gun, obviously I am oppressed, unable to make a stand against my government and have no freedom of speech but I can be sure that my child will not be shot at school.

Rod, Sydney , Australia

Saddened by what we watch unfold on the TV newscasts, my family and I shed tears. Yes, it is a horiffic thing for one human being to kill another, and even more horrific for one human being to kill 33 people for his own reasons. 33 lives cut short, 33 immediate families grief stricken, hundreds of extended family members heart broken and a nation in mourning, all in two hours. Yes, there are a lot of things about America which may appear wrong to others. But there is a lot of good here and millions of good people. America may not do everything right; yet there are so many examples of the good we as a nation have done, here and abroad. Don't believe for a minute that all Americans are running around in our city streets toting firearms and killing at will. Does it happen? Yes. Should there be a gun ban? Yes. For now all I ask is that people allow this nation to absorb what just happened and to mourn for our loss. This is a great country and we deserve this much. Please respect this.

Jeff, San Jose, California

To blame the freedom of having a gun is absurd. I believe anyone with the determination of killing people and doing harm to others doesn’t care about laws. Even in (most unlikely) event that strict gun laws would restrict ownership in the US shootings and killings like this one would not stop.

Veronica, Los Angeles, CA

Well, in the UK if you are attacked by a thug and you fight back, it is you who will be arrested by the police, and prosecuted and jailed, so I can understand why the American people are reluctant to trust their Government to restrict their freedom to defend themselves. In the UK we have allowed the present Government to strip away our freedoms entirely as they please, as part of their 'glorious' socialist revolution- perhaps the American people have a bit more collective sense than we, in insisting on retaining their constitutional rights, and being very wary of the motives of politicians.

Doug, Glasgow,

Why is it that I notice that most comments are almost by us Yanks and UK people hardly ever comment in their own paper? Are you all too shy?

Claudia, Atlanta, USA

Message to Gerard Baker: The NRA is not an evil organization. It is, however, comprised of approximately 3.5 million U.S. citizens, of which I am one. I am a 59 yr. old woman and have been shooting as a sport for almost 50 years. I also come from a family of shooters and am the mother of two (one male, one female), both of whom were taught to shoot from the age of 8 yrs. old. No member of my family has had any legal problem beyond a speeding ticket (I did get one 40 yrs. ago). I have been fingerprinted and had a background check run on me every 2 yrs. in order to get my CCW(Carry Concealed Weapon) permit. People who kill like this young man did are either severely mentally ill or just plain evil. Neither the NRA nor Charleton Heston nor the millions of law-abiding gun owners of this country are to blame for this tragedy. There is only one person to blame...the young man who took it upon himself to commit this horrendous crime and murder 32 of his fellow human beings.

Janet Fuls, Cottonwood, CA, USA

Let’s not forget that guns where banned in the UK not to protect the citizen but to protect the government.
The government at the time (early 20th century) were more afraid of a revolution than a school getting shot up.

Banning guns only makes criminals lives better, as they will be able to do as they like and terrorise the law abiding unarmed population.
I feel a lot safer in the USA than I do here in England.
In 15 years of living in California and Oregon I was never a victim of crime
I have been back 7 years and have had my house broken into and one car stolen.
God bless the USA and the right to carry a firearm

David, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

As an American I am proud of, and committed to our freedom to own firearms. Responsible gun owners do not shoot people. The National Rifle Assn does a lot of work to support gun safety as wells the right to bear arms. As a school employee, I am horrified by the violence at VA Tech, Columbine, and other educational institutions. Solving the problems of irrational people should not entail changes in our basic Constitutional rights.

N. Waite, Bay Area, CA

Taking away gun ownership rights here in the states isnt going to stop the problem of Gun violence. Getting hold of an illegal gun is easy if you know where to look, esp. with our porus southern border and everything that comes across it.

Kevin, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Beslan (?) in russia reminds us that vicious PEOPLE kill, not guns. around the world criminals and terrorists have their hands on guns and massacres are happening to innocent people and NO AMOUNT OF GUN CONTROL LAWS WILL STOP THEM. if those parents in russia had been armed the whole thing may have ended differently. the fact is that 1 year ago a student was reprimanded on that same virginia campus for carrying a concealed weapon WHICH HE HAD A LEGAL CARRY AND CONCEAL LICENSE TO DO SO. had some of the students in that classroom been armed fewer people would have died. guns are NOT wrong. criminals are everywhere. arm the law-abiding citizens.

deane pradzinski, highland, ca

There are so many factual errors in this screed that no knowledgable person would take it seriously.

One thought springs to mind in response. Given the number of presumably illegal bombs that the IRA were able to set off around London in years past, it seems passing strange that a Brit would focus on gun laws in the USA as the cause of evil. There were laws against bombing in London were there not?

I know that many people no longer understand the American fascination with the concept of individual freedom of choice. On the other hand I do not understand how Europeans can sacrifice so many hard-won liberties to a controlling state; or even worse to an unelected bureacracy, i.e., EU-- with barely a whimper. So we seem destined to move in different directions.

I do note that while people are beating down the doors to enter this country; the same is not true everywhere.

E. R. Gilkison, Warrenton, Virginia/USA

It is interesting to read responses to our gun crimes from abroad. Especially responses from Europe. Yes we have higher gun deaths, a product of freedom and concentrations of populations. We also have higher automobile deaths. Again a product of freedom, wealth and population concentrations. What we do not have is the violence of riots at our "football" games, bombings on our buses or nightclubs and the such.
Freedom and rights have a risk. For those who want to live in a subjugated state without risk are free to move. But remember, where you may fear a gun crime, others may fear a bomb or riots. It is still interesting more people in the world want to move to the U.S. than any other country. Why you ask? Freedom.

Jeff, Dallas, Texas

As we know from information available around the world, as well as From Washington DC itself, banning guns does little or nothing to reduce crime because criminals do not tend to observe bans or laws of any kind. Washington DC has banned guns entirely yet it has a terrible gun crime problem. London, and other cities, are experiencing greater crime not lesser crime despite gun bans, and where citizens own legal guns violent crime tends to be lower, because there an attacker may well find himself faced with deadly force rather than empty words and feel-good slogans. As we know from terror attacks around the world, an intended mass-killer can choose from poisons, explosives and many other means to cause death and mayhem. If this deranged murderer (who was no native to the USA but was a resident alien) had driven a car into a crowded hall and killed the same number of people (a thing easily done), would we all think it wise to outlaw cars?

W Marshall, Cape Cod, Massachusetts USA

CB Kent UK

There's another thing you don't have a clue about.

Since England and Wales essentially abolished guns, the proportion of gun crime increased significantly

MCD, Elmhurst, USA

We need your help Europe! I support stricter gun laws in the United States in the same vain as many of the editorial writers have expressed throughout Europe today. Are these mere words from Europe? Unfortunately, the EU has some involvement in the tragedy at Virginia too. The firearms used in the Virginia Tech massacre were manufactured by an EU company, Glock. Perhaps the EU can ban the export of guns to the US. Try as you might, like Lady Macbeth, you can't wash the blood from your own hands this time.

Michael Robertson, Charleston, SC, USA

to james in the UK. There was absolutely no evidence of anybody shooting at rescue helicopters in New Orleans. Sadly, just another example of irresponsible journalism reporting inaccurate "information."

Eric, Columbus, US/OH

Did the author mention that "DC's Draconian Measures" have not at all attenuated it's position as the murder capital of the country? Did the author mention that the area that this occurred in Virginia is a legislated "gun free zone"?

I'm sorry, but the author's talk about 'gun culture' is just another example of this, ironic, as he makes this statement in this very article:
"There is something slightly unsettling about the way news reporters seize on these landmarks with the kind of statistical excitement with which you would announce a new sporting record."

Where's his concern over the thousands killed by uninsured motorists, or drunk drivers? Doesn't matter to him, because this is the issue du jour.

Matt, Stockton, CA

Americans may be ignorant of the world around us, but Europeans have no understanding of how much some Americans distrust and hate the federal government. When I see black-clothed SWAT teams I consider them the 'good guys', but many Americans see them as the 'bad guys' (e.g., Waco, TX and Randy Weaver episodes). Self-reliance is a reveered American character trait and the ability to defend oneself goes hand in hand with that. Europeans are used to their socialist governments providing universal health coverage, so why would anyone expect them to understand the 2nd Amendment.

The right to bear arms is with us for the long term. We need to judiciously enforce the laws that exist, but that still won't prevent another tragedy like yesterday from happening again.

Dan, Flemington,

On the other hand, isolated incidents of mass violence are preferred to large scale genocide, violent government oppression and refugee flight that the rest of the world is plagued with. No?!
As terrible as these shootings seem to outsiders, I think they pale in comparrison to the violence large swaths of people are subject to under other less effective forms of government and philosophical mind sets.
The problem is we live in a fish bowl here in the US, with the rest of the world looking in, more interested in what we do wrong, than what their own governments or societies do. We are an easy target for criticism because of our freedoms. P.S. Is Europe (London) immune to the striations of rich and poor? I think not! Your article is full of self righteous inuendo and platitudes.

maria leiter, Cold Spring, USA, NY

Americans do not "tolerate" gun laws, as you say. We embrace a culture of freedom and the rule of law. We are smart enough to know that if you take away guns from the citizen, then only the criminal will remain armed. Just because an insane rogue who is not even from the United States goes on a rampage, doesn't mean that we strip away guns from everyone. That would be counterproductive and anyone with common sense should be able to understand that.

Ben, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

It is interesting that Mr. Baker did not point out that the Virgina Tech campus was a "gun free zone". This means that no one on campus was allowed to keep or carry firearms including the campus police. Yet somehow the murder decided to ignore those laws which is what the criminals always do. When you make it unlawful to own a firearm, only the unlawful will carry firearms.

Morgan Nec, Harrisburg, PA

It is easy for you people to sit and throw rocks. You know NOTHING about the subject, other than what you have been told by a left leaning press. Here is some reality from someone who knows. I am a certified pistol instructor, and I am licensed to carry concealed weapons in thirty one states. So I am qualified to speak on he subject.
First, look at the crime statistics. In all of the thirty seven states that have Right To Carry laws, the crime rates are significanly lower than in the restrictive states. Sometimes 81% lower. This is especially true of the violent crimes, such as murder, rape, aggrivated assault, etc. In your country, with its "enlightened" firearms laws the rate of home invasions is roughly 50% of the total burglaries. In America the rate of home invasions is about 13%. Why? Because more than 55% of american homes have guns therein and people who know how and when to use them. The bad guys fear the armed citizen.

Wake up and smell the coffee.
Hugh Coombs.

Hugh Coombs, Hallstead, , Pennsylvania/U.S.

In case any of you from across the pond haven't noticed, per capita gun crime in the gun-free utopia of Great Britain is now higher than it is in the US.
We have gun control already. We have waiting periods and we have "gun free" zones all over the place. In fact, the US has over 7,000 gun laws on the books combined between federal and state laws. So my question is, just how many more thousands of laws and waiting periods and gun free zones do you think we need?

JSD, Indianapolis, Indiana

It's really quite simple. Banning guns would not have prevented this tragedy - anyone who wants badly enough to get a gun, can. Making school campuses "Gun Free" zones would not have prevented this tragedy - for some strange reason, psychopaths ignore these sorts of things (imagine that!!). Nor would outlawing so called "assault weapons" and bigger ammo clips, or registering gun owners, or bullet/gun "fingerprinting" or any of the dozens of attacks on the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution - no none of it - would have prevented this tragedy. The simple fact is that only one thing would have prevented this tragedy: An armed student or teacher with the fortitude to bring down this animal before he killed or killed again.

Jeff Owens, Vancouver, Washington

What a brilliant idea, make guns illegal, that will take them out of the hands of those that have no respect for the law. We should take this idea to the next step and make drugs illegal also, too many are dying or living wasted lives because of addictions drugs such as cocaine, heroin, etc... we should make those illegal and eliminate the drug problem.

It is surprising to see the number of people that deal with guns as an emotional issue, thinking guns are bad they shouldn't be so many of them. If they dealt with it rationally they would understand that having law abiding citizens armed is something that CRIMINALS would be against. If more people were armed would one armed person be able to kill 32 before somebody could kill him? One armed individual is only capable of killing so many if the others are unarmed. America is a huge country, 300 million is 5 times the size of the UK. However people will interpret singular events however they want to fit what they believe.

Austin Glass, Eustis, FL / USA

Many British scholars credit King Alfred, who ruled England from 871 to 901 A.D., as establishing the principle that all subjects of his dominion were the realm's soldiers. Other commentators trace the obligation of Englishmen to serve in the people's army to 690 A.D. Regardless of the beginning date, an Englishman's obligation to serve in a citizen army is an old proposition. Coupled with this obligation to defend the realm was the obligation to provide oneself with weapons for this purpose.

The 2nd Amendment to the US Constition reads: "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." Personally, I don't see this Amendment being revoked any time soon.

A couple of us who lost loved ones yesterday in VA also lost loved ones on Sept 11, 2001. What a stark reminder that insanity has many faces, comes in many forms and can be found anywhere! May God bless us all.

Pam, Upstate NY,, NY USA

We are so lucky to live in the UK where thanks to Tony Blair banning all guns when he came into power nobody ever gets shot! Back on planet earth even when guns are outlawed people get shot nearly every day as the UK proves so lats not be getting 'Holyier than thou' when it comes to gun laws.

Kev, Warrington, UK

Many Americans are very frustrated with the political power wielded by the NRA (and they do have some serious power). Many U.S. campaigns stand little chance of success without the NRA's blessing or at least lack of active opposition, because they are such an amazingly well-funded lobby. A lot of us feel our gun laws are truly insane. But the harsh fact we must deal with now is this: even if we could change these laws today, the genie is already out of the bottle. How do we even begin to grapple with the illegal guns out there already? I don't believe these will ever be voluntarily relinquished.

Julie, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Typical short-sighted liberalism. The problem here was the Virginia Tech RESTRICTION on gun possession by lawful students/faculty/administration. Look at the facts - previous school shootings were often ended by a citizen with a legal gun - after they had to run out to their cars while the shooting continued in order to get the weapon. Face it, criminals/nutcases will always have/find guns, the only issue is whether we disarm the good guys. After all, VTech restricted guns on campus, so this couldn't happen, right?

What about the University of Montreal shooting? Canada doesn't have a "gun culture", and they have restrictive gun laws.

Ski, Centerville, OH

Gun Controls, while sounding good, control nothing but law abiding citizens. Those of you who advocate gun control may be interested to learn that all mass genocides in human history have been preceeded by disarming law abiding citizens.
Nazi Germany's style of gun control removed the last barrier to the genocide of Appx. 13 million people. It was key in the success of this misguided political scheme.
Look at what happened to people in Ottoman Turkey, Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, China Nationalist, Red China,
Guatemala, Uganda, Cambodia, and Rwanda.So many unarmed defenseless people.All gun control states
World Governments wiped out Appx. 170 MILLION innocent non- military lives in the 20th Century alone. That's more than 4 times as many civilians as were killed in all the int'l. and domestic wars combined. Governments murdered millions more people than were killed by common criminals.
And some of you have the audacity to ask why we American's want to keep and bear arm

Randy Lee, Winter Springs,Florida, USA

Yes, the second amendment does protect our right to bear arms according to the supreme court. However it says nothing about bullets, so let people have their guns, they just can't have any ammunition for them.

esteban, orange,

To those who would ban the use of and destroy every weapon, be sure to chop off your hands and feet as well. Man himself can become a weapon although one not as efficacious as knifes and bullets. Relinquishing modern tools will only force the violent to resort to more primitive means to perpetrate injury.

Stephen, Storrs, CT

There was a time when it was NECESSARY to carry a gun in the US but that was when the country was in its infancy not now. We also know that if someone wants to get a firearm then they will but why make it so easy for them. A small comparison is that if you leave your car unattended with the engine running then you should not be too surprised if it disappears so when let people just buy guns as a commodity don,t be too surprised when they fall into the wrong hands. It seems that no matter how many times this sort of outrage happens in the US they are determined to hang on to a law that is as outdated now in 2007 as the one in England that used to dictate archery practise in the Middle Ages. We managed to give up swanning around with swords at our sides so why can,t the US give up guns being freely available?

Des Boss, Nuneaton, England

The guns were tools, operated by a human being (albeit someone who obviously had some issues). A society with guns is a much more polite society, it goes without saying. Blame the shooter, don't blame the guns. Remember, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy managed to kill dozens and dozens of people without using guns as a weapon. Personally, when I'm in the USA, I wouldn't be without one.

sk8rgurl, Amsterdam, NL

The problem is not the availiblity of weapons. Switzerland, Finland, Germany, etc have quite a few weapons in the hands of their citizens. The problem is deeper, and to the best of my knowledge, unexplained.

I am sure, however, that none of this will stop the writer of this piece from offering facile solutions.

Interestingly, a representative of VT recently hailed the Virginia legislature's voting down of a bill that would have allowed student's to carry weapons on campus. I believe he said it would make the campus safer. I guess he was wrong.

Greg Bell, Warner Robins, GA

A few of the yanks commenting here have mentioned that the gunman was on a visa, hence he broke the law when obtaining his firearm.
If the US had better laws, which didn't allow gunshops to sell guns with such ease, then this guy would not have been able to get a gun in the first place.
Better laws would have prevented criminals from getting hold of weapons too.
However we're talking about the United States Of Anything I want, Whenever i want it. It's time to stop handing out guns like Candy...

Rob, Chicago, IL

You can read the comments here from my fellow Americans. Those comments should tell you all you need to know about why this type of gun violence is allowed to continue in my country. They need their guns and damn the danger that comes from them. It would not even matter if their own children were the next victims. They are the same people who believe Iraq was involved in 9/11, that "supporting our troops" means risking their lives in an ill-conceived war and that America is the savior of the world. They will be the first to tell Europe, "Hey, we came to your rescue in WW II." They don't know their history, or they would know that we allowed three years of hell to pass by in Europe before we showed up on the scene in WW II. Pearl Harbor was the reason we joined the fight. Pearl Harbor. We did not come to the aid of the English for three years, as Hitler blitzed the hell out of the country. Not something to be proud of, in any light.

Casey, Washington, D.C.,

Can anyone say for a fact stricter gun laws would have prevented this?

The real problem is that there are too many loonies out there. And I don't know what you do about that.

gb, Austin, USA

It is not a surprise that Gerard Baker and the columnist from Le Monde used yesterdays tragedy to once again attack the United States. I find it deplorable that instead of trying to write an article that might in some way lift up the parents of the dead, Baker immediately goes on the offensive regarding gun control. How many years did it take you to solve the Ireland issue? Oh, that's right we had to do it for you. Just like every other issue in the world. The U.S. is supposed to solve ALL the problems and yet everyone just wants to attack and attack. Does anyone ever question if there is a motive... I find that the human spirit usually has at it's most base a PERSONAL motive.

Stephen, Tampa/FL, USA

"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." Is the Second Amendment an absolute right? The right to bear arms has been improperly expanded and the "second amendment" used as a clarion call. Who needs semi of fully automatic weapons, small weapons that can be hidden ... for that matter most double action weapons. This country is log jammed on gun control.

I am a gun owner and my entire family has been trained to properly handle weapons. A gun is a tool, properly maintained and locked up with ammo safely put elsewhere. We live in a remote area of the west where guns are very occasionally useful. We use single action weapons. I don't want to rapidly shoot anything. Get rid of the rapid fire and concealable weapons.

Brian Larson, San Luis Obispo, USA/California

" A people can never be deprived of their liberties, while they retain in their own hands, a power sufficient to any other power in the state."

Noah Webster

Brad, Salt Lake City, USA/ Utah

The overwhelming majority of gun owners in the United States are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Car accidents kill far more Americans each year than guns, yet no one is proposing to radically restrict access to motor vehicles. While high-profile and tragic events like Virginia Tech serve as a flash point for international debate, it's more of an emotional dialogue than a logical one. Let's not lose sight of the actual facts.

Chris, Edison, USA, New Jersey

While I’d never own a gun, they have benefits as well as cost. For instance, in June 1940, most Britons would have been happy for their country to have had 70 million privately owned guns available after Dunkirk.

Only about 35% of American households own guns, and most are used for hunting, sport or crop or livestock protection. In remote places, gun ownership is often necessary for personal safety. The vast number of guns owned privately in the United States is the result of stock-piling of weapons by a small percentage of the population.

By the way, the notion of a “right to bear arms” does not originate in the American Second Amendment, but in English Bill of Rights of 1689. Historically, the Second Amendment has been given a narrow interpretation by the courts, and it is doubtful whether it entrenches any right of weapon stock-piling. It speaks of the collective right of “the people” to a “well regulated” militia. If anything, the Second Amendment contemplates gun control.

Kevin McGuinness, Hamilton, Canada

As a visiting professor from the UK in the US I find striking how easily in the past few years ideology has taken the place of reasoning in this side of the Atlantic. Ideology is important and it has to provide foundations to reasoning but when it supplants it we are in trouble. While it is probably true that tougher gun control would not prevent acts like the one that took place yesterday, the gun advocates miss the point. Everyone snaps or gets very angry at some point and wants to shoot somebody, but when it most places the feeling goes aways in few minutes, the easily availability of arms results in somebody getting injured (can you imagine an armed student after failing an exam or loosing a girlfriend?) . Stop the lie about the 2nd Amendment and love for freedom. 3,000 people died from 9/11 due to terrorism in US and people seem willing to give up 1st, 4th and 14th amendment rights, while more than 90,000 died due to arms but the 2nd Amendment seems to be written in stone..

Fernando Barrio, St Louis, MO

I grew up in Virginia, and my parents still live there. Just last week, my mother told me of an incident in which a friend of the family was involved in a minor traffic incident coming out of a shopping mall. She beeped her horn at the other driver, who then took out a gun and pointed it at her head. Our friend hit the gas and was lucky enough to get away. Just two years prior, her son was pistol whipped during a petrol station robbery. Guns are everywhere and I can only pray never to lose someone to a shooting. As with what happened during Prohibition, I don't think banning guns would solve the problem, and nothing will ever completely solve it. But I do think that we should pass more stringent laws restricting gun ownership. For instance, no one with so much as an arrest record should be able to own a gun, and there should be some kind of psychological screening in place. But in the case of Virginia Tech, I don't know what might have prevented it. The kid had illegal guns on him.

Shelley, Boston, USA

It may be unrealistic to expect all US states to ban firearms. However a lot could be done to limit their availability.
I am informed that any 21 yo can buy a gun over the counter in Virginia. As long as they only buy 1 a week!
And is it really necessary for the public to own assault rifles and powerful hand guns? Also, why would you need more than one weapon?
Possession of unregistered firearms should carry a heavy punishment.
This would be a start. I don't believe the will or motivation to limit guns exists. Therefore this sort of thing will continue. Sadly.

Douglas , Horsham, W Sussex UK

Some people commenting here are saying things to the effect of, "no one has a reason to carry a gun." What they don't realize is that the occurence at Virginia Tech is the reason people need guns. People need weapons to DEFEND themselves! Surely if there had been any adequate security on campus other than a no guns policy, many of these deaths could have been avoided.

Charles Draeger, Colfax, North Carolina

You are an absolute fool to think that any further gun control legislation would have prevented this tragedy. It is in fact just the opposite, where the restrictive measures that the VT administration put into place (no firearms on the campus) may have caused more carnage. Do you honestly think that had this murderer read another posted sign indicating that you're not allowed to have a gun in your possesion, would have stopped and thought not to continue on his murdering spree. You indicate that DC has the very restrictive gun control measures, yet why do you think that it is still the murder capital of the country (maybe the world). The reason is simple, no one can protect themselves from criminals and a maniac, like that at VT. Over 20,000 gun control measures have been on the books for years, yet uneducated people, in the field of self defense, want more laws.

Larry M., Buffalo, NY

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin said that and he was a much smarter man than I am. Someone who will give up his right to have the power to defend his home so that someone wont attack him invites the attacker by lowering his defenses. Only the "bad guys" will strive to keep their weapons if any sort of restriction is placed on guns.

Charles Draeger, Colfax, North Carolina

If a government wants to disarm it's population, The question should be asked, What does the government have in mind that it does not want it's citizens armed? I am 60 years old and we have had weapons in the house ever since I was a child... No one in my family has ever shot, or threatened to shoot anyone. A gun is a tool. It is only dangerous when used by the negligent, ignorant, evil, or insane. Virginia Techs horrendous loss only proves it.

Alan, Las Vegas, NV, USA

The Virginia killer was a Korean - not Chinese -resident 'alien' who has lived in the US since he was eight; he was also a registered student at Virginia Tech. He obtained his guns legally. Virginia law allows non-citizens with the proper visas and ids to buy guns, and Cho Seung-hui did so.

This, it seems to me, makes all the 'criminals can always get illegal guns' argument beside the point.

As for whether gun control laws stop crime, I haven't enough factual information to say, but the lowest big city murder rate in the US seems to be in New York City, and it is one of the very few places in America where the murder rate is declining. New York, both city and state, also has very strict gun control laws. On the other hand, violent crime seems to be sharply on the rise in the midwest, where guns are more freely available. I doubt in either case that gun control is the main factor, but it surely plays some part.

Elena Bivona, Flushing, New York

why do people use such bad events to push a political agenda like Gun Control? It as if somehow that guy used legal means to bring those guns to kill all those kids.It turns my stomach to take such a painful time to make political points.You should be ashamed of yourself!

Micahel Waterhouse, Limestone,

As an American and gun owner I would like to remind all people around the world of this; GUNS DO NOT KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE. If this individual was bent on killing as many people as possible, banning guns would not have stopped him. Many studies and reports show that communities which have strict gun laws suffer far worse in gun related crimes than those which do not. Take as an example D.C. Draconian gun laws and still the highest gun murder rate/murder rate in the nation. Did banning guns decrease this number? NO! We have plenty of gun laws in this country yet those which would do the most good are not enforced due to our culture of attempting to rehabilitate murderers and thugs.

Jon W., Ashland, Va.

Increased gun ownership leads to decreased gun crimes.

It has been mandatory in Kenesaw, GA to own a gun for the past 16 years. Yet there have been only three murders: two with knives (1984 and 1987) and one with a firearm (1997). After the law went into effect in 1982, crime against persons plummeted 74 percent compared to 1981, and fell another 45 percent in 1983 compared to 1982. And it has stayed impressively low. In addition to nearly non-existent homicide (murders have averaged a mere 0.19 per year), the annual number of armed robberies, residential burglaries, commercial burglaries, and rapes are very low. With all the attention that has been heaped upon the lawful possession of firearms lately, you would think that a city that requires gun ownership would be the center of a media feeding frenzy. It isn't. The fact is I can't remember a major media outlet even mentioning Kennesaw. Can you? The reason is obvious....

Chuck, Statesboro, GA

Thank God we Americans have guns...if not, we'd still be ruled by your socialist, tyrannical government!

I agree there is a problem with our gun laws: they're too restrictive! Let school employees take their concealed weapons with them on campus. Otherwise our campuses are defenseless victim zones, much like your country is. Your police can't even carry weapons to defend themselves!

God bless America!

Joel, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Gun ownership is just one of the quirky things that Europeans can point to in America. If we were more like Europeans, we would withdraw all of our military support from the Europeans and let them defend themselves; we would never have entered WWII at all since it wasn't our fight; we would put massive tariffs on EU goods and quit worrying about globalization and "fairness", and so on. If we were more like Europeans, we would daily worry out loud in our media about what is wrong with Europeans' lives and culture.

I think the behavior of the UK sailors and Marines is probably a good example of how the soft, politically-correct upbringing of European culture of the last decades has emasculaed Europe. Europe is now basically defenseless. Perhaps it's time to start handing out guns to the few left who think their own lives are more worth defending more than worrying about hurting the feelings of the people taking over your countries?

Mike, Durango, Colorado

Many people are unaware that the U.S. Constitution only protects people from the federal government. The right to bear arms is directly related to citizens protecting themselves from tyranical rule, which in colonial times was appropriate as standing armies had the same arms.

Obviously, current military weaponry makes the firearms citizens hold meaningless. While I don't advocate the total ban of all firearms, I do call for some common sense. Nowhere in the constitution does it call for citizenry to carry military grade weaponry or handguns that can wipeout tens of people in seconds due to a ridiculous ammo capacity.

True, criminals do not follow gun laws, but if these ridiculous weapons were not sold to the public they would not end up in criminal hands. How many people died yesterday as a result of a 19 round ammo clip! Do you really need 19 rounds to protect yourself from a mugger with a knife? If you do, you may want to consider glasses instead of a handgun.

Jack G., Lisle, USA

I guess if the killer at Virginia Tech had strapped a bomb vest to himself and set it off at a basketball or football game then we wouldn't be hearing from London about our lack of gun laws.
When we start blaming people for their actions and stop trying to cover a gaping would (The human condition) with a band-aid (gun control) then we will be making progress. But as long as humans think of themselves as their own moral compass, then we have absolutely no hope.

James Kimble, Madison, USA Alabama

Look at the way society is evolving -- we live in jammed neighborhoods, but we don't know our neighbors. More and more we live in fear and hatred of each other. The more we grow in numbers, the more pressure and competition for jobs, food, friends, space, free time. We try to solve our fears of being terrorized by strangers by going to war, or arming ourselves at home, and we are kidding ourselves if we think we are safer with our guns. But as Americans we would rather live a lie and feel safe than to face our enemies or show them compassion.
My sympathy for the families and friends of the recent innocent who did not deserve the fate they were delivered yesterday.
If guns were not so easily available, the shooting outrage as we witnessed yesterday would not exist.
It's getting harder to trust those you don't know, but the alternative is to live in fear and hatred, which in the end creates more fear and hatred. It's getting harder to treat other as you would want to be treated.

Alicia Hoover, San Antonio, TX USA

This tragic event is sure to bring about a renewed debate about gun control in the U. S. It will last for six weeks or until another disaster knocks it from the headlines, whichever comes first. America has become a nation of instant-gratifiers who have developed a pathological taste for sensationalism, horror, and scandal. We are the decadent, short-attention span Romans of the modern world.

Gary Goins, Atlanta,

As an American, I enjoy freedoms unlike many billions of people, solely because I live in the United States. One of those freedoms is the Consitutional right to own a weapon. As an Alaskan for 20 years, I hunted everything from moose to caribou to ptarmigan, yet I never even remotely thought of loading my guns and taking them against another human being.
The fact that every day millions of Americans who responsibly own weapons for sport, pleasure or what have you, do not go around shooting others is a testament to the fact that the majority of people own firearms in this country do so responsibly.
We fought for our freedoms with blood, sweat and tears to escape the tyranny of "government control" from England. Freedom doesn't just have a good side, one must accept the bad that comes along with it. I would never change the country I call home simply because weak willed individuals cannot control their anger. I am also glad I have the ability to shoot back at those shooting at me.

greg, eugene, oregon, USA

Here we go again. The mourning has not even stopped and already the Left, the benevolent forces of Tolerance, is on the march. If only we would ban guns, the bright flowering of Utopia and the Age of Aquarius would dawn. The two greatest acts of terrorism in the U.S. were performed with boxcutters, fertilizer and diesel oil (9/11 and OK City). Evil exists both collectively and personally. So does responsibility. You will banish neither by outlawing guns. There are millions of gun owners in America. I am one of them. 99.99 percent of us will never commit a gun crime. The minute that the state tells me that I can not defend and protect my family and property from predators, I cease to be a free man and am at the mercy of criminals and the State. This may appeal to you European Socialists. It does not appeal to the vast majority of Americans.

Stanley Gwizdak Jr, Fairbanks, Alaska / USA

It happens everywhere in the world, it's our rights to own one, it's guarenteed by the constitution. Also you can kill people with a steak knife. So should we ban those? There are millions of safe gun owners, why should a few bad ones make everyone lose their rights.

Zach, Chicago, US, Illinois

I do not think our forebearers had a semi-automatic 9 mm handgun with a 24 round clip in mind when they guaranteed the right of the masses to bear arms. The pro-gun geniuses who submitted to this discussion equate automobiles with guns, know for a fact that gun controls have no effect on gun violence, and believe that unlimited access to guns results in less violence! As for the rugged individualism of Americans- in the wake of 9/11 and the hysterical fear-mongering that ensued my fellow Americans could not wait to give up their fundamental rights to privacy and due process. Hooray for the USA!

Mark, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Why stop with the ban on guns because their illegal use can result in the death of innocent people. Automobiles used illegally (drunk driving, speeding, careless driving) kill far more people annually than hand guns and long rifles combined. Murderers have used knives, golf clubs, screwdrivers, pipes, chains, gasoline, electric drills, and even chain saws to kill people. A recent gang tactic due to tighter enforcement of existing gun laws resulting in prison time is carrying baseball bats to beat your victim to death. Personnally, I'd rather be shot than beaten to death with an aluminum bat.

I have a concealed carry permit and happen to carry the same Glock 19 this killer carried. I have not killed anyone with it or even fired it at another person. The one time I needed it for self defense required nothing more than displaying it in the holster on my hip to send the would be attacker running away.

The problem isn't the gun; its the sicko pulling the trigger!

A Sheepdog!

Jody, St Paul, MN

Yes, the District of Columbia has probably the strictest gun laws of any city in the U.S., and a lot of good it's done them. In 2005, Washington, D.C. had the 13th highest murder rate (murders per 100,000 population) of any American city and of the 12 cities ranked ahead of it, only Baltimore and Detroit had higher populations. In 2003, D.C. (population: 563,000) had 248 murders, while New York City (population: 8,000,000) had 597. Fort Worth, Texas, a fairly conservative southern city with a slightly higher population and far fewer gun restrictions than D.C., had only 57 murders.

The truth is that strict gun laws do more to take guns away from law-abiding citizens than from criminals. People who have a permit to carry a concealed handgun are statistically far less likely to commit a gun crime than people without one. And states that have allowed such permits have seen drops in their crime rate after concealed handgun permits began to be issued to qualified applicants.

Jonathan, Arlington, Texas, USA

I expect that American lawyers have gone over and over this but it seems to me that the second amendment makes the right to bear arms contingent on the need for "a well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State". I shouldn't think that the National Guard troopers are expected to equip themselves. There is nothing in the second amendment about self-defence. Putting aside whether gun control would be good or bad, I do believe that the second amendment itself it a pretty feeble escuse walking around tooled up like Rambo.

Geoffrey, Sydney, Australia

Guns and their control are not entirely or substantially the reason for the many deaths whitnessed in America.

When a country willingly accepts to go to war, on ill-founded 'facts', secure in the knowledge that innocents will be killed, then what is the life worth of someone who directly harms your person or ego.

If leaders, supposedly morally upright, can kill people they have never met, with little to no remorse what is the hope for a person with a broken mind and his enemy in his own town?

The elders have taught the youth to seek retribution through assault. It is only natural that these actions are imitated by the weak.

Tim, Birmingham, England

Of all the rights that are available to be given up for a "greater cause" such as personal safety, the one least likely to be given up is the right to defend one's self. Simply put, that is the right most likely to be felt personally. If I gave up the right to, say, vote, my candidate would very well be victoriopus or defeated without my input. Most people understand that and that is why only half of the qualified voters stay at home on election day. But If I give up my right to defend myself, when it comes time, waiting for the police to come rescue my butt verses defending myself right then and there, could make the difference between whether I die or my family becomes brutalized or worse, thus becoming a grim statistic, or to live to continue to be a productive citizen and supportive family member. So giving up my gun so that 30 other people somewhere else MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be hurt is too much of a stretch for me to become enamored to the "throw your gun away" lobby. ...Sorry.

Michael Fleming, Boxborough, Massachusetts

The arguement of the anti-gun control lobby rings hollow and is intellectually dishonest. Access to guns, and especially handguns, needs to be much more rigorously regulated if we don't want to see this sad event played over and over again. Considering Virginia's gun laws, it was only a matter of time:

- No waiting period for gun sales
-No required safety training for buyers of handguns
-No requirement to register ANY gun with law enforcement
-No background checks required for sales at gun shows
-Not mandatory that locking devices be sold w/ guns
-No license or permit required to buy handguns
-No background checks required on "private" gun sales.

And for James in Mooresville, NC, Europe's economic system allows disparities, yes, but nothing on the scale we in the U.S. tollerate. That's an aboulute fact, not anti-americanism. Educate yourself.

Gordon, Washington, DC

Certainly it's important to note that there have been instances like this across the globe, the Dunblane shootings being the most vivid in the British psyche. The conclusion therefore must be that every now and then there will be some warped soul who will find a gun through any means necessary to cause mass murder.
However, after having read wide-eyed through some of the startling comments posted, the amount of people calling for MORE guns just shocks me to the core.
Surely if there are rare instances whereby somebody's 'cry for help' is to tote around a gun, having a proliferation of them in every bedside drawer in the nation only facilitates their use - hence a much higher gun-crime ratio. Yes, guns may be obtained illegally, but as demonstrated by the figures, evidently on a much lower scale than if the guns are available readily.
Self-defence with a gun is only necessary if someone has a gun with which to attack.

a british expat, Barcelona, Spain

My wife has had a novel idea on the subject for many years. We tax gasoline, why not tax bullets? About $20 a round. Might put a damper on things.

John Shanley, Feasterville , Pa.

The reason for the 2nd amendment was not for hunting or sporting purposes but to arm the citizens in the event they needed to defend themselves against a tyranical government.

All of the other Bill of Rights would hold no substance if it were not for the 2nd amendment. What we really need is mandatory gun safety training in schools. We have drivers education in schools and driving is not a right but a priviledge. Also, cars kill way more people than guns do in the US. Yet, I do not see people calling for the outlawing of cars.

RickMonday, Chicago, Il

Just a clarification. In the U.S. you cannot just go to any gun store and come out with an automatic weapon or machine gun. Fully automatic weapons are illegal to own and have been since the 1930s.

The 2nd Amendment states, "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." Amendments 1, 2, and 4 all mention "the right of the people" and amendments 9 and 10 mention rights retained and powers reserved for "the people".

You cannot say "the right of the people" in the 2nd amendment refers only to the right of "a well regulated militia," but that "the right of the people" in the 1st and 4th amendments refers to all people. When you read the writings of Jefferson and Madison and what they had to say about guns and gun ownership, it's very clear that the writers of the Constitution meant for 2nd Amendment to apply to all people.

Jonathan, Arlington, Texas, USA

Unfortunately, "harsher measures to control guns", the usual liberal drumbeat, are to no avail. We're talking about a South Korean national here, who had no rights whatsoever to own fiream of any kind, and he still has them, with the serial numbers filed and with over 10,000 gun laws on the books already. I suspect further investigation will reveal they were stolen or purchased from a criminal. I guarantee he didn't buy them from a reputable gun dealer. Our breakdown in a family being a parent and teaching their children of the sanctity of human life is what's at fault her, magnified by generations of poor parenting and no discipline whatsoever. Teach a child to use a firearm, for sport, for hunting, for self-defense, but also teach him of the worth of a human life, and that you DON'T use a firearm because someone cut you off in traffic or steals your girlfriend...

Keith, Indianapolis, IN

As an American I am abhorred by what happened yesterday in Virginia. The Scotsman is ignorant to say the least, and it offends me and I am sure other Americans. To suggest that most American condone violence, murder, and all its citizens carry guns around like the wild west is laughable. Should we suggest that the school shooting in Scotland manifested because British Imperialism for four centuries? Or that the British is complicit in the massacre in Virginia because of its' support of the Bush Administrations policies in the Middle East? How far should we stretch this?
Admittedly, I think there is a problem in society. First, the proliferation of guns in the U.S. is out of control. The Canadian was correct in that we do have gun laws that are not being properly enforced. Felons with guns should be punished harshly, and the NRA should get their hands out of Washington's pockets. I wish we could throw the guns into the bright, blue sea, but I don't see that on the horizon anytime soon

Robert, Phoenix, Az

Mr. Baker,

I guess you have forgotten about Beslan, Russia in September 2004, where armed terrorists killed a large number of defenseless children.

Laws do nothing to stop those who will disobey them to achieve their goals.

Gun control is not about guns. It's about control.

Frank Leslie, Kempner, TX

The U.S is a very large and diverse place. Federal laws affect everyone, regardless of local conditions. In my state, if you factor out the two most populated counties and their land mass, we have roughly 400,000 people living in 94,000 square miles, or roughly the population of your Manchester living in an area roughly equal to twice that of England. That brings a whole new meaning to what happens when you need help, or protection. Laws that might work well in the inner-city are not necessarily smart in more rural places. That is why we tend towards local and state laws versus federal laws. It is not that we are aginst government, but rather against a big central government.

Jeff, Reno, Nevada

Gerard,
Gun control legislation will NEVER stop determined criminals, PERIOD.

On the other hand, if you, Gerard, could have had the power to have placed one handgun in the hand of the Israeli professor or one of the students when this deranged moron started shooting, would you do it? If not, then why?
If your answer is "Damned right i would!", then.....you are NOT for gun control and your entire argument falls to pieces.

The phrase "gun control IS the ability to hit your target" is quite accurate.

Frank Morris Orange Park, FL

p.s. Homework assignment: Research who all was involved in stopping the Univ. Texas tower shooter. Hint - it wasn't done entirely by law officers.

Frank Morris, Orange Park, US / FL

Guns owned illegally by the criminal classes are mostly used against fellow criminals. They tend not to impact across UK society as a whole. It's a total distortion to suggest that increases in gun crime show the pointlessness of restricting gun ownership. What it shows is that gun crime belongs to some new communities and links mainly to the drugs trade. This has no bearing on Jonny Psycho, who wouldn't visualise spree killing in the UK using semi-automatics because getting them isn't a planning issue, it's a protracted, risky, viciously expensive ambition involving contacts with criminal lowlife - and that's to get something to fire bullets, not shiny Glocks. No, the US got this wrong centuries ago and just won't learn.

David, Leicester,

To those protesting the idea of greater gun control: you miss the point entirely. Yes, killers will still kill and sometimes it's the law-abiding who will be killed. But that's not what this is about. True, there's little that can be done to stop a nut who's out to commit some mayhem or other... though it would serve us all to limit his ability to kill en masse. The real point here, however, is to change the culture fundamentally. We live in a culture with a sickness that's out of control--a romanticized fascination with weaponry, paired with a desensitized attitude towards violence. Restricting the gun culture would, in time, bring the fever pitch of this sickness down several notches and restore some health to this unbalanced society.

Randall, Ithaca, NY

Thousands of innocents???? Compare the number of gun deaths per capita in America to England and they'll be very close. Remember, America has almost 300 million people living in it.

Kevin M, Richmond, USA / VA

Insanity and homocide are part of society, and things that society needs protection from. No government is capable of fully protecting its citzens from homocidal maniacs. Therefore it is everyone's best interest to accept responsibility for their own defense.

Fortunately here in the US we have the right to keep and bear arms. The "militia" referred to in the Bill of Rights is the armed citizenry. Every American should be part of the militia. Unfortunately the militia has been banned from college campuses. Even concealed carry permit holders, who have been investigated and background checked, cannot legally bear arms on a campus.

So where will the insane go to kill people? Where have they gone?

The answer isn't further reducing trust in and responsibility of the law-abiding - the answer is to increase it. If just a fraction of the faculty, staff and students had been armed (as they would have been if it weren't prohibited), yesterday events would have been much different

Roger, Greenville, NC

Its a shame i really feel for these people in vt right now,looking at this while being brought up in a country that bans guns i don't understand the american mentality reading these comments it sounds like america is paranoid about carrying guns how many more people will have to die before somebody does something?

TOM, DUNDEE, SCOTLAND

If a person would like to kill massive amounts of people there are other ways of going about it besides using guns. The killer in this case is suspected in sending in bomb threats to the school days before the incident. I agree that stronger gun laws may be needed in the U.S. but stronger laws do not help insure that incidents of this nature will not continue to happen. If an individual wants to harm many others they were certainly find a way to get around the law.

Kate Comstock, Georgia Tech,

And yet, on this very day, the mayor of Nagasaki, Japan was shot to death on the street by a gangster. This in Japan, a country with very strict gun control laws. And in the UK, the used bombs in the subway. Or Sarin gas. Or explosive belts in Israel.
You see, all the laws in the world will not protect you. It is up to you to protect yourself. That is why we in the US have the second amendment.
Funny how I never see a call for restrictions on the First Amendment when a crowd is incited to riot. But thn newspapers don't like to think of that possibility.

Ron Repp, Nabb, Indiana

To all the world leaders who decry America's "gun culture" and call for tougher gun laws, no guns are allowed on campus or within university limits. Even those that have concealed weapons permits are not allowed to bring weapons on campus. Furthermore, the weapons used had the serial numbers filed off meaning they were probably obtained illegally and the user did not have a permit. All the gun control laws in the world would have not stopped the maniac from obtaining those guns. As far as America’s culture as gun wielding crazies, this person was on a student visa and not raised in our "culture". An unfortunate tragedy, my thoughts and prayers to all the families involved. As an the perp was not raised in America, probably had illegal weapons, lets keep the America bashing to a minimum.

Daniel, Richmond, Va, USA

The headline flags your lack of insight. A killing carried out by somebody with a Korean name who happens to be an immigrant is going to have a psychological origin quite distinct from one committed by two white kids from a wealthy middle class suburb. The MOs may be similar, the motives are not. And whether Virginia Tec or Columbine or any of these crimes could have been deterred by tougher gun laws is debatable. Gangs in Manchester have found that milled out blank-firing pistols bought legally in Germany will do just fine for capping people. If you want to murder badly enough, you'll find a way to do it. Most Swiss households used to possess an army-issued automatic weapon; yet the Swiss don't do this kind of thing. We do because we're a frontier people with a short, violent history. We're used to violence; violence secured our liberty: gun violence. But guns themselves aren't the problem. We are. We know it, and could do without Europe's self-righteous psychologizing.

J. Butcher, ventura, california

Good discussion here (see comments by "jhildner", "litwinski" et al in the TalkBack comments thread at bottom of the article) in one of America's pre-eminent journals, The New Republic: http://www.tnr.com/doc_posts.mhtml?i=w070319&s=wittes031907

thibaud, san jose, california

The 2nd Article of the Bill of Rights was framed when there was no standing army in the country and a "well-regulated militia" was considered "necessary to the security of a free state". There is now a fairly considerable standing army in the USA. Written constitutions are written by humans beings and can be changed by human beings. Changing this "right" may ultimately lead to a change in attitude towards guns. It is not so much possession of weapons that matters. It's learning how to use them. In this country (Germany) it takes three years of instruction and practice and a reasonable financial investment to get a gun licence. Yes. of course there is gun crime here, as everywhere else. But I wouldn't mind betting that there is proportionately a good less gun crime in many European countries than in the US. The UK may be an exception. I don't know. It's thirty years since I set foot in the place.

Anthony Alcock, Kassel, Germany

Vincentf from UT - "owning firearms" doesn't make you free; exercising your rights to vote, assemble, speak freely etc does. The 2nd Amendment made sense when it was not clear whether the fledgling American republic would even survive. There's little risk of that today, and even if there were, you wouldn't need such a constitutional amendment to induce the people to rise up and defend their liberties.

Time to abolish the 2nd amendment. Limit gun ownership to certified hunters living in rural areas and closely regulated by the state. Enough with the idiotic junk constitutionalism, already.

thibaud, san jose, california

I was horrified to hear the news of the tragedy in Virginia, especially as it took place two hours from where I had been raising my three small children until moving to Europe last fall. I was also horrified to read Mr. Baker’s gross misrepresentations of Americans and their ideals of constitutional freedoms. I also find it hard to believe that these “European restrictions” that Mr. Baker speaks so highly of could possibly be the solution. When a country begins limiting the every day rights of its citizens it treads on thin ice. Even after Sept. 11th the US government hasn’t started watching its citizens through closed circuit cameras or passing Behavior Order laws to restrict people who are merely “suspicious”. The beautiful thing about the American constitution is that it was founded on the premise that its citizens were moral people. Sadly it is all of us, as human beings who are guilty of the moral corruption of a person who feels it is ok to walk into a school and kill others.

Anna Maxson, Lyon, France

Owning firearms is a right we are granted that comes with a great deal of responsibility. By owning firearms we are responsible for our safety and those around us.

One person who kills dozens, does not negate our individual freedoms we are granted. The Constitution is not to be easily trifled with, but I doubt Europeans could appreciate personal choice and responsiblity

The reasons we have the right to own guns is because of British misuse of power and hence a healthy mistrust of government. Which is why the 2nd amendment was created.

Maybe we should tighten our immigration laws instead

Patrick, Midvale, Utah/USA

I agree that in theory, it would be the best situation that access to guns in the US be severely restricted. But right now, that's not the case, and how would we get there from here?

We could take many measures now to restrict the availabilty of guns, but criminals will always be able to get access to them, whether they are officially illegal or not. Also, there are so many in the country now, it would be impossible to get all, or even most of them. So, if a criminal has a gun and intends to do you harm, if you yourself have a gun and use it to defend yourself, then you yourself are now a criminal? Is this a good way to have things?

You might legitimately now ask yourselves, "Why do people in the US want to use guns in a harmful way so often?" I don't know the answer to that. That's just the way it is right now, and that's the reality we must work with going forward.

Dennis, Warren, MI, USA

Whew, the politics on this board is really tough! I am a naturalized American who lived in Europe (Belgium) and the UK for a total of 17 years. This argument about gun control is very unproductive because
people will tend to support what they already know.

Americans are highly sceptical of government, the UN and other external concentrations of political and economic power. The right to bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment is the security blanket that Americans cover ourselves with to believe that we will always be free. It puzzles Europeans that Americans are so defensive other our guns. Remember, guns are our guarantee of freedom - our guarantee that our children too can be free.

Europeans have a much greater trust in their States. Yes, voters may think their governments are inefficient, stupid or vote-grasping ... but, they do not expect a takeover by their governments. Right now it is working - but it is still gamble - remember Hitler, Mussolini and Milosevic.

A. Carrington, Machias, USA

One can also say that the price of our liberty and justice system on society is that occasionally, murderers and rapists are set free on technicalities. They often go on to rape and murder again. "Innocent until proven guilty" is the standard by which we live.

What does the picture look like when you look beyond murders by firearm and look at all violent acts?

If America has a higher per capita firearm murder rate, why does it have a lower per capita rate of rape, robbery and other forms of assault?

Keith, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Neither the British total gun ban nor the current US climate in which our leaders allow an assault weapon ban to expire is the right answer--there must be ground in between. Americans cherish their personal freedom, including the right to bear arms, but it is not without restriction. Just like there are restictions on our First Amendment right to free speech, the Government should impose reasonable restrictions on the right to bear arms. In VA, one can go to a store and buy a gun right there--that should not be.
Americans should not follow the British in this regard, but to argue (as so many here have) that there should be no restrictions on gun ownership is to ignore a viable solution to a national problem.

tim, chicago, IL/USA

When are people going to realize that guns do not kill people? Does a Ford F-150 operated by a drunk driver kill an innocent person or is it the responsibility of the drunk behind the wheel? Criminals enjoy gun control laws because A: They don't get their guns legally, anyway and B: They know that an unarmed population is a vulnerable population. Criminals don't like it when citizens are armed. Washington D.C. has the nation's toughest gun control laws; they also have a very high crime rate. Criminals do not buy their guns legally and, in fact, less than 1% of all gun crimes are committed by people who legally own a firearm. If gun control laws were so effective, how do we explain the other 99% of crimes? After all, people can't get guns illegally if there are laws on the books, can they?

I am sick of reading about how horrible the US is because we distrust government, believe in God, support individualism and defend ourselves and our Constitution.

Nick , Pittsburgh,

some of my fellow americans' logic completely escapes me. arm everybody? fine - so, everybody has a gun to defend themselves from school shooters / burglars / jackbooted government thugs...does this change anything? feel safer yet? i'd feel LESS safe with everybody armed, since people are inherently incapable of making rational decisions all the time. and, since the police would always have to remain one step ahead of the armed populace, we'd have even more of a militarized governmental presence on our streets than we did under the yoke of britain.

stop your tired charleton heston NRA propaganda campaign, already...too many of us are dying as a result of it. i fear our country's democracy is buckling under the weight of money-laced payola politicians, guns, and evangelical politicized religion.

my heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one in this senseless tragedy...and to the world, please forgive us americans for what we do to each other.

Brian, Chicago, USA

Andrew Dale UK

"try killing 32 people with a knife"?

800,000 Tutsi & Hutu, victims of the genocide in Rwanda were killed primarily with knifes and machetes.

MCD, Elmhurst, USA

"Finally, we do have a written Constitution, and despite the archaic origins of our 2nd Amendment, it's accepted in our legal tradition that the amendment does guarantee the right to bear arms."

Exactly. If the majority of the population doesn't like the right, let it be removed by constitutional amendment. These sophist arguments that the right isn't one of each individual (adult and law-abiding) citizen is specious.

The militia in ~1790 WAS the citizenry. The US constitution DID NOT concentrate all power in the federal government.

And in ~1790 "well-regulated" meant "well-functioning", not "massively proscribed by law".

T Nelson, Minneapolis, MN, US

The U.S. has allowed far too many guns in the possession of the general public. Implementing a stricter form of gun control is merely idealistic. Americans have a sick sense of freedom, which allows them to courage to stand up for their individuality, rather than for the betterment of the country. Rather the focusing on the impossible issue of control, the United States needs to focus on mental health. That will be the only way. If the insurance companies would provide benefits for therapy, institutionalization, or whatever the individual needs to become stable, there would be less of an occurence of mass violence. With the number of guns in the U.S. it would be impossible to control them. The best option is to find a preventative measure. The U.S. has let the second amendment go on too long, now the only possible way to begin solving the issue is to fix the people. Prevent and treat the illness. Provide free mental healthcare. Educate the public about mental disorders.

Becky, Jacksonville, NC, USA

The handwringing argument of the anti-gun British is a depressing one. There are millions of guns in circulation in the US, legally and illegally. Tight gun controls, whether you support their goals or not, will not effectively remove these from circulation and may compromise what restraints and controls are already in place.
For all the hysterical headlines, gun crime in Britain is still reasonably rare and, when present, tends to be criminal-on-criminal (although not exclusively, as recent events in South London have sadly shown). In real terms, there are very few firearms at large in Britain and firearms do not have the same status or appeal as they do in the US. Simply put - what works fairly well here in the UK would not work at all in America. To suggest that it could is breathtakingly naive.

Ben, London, UK

Given the tenor of some of the British comments, the support for gun control isn't because you're concerned for our safety. For God's sake, this tactless Have Your Say was posted before the bodies were even removed and blamed gun-totin' Americans even though it was a So. Korean who committed the crime. Well, America-haters: Rejoice! There are 32 less of us.

We'll mourn, you save up your venom for the next bash America 'Have Your Say'?

M. Fernandez, San Francisco,

One argument against gun control that is really annoying me - to paraphrase "Outlaw firearms and only the outlaws have firearms " - In pretty much all of these tragic incidents the the shooter was not a criminal - he's average student, deranged father, "that guy next door who always seems nice but kept to himself".

What will most likely be discovered in the aftermath, as in other shootings, is the firearms used in the incident are legally registered to the shooter or associate of the shooter.

The argument does not hold water. With available firearms these incidents will continue. The NRA has blood on its hands again.

Drop the Weapon, UK,

And when it is all said and done, the investigation is over, and we have what happened everyone will find out that the shooter probably violated at least 12 to 15 laws BEFORE he ever set foot on the campus.

The problem isn't the guns, the problem is people. If the US laws were to take an actual stand towards responsible gun ownership instead of this bipolar "You can own a gun, but guns are evil so you shouldn't have one" we would have armed citizens who would be able to responsibly defend themselves.

People have the misconception that the police are supposed to protect the citizens; not true. Police are supposed to arrest criminals, they are not bodyguards. You want to be protected; it's your own responsibility. Society though has created an attitude that if you defend yourself that you are as bad as the criminal "It takes two to fight".
How bout instead of the 'throw away all the guns' argument, we address the real problem - a populace that has forgotten to defend itself

Mark, Dublin, OH

As one of the crazy left-ists of my country, I do agree that the gun issue is complicated at best. Personally, it is one of the few policies that I remain undecided about. An ardent pacifist, my confusion over this issue seems odd to others. My problem is this: especially with crazy right-wing Christians in control of our government, I don't want the only weapons carriers in this country to be the government. As long as citizens lack the resources to defend themselves, despotic governments can not be held in check for the people lack the power to overthrow the government. Which is funny, because I don't believe violence is ever the answer and certainly a few handguns are no threat against the military power at our govt's fingertips. Which is why we are where we are - if you can't even win over all of the liberals and democrats on the gun issue, this is where we end up.

Stacey, Chattanooga, TN

quite a lot of misunderstanding on both sides regarding gun rights.

Every man and woman on earth has the right to defend themselves, including the use of mortal force. This right is not respected by all governments, but it is my right--and yours.

Jim Parker, Tampa , US/Florida

Baker is incorrect about the influence of the NRA being overblown. Even though polls have shown that the majority of Americans want tougher gun controls, both political parties are cowed by the ability of a vocal minority to swing close elections.

Mitchell Smith, Yardley, PA US

I think the issue is much too complicated to now be solved by a ban on guns. If you were to ban guns in the US, how could this be implemented? The law abiding citizens may turn in their guns, however those are the people that are most likely to never use their weapons to carry out such a horrible act.

The people that pose a true danger would always find a way to obtain guns, just as they find a way to get drugs, or anything else that is illegal. And I do believe most guns used in crimes like this are obtained illegally - adding to the fact that simply a ban on guns would not prevent this type of situation.

Unfortunately, the second ammendment seems to have been too literally interpreted over time and has allowed this situation to develop into a problem that is so out of control it seems hopeless.

Jessica, Boston, MA,

It seems to me that bombs are the weapon of choice in Europe. Yes, That's SO much more civilized.

Roy, Minnesota, USA

Each year more people in America are killed from firearms than
were killed on 9/11. The real terror in America are the more than 200,000,000 guns floating around out there.

Bruce Northwood, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

The UK used to be a powerful and much respected Empire. It is so sad to see it wane and wither under the politically correct touchy-feely united Europe. C'est la vie.
We in America are blessed that our Founding Fathers had had enough of repression under your King George. They in their wisdom and with divine inspiration saw fit to put into writing OUR Rights so as to try to protect future generations from the affliction that now is rampant in the UK...degenerative spine condition. We here value our God Given Rights and don not give a tinkers Damn what any Foreigner thinks about them. If you across the pond are so troubled and scared of our conviction to protect our selves, please stay away so as to not be put in danger. We would not want to frighten you with our penchant for exercising and protecting our rights.
You see, the 2nd amendment is our last line of defense against tyranny. Internal or external.
Has your crime rate gone down since all of your guns were taken??? Humm

Icepick, Chuluota , Florida

Mr. Baker shows a stunning naivete about the "gun culture" in America, as do a number of commenters. The Right to Bear arms, a constitutional right, was designed to protect individuals against governmental usurpation, to prevent government from trampling on the rights of its citizens (which was one of the causes of the American Revolution).

No matter where one is the world, a person with means and effort can obtain weapons, even in the UK. Denying citizens the right to protect themselves is the ultimate in paternalistic socialism--an outlook pointed rejected by America. That is what makes America exceptional in the "civilised world."

Matt Johnston, Frederick, Maryland, USA

Bans on anything do not work. Look at the gun control in the UK: gun violence is on the rise....a recent article in the Times lamented the youthful violence involving knives. You can ban knives, but like gun bans, it won't work. Next will be clubs or something else. It is not the gun that kills....It is the person who intends to use it that way. Society looks for the easy way out, a ban, or some type of governmental control. The HARD answer that nobody cares to address is that the problem lies with we as a people. We are changing, and not for the better. What keeps a police officer(who carries a firearm) from going on a shooting spree? His/her make up as a person. Same as the millions of gun owners who you never hear of that DON'T go nuts. Maybe we should ban people and give the planet back to the animals.

Mike Hermsen, Omaha, Nebraska/U.S.A.

I'm very confused. These shootings take place "every few months", but your list has only 4. You say that this "record" will likely be eclipsed in a "year or two", but this was the worst killing spree on a college campus in 41 years. You say that the decisions of the Supreme Court change over time depending on the political makeup of the Court, but stare decesis and other factors have, in fact, limited the ability fo the Court to change its decisions much at all over time. You are confounded by the gun related violence and advocate stricter laws "like European countries", but the safest places in teh US are those in which concealed carry laws are prevalent and there is a high degree of participation. By contrast, rates of violent crime have risen dramatically since England invoked draconian gun control laws several years ago. Do you think it is a coincidence that these characters seek out safe areas where guns are not allowed?

Rick Williamson, Dallas, Texas, USA baby

Yes, ban the guns. Then the knives, baseball bats, bicycle chains, rocks and fists. Better get rid of gasoline too, someone could burn down their neighbors house over a property dispute.

Nice to see so many people on this board taking the time to use the dead bodies as a soapbox to condemn the United States, God knows we dont hear enough of that as it is. There are American graveyards scattered throughout Europe which testify to our violent nature, a nature which certainly seemed to come in handy while beating back the nazis.

One last thing to keep in mind, the two most murderous episodes in American history utilized fertilizer and box-cutters: Oklahoma City and the 911 attacks. Thats it, no more gardening, we need to ban plant food!

Matt, Minneapolis, USA

And what if this guy killed those people with a pointy stick? Will we then call for a ban on pointy sticks? The fact is gun control laws do NOTHING to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, it only keeps guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens. If we outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have guns.....

Brian, Flint, MI

I have to say that i was shocked and saddened by the incidents at virginia tech uni. I have to say that I think its ok for Americans to have weapons to protect themselves but the type of gun has to be regulated I mean what's the use of automatic rifles and the like. With these guns is easy to kill and that can only lead to trouble.
I mean a simple handgun should be allowed at most and this would reduce the the oppotunistic killing which accounts for most of the 80 deaths every day that occur in america.
Tighter gun regulation would you would think limit these opportunistic killings but they would not prevent the mass killing at the university, as if some wanted to kill they would. This is a much larger issue as it is down to the glamorisation of violence in entertainment and a lack of respect to each other , this can only be changed by good upbringing.

Mr Jumbu, Notts , UK

Guess what? The gun that was used had the serial numbers etched off of it. This means it was either purchased from a private party or was purchased illegaly from someone other than a licensed gun dealer. Gun laws, whether in the British Isles or here in the Colonies, would not have prevented the purchase.
No amount of planning or legislation would have prevented this horrific event from occuring. This was an emotional response from a person who was ill equipped to handle interpersonal matters. No amount of legislation or restriction of gun ownership will deal with the underlying issues at work in this instance.
So if you wish to continue with this line of rhetorical garbage, then I suggest you find a soap box and make your way to Hyde Park and join the rest of those crying in the wilderness.

Dave , Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA

Keep in mind VT had recently banned guns on campus as part of a students against violence initiative. VT also led the way to defeat a bill in the Virginia legislature that would've enforced state law on a campus (which was a move by pro-gun advocates to allow students to carry guns on campus where they were banned).

Compare this to Appalachain State University which is only a few hours away from VT and still in Viriginia. in 2002 a student started on a shooting rampage but was stopped when two other students ran to their cars and drew their guns to prevent the incident from escalating.

Both incidents are sad and a reflection of the gun culture here, but the reality is this...banning guns only leaves them in the hands of those who are going to use them for crime.

Dominic, Raleigh, NC, USA

There should be gun control laws in all 50 states. Illegal guns are fine but one can't keep selling guns. There will always be an illegal trade. But violence runs deep in America. They love the "Al Pacino," in all of us, the "Scarface."

Scarface was a poor immigrant that rose from poor to rich with a gun. A lot of young people in America feel that for them to get ahead they may need to use guns. Most psychologists, as I'm one, do feel that there only a few psychokillers in the world.

But for frustrated people, and young people, who are not depressed and taking medicine could get more guns. The economy provides jobs for average wages. The governement (federal) and all the states must be careful of 'the young generations, foreign or home born'. The isolation of the communities of the American suburbia is going to get worse.

Gun bans and Americans talking about a non violent nation will help.
-Gabriel Metzger (US Citizen)

Gabriel, Bangkok, Thailand

As you yourself stated it is a country of different cultures, I have travelled all over my great nation and I can tell you that Miami, Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah are as different as night and day. Literally and figutarively. Miami is a largely minority city with a large Hispanic and Black population and is plagued with rampant crime. Salt Lake City is an overwhelmingly White and Mormon city with a very low crime rate where violent crime is virtually non-existant. This is not meant to demean anyone, I'm simply stating fact. Although this was a horrific event that occurred in Virginia it is still a relatively uncommon occurrence in a country of 300 million people. And one that only occurs once or twice every few years. Yes once or twice every few years is once too often but the positives of allowing decent law abiding Americans to possess firearms far outweigh the negatives. And by the way what strange sports were you referring to? Beckham or not we hate soccer.

Dontonio Grant, New York City, New York/ USA

John from Colorado writes: More gun laws are not the answer to problems; stricter penalties is. Maybe that's why the USA's toughest high security prison is in Colorado? Sorry dear friend: the only solution is: get the gun out of the Constitution. Once and for all. It was written when the US had no standing Army. When the British came down on Washington in 1812 there were plenty of armed US militia men, but they were not organized. British troops burned down Washington, and the White House. US politicians learned their lesson: they passed legislation to enable the USA to have a standing Army. So: scrap the Militia amendment, and get rid of the "Right To Bear Arms" - the Army does that now for you.

Edgar, San Francisco, CA

Of course incidents such as those violent shootings at schools clearly have multiple causes. Guns have been prevelent through American history, and were present during the 1960s, 1970s, etc.; yet there were not these mass shootings at those times. It is not just too many guns, as I believe that is too knee jerk and simplistic; or the video games either! I believe alot of it has to do with the break dowm of authority, respect. and discipline; in American society in general, but especially in the schools. Many feel entitiled, feel no need to restrain impulses, have such an over whelming feelinfg of self, that the feelings/existence of others is not something they consider. Even if a violent student is a foreigner (apparently it is usually an American), I believe the students get caught up in the cultural of entilement, disrespect, and self absorbtion. It is not just the guns and games. The more people have internal controls the less they need external controls (big gov.)

Bruce Buirkle, Dallas, Tx

What you fail to understand is that if law abiding citizens, like willing professors, are carrying a weapon, they could have shot the gunman dead and protected themselves. Criminals do not follow the law. That is why they are called "criminals." Your naive notion that some gun law will make everyone more safe is poppycock. This event proves we law abiding citizens should go to the firing range, get permits, and protect ourselves even more. The only "lethal commitment" I make is a promise to anyone out there who wants to hart my children or my students, is that I will fight back. If these cowardly criminals knew that the teachers were packing some heat, they may think twice.

Carrie , Pittsburgh, USA

There may be a deep-rooted feeling among Americans that the possession of weapons and ammunition in order to defend themselves is necessary, but how does Mr Baker know this ? Has he asked them all ? Clearly the deep-rootedness of this feeling does not extend to the authorities in DC, or, for all I know, to many of the DC residents. It took the 2nd Article of the Bill of Rights to overturn the DC decision. It is an enduring mystery that this Article remains where it is and that level-headed people who are able to read take it seriously. The Article was clearly framed for a context where there was no standing army in the country and a "well-regulated militia" was "necessary to the security of a free state", as in 1789. The US Army is now probably the largest and best-equipped army on the planet. What, I wonder, is the attitude to gun ownership among the VA Tech authorities who did not close down the campus after the first wave of shooting ?

anthony alcock, kasse, germany

Why can an alien come to the USA and get a gun legally?
Does not make sense that an alien staying in the United States can own or possess a firearm of any type at all.
Virginia Tech has over 2000 aliens on there campus of 14000 students a very large percentage of doing business with foreigh students .
Why are we not educating our own children and stop helping the foreigh countries that send all these people to get a free education in the USA.
American should come first....

James A Colfer, Jr, Hudson, USA

Why are so many of my fellow Americans so hostile?

Amanda, Knoxville, Tenneesee, USA

Trust a subject to talk down to a free country about gun control. The first time gun control was introduced anywhere in the world it was by the British in India where I was born, in 1857. And 125,000 Indian sepoys were killed by the British army, indiscriminately hanged or blown up with cannons in a spectacle designed to intimidate.

The worst gun crime in the US these days is in cities like Washington DC, Chicago and Detroit which have complete gun bans. There is a reason why there has never been a spree killing at a gun range anywhere and that, perhaps, is too difficult for Gerald Baker to comprehend. He conveniently, also forgets, that a few weeks ago in Salt Lake City, a Bosnian Islamist was stopped on a killing spree by a Concealed Carry Permit owning guard who happened to be eating there with his girlfriend. Or, as is likely, Baker leaves this out as it doesn;t suit the anti gun agenda that he seems keen on selling. Grow up - pamphleteering is not journalism.

Mehul Kamdar, Chicago IL, USA

As a longtime resident of both Virginia and the District of Columbia, I feel I have to comment. This is not the first time (and unfortunately I'm sure it will not be the last) that an incident like this has inspired debate about US gun laws. Mr. Baker specifically mentioned DC's "draconian" gun laws. What he failed to mention is the fact that despite the ban on handguns in DC, in 2005 the murder/negligant homicide rate per 100,000 residents in the District was 35.4. 35 people murdered for every 100,000 living in DC. And 80% of those deaths involved a gun, despite the "draconian" ban. Comparatively, in Virginia for the same time period the homicide rate was 6.1/100,000, despite the 'lax' gun control laws.
In the face of tragedies such as this shooting, it's easy to call for a total ban on guns, and pretend like that will solve our problems (pretend, in fact, that it would even be possible). What we need is to start looking for real, not just politically popular, solutions

Abernathy, Alexandria, Virginia/ USA

I wish I could say I was amazed at the volume of response from Americans on this board vigorously defending their "right to bear arms" less than 48 hours after another massacre... unfortunately I'm not. That some have the cheek to say that those of us from other countries are insensitive for suggesting they review this law instead of offering our condolences is really pushing it! I won't repeat the arguments in support of gun control as they are obvious to any right-headed person, I would just urge our gun-loving cousins to take one step back and have a hard think about what they're really supporting instead of lashing out and trotting out the same tired old lines about their constitutional rights (written 231 years ago).
The endemic attitude of some of these people who seem to think that they live in the only free democracy in the world is also increasingly grating and hypocritical - you're in the biggest prison cell in the world, it's just too big for you to see the bars!

James McQuaid, Stoke-on-Trent, England

Quote:
"Over more than 20 years, Americans have got grimly used to a ritual that plays out on the cable news every few months"

Not true, these senseless acts do not occur every few months and Americans are not used to it.

Quote:
"its economic system which seems to tolerate vast disparities of income"

Yes, our economic system is so horrible that the poorest citizens are the fattest in the world and one of our biggest problems here in the U.S is how to control the rest of the worlds poor from overrunning our border.

I like our second amendment. I like being able to defend my family at all times. I have found that the police are not always conveniently nearby when we need them.

Scott Miller, FLORENCE, South Carolina

What american citizens don't seem to understand is that if you have tighter gun controls then a man who wakes up crazed and angry WILL NOT be able to carry out a mass murder on a whim.

At present if I'm in the US and angry and upset, then I can wake up today and decide I'm 'gonna do a killin' by going down the local gun shop.

Gun control will not stop gun crime, but it will definitely make it harder for non-criminals to commit atrocities on a whim. This young man may have instead got into a fight or even stabbed one person, but may have been discouraged from mass murder.

Leave crime to the criminals and save the innocents! And please remember - GUNS DO KILL PEOPLE!!

Felix, London, UK

Banning all firearms is not the problem, nor the solution. The real problem is a culture of violence and death which is glorified in the media, by Hollywood, and the music industry (rap, death metal) that is the real problem. Until this changes, and until people grow tired of this coarsening of the culture, and begin to assume personal responsibility in teaching anger management and conflict resolution to their children at an early age, all the "gun control" in the world will solve nothing!

Christopher Flores, San Antonio, TX, USA

Lol. Mr. McGregor, I can't believe you used 'Michael Moore' and 'excellent' (at anything) in the same sentence...

Keith, Indianapolis, IN

Every second death in the U.S. is the result from a gun shooting. Who can be so imbecile to believe that weapons do any good on the world? I know that it is utopian but in my opinion all weapons should be destroyed as fast as possible.

Nicolas, Berlin, Germany

I don't mean to sound callous but every time this happens the same old tired discussion points/excuses/reasons are trotted out. Until Americans come to their senses and bring in some form of gun control, we all know that this is going to happen again and again. Either just accept it or do something about it but spare me the hand wringing or hand washing. Either put up or shut up - a fine American saying if ever there was one.

Chris, London, UK

The rate of gun crime is HIGHER in Washington DC, which bans guns, than in Virginia.

Gun control only ensures that all guns are in the hands of criminals. Europeans want to believe that governmental policy can control human behavior. They are wrong.

The problem here was that no students in that classroom had legal guns. One is all it would have taken to stop the shooter.

Eleanor, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Blaming gun ownership is a smokescreen and the rest of the civilized world isn't so civilized. Murder is not exclusive to America. There is an unlimited supply of guns in Iraq and Palestine and what is the weapon of choice for mass murder? BOMBS! Suicide bombs and IED's, not guns.

D, middle america,

The thing i find most amazing is the number of posters here who want their childrens teachers carrying guns!!!! You really want this for your kids?

Deepest sympathy to the familys and friends of the victims

Steve , Sunhine coast, Auetralia

I'm amazed at some of the commentary here. That fact of the matter is that the 2nd Amendment to our US Constitution. the right to keep and bear arms, guarantees our First Amendment, our right to worship and free speech.

Our Founders rightly understood that if only the government had the right to keep and bear weapons, then there would be nothing that the citizenry could do should the government attempt to reign in our other rigts. They further understood, as did England in 1776 and 1812, that it would be near impossible to invade or control the US so long as average Joe Citizen was packing heat.

Mark, Sparta, New Jersey, USA

To Mr. MacKinnon:

Please understand that European nations are basically monarchial in spirit, whose citizns long ago agreed to disarm and allow the state to have a total monopoly of arms. In Britain untill recently the police was unarmed. That is changing as their population changes, and violence has already begun to cheep into the Netherlands as well. You know what I mean.

John Schuh, Lake Dallas, TX

I am amazed at the number of responses which suggest that banning guns on campus is the problem. I cannot imagine the mayhem which would ensue if several hundred worried and frightened armed students were running around on campus looking for the gunman.

Another suggestion seems to be that teachers should be armed. I am sure that they would not wish to be the first targets to take out, or should they all wear bullet proof vests.

Robin, Toronto, Canada

I guess lax European bomb laws are the cause of the numerous bombings we have seen across Europe the past few years.

Let's not blame the pathetic cowardly criminal. Let's blame the USA. How original.

Alex Rodriguez, Flower Mound, TX

It is as "impossible as possible" (to use someone else's words) to own a handgun in the UK, but we still have drive-by shootings and unarmed police women shot dead on our streets, so you eliminate it entirely.
However, the statistics speak for themselves: in a year there are something like 4 homicides per 100,000 people in the US compared to 0.12 per 100,000 in the UK.
Surely the only conclusion is that the level of gun ownership is directly proportional to the level of death by gunshot.

Andrew, Staines, UK

I find the lack of understanding of American freedoms by other countries to be rather amusing; excuse me while I pick up one of the machine guns that I purchased at gun shows without any background check. While I normally leave them lying around so that the kids can play with them, I happen to have a gun fight in main street at high noon today. However, I find the lack of understanding of American freedoms by Americans to be pathetic; our rights are not given to us by the government so they cannot be taken away by the government no matter how much these uneducated or misguided fools whine to the contrary.

Kevin, Butler, PA

The reason we in the USA have the right to own guns is directly attributed to the British. Remember the American Revolution? We the people control the government of this country and own guns to prevent tyranny by the government perpetrated on the people. If the government is the only entity that owns guns then what prevents the government from owning the people? We overthrew the only king we ever had and we intend to keep it that way. I am very saddened by the killings at VT but one must keep things in perspective. Just because 35,000 Americans die in auto accidents each year does not mean we should ban cars.

James Robinson, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

The problem is not as this forum suggests. The abundance of mass shootings have very little to do with American’s gun culture. To suggest this is to greatly misunderstand what America’s gun culture really is. The overwhelming majority of gun owners use their weapons peacefully and safely. The cause of these shootings is not the gun culture. It is American’s culture of violence. Hollywood provides enough anecdotal evidence to support my thesis. How are transgressions dealt with in the movies? –with the swift justice of a bullet. Furthermore, how can one expect the citizen’s of a country to act civilized when they have the constant role model of their own government, who has systematically legitimized war, violence, bloodshed and death at every opportunity?

Anthony, Kalamazoo, MI

It's interesting that so many Europeans have such strong feelings about the ease with which US citiziens have access to high capacity 9mm pistols. A trip to even the most backwater gunshop will reveal a marvelous selection of weapons made by European manufacturers. Europen made pistols are the preferred weapons you know. Aghast at US gun violence but willing to make a buck (or a Euro) from it eh ? Please spare us the sanctimonius criticism and hypocrisy.

Phil , Yorktown Heights, NY, USA

Because even with more strick gun laws the criminal will still be able to obtain a firearm. Then the law abiding citizen would be punish for the act of criminals.

Curtiss, Plant City , Florida

Why is it that areas having the highest murder rates per capita also have the strictest gun laws? Does one think that the murderers turn in their guns? Only the good guys do.

JOHN HADDOCK, Sedona, USA/Arizona

To say that we should adopt the "European" model of gun control to reduce violence in this country is to ignore the current state of affairs in Manchester (or as the inhabitants fondly call it; Gunchester) wherein only th ebad guys have the weapons. In this country armed citizens use thier guns over 2.5 million times a year to PREVENT crime (see the University of Chicago studies) so what price is to be paid in allowing these crimes to happen? Yes, the murders by one deranged man are terrible and rightly to be mourned by all decent peoples. However, adopting the European model of defenseless subservience is hardly the answer.

Dave Schmidt, Parker, Colorado

Just when you think the Americans are growing up you get idiotic comments as from an NRA spokeman saying if the students had been armed they could have defended themselves, yeah back to the OK Corral!! How daft can you get!

paul m, wales, UK

the real problem is that the shooter had a break from society.
People kill, as we see in Iraq they don't need a gun. Taking guns away from law abiding citizens will not solve this.

EL, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Guns don't kill people, but Americans kill people.

That's a little more like it! Would this guy have done as much damage with a basebal bat?

As an American raised in London I'm always amazed on returning to the US that you can go to a sports store and find automatic rifles next to the fishing and camping section - what madness! Like all good laws the Second Ammendment is open to interpretation. It's about time the US started to consider it as a reason for the public not to bear arms. (And also gets a state run health system - as much as you malign it the NHS is amazing!)

Matthew, London,

"I wish my fellow Americans would read our Constitution's Bill of Rights. The much-cited second amendment does not give any citizen an automatic "right" to bear arms; only in the event of the need to form a Militia."

How do you form a Militia without arms?

Kelly, Cincinnati, US

Evil folks are committed to evil. They will ignite their hatred in Bali. They will carry backpacks into subways. They will park fertilizer filled trucks outside federal buildings. They will pack 9 mm autos onto campuses. Backpacks and rental trucks are not evil.
A disarmed society opens itself to genocide. Weigh the tens of millions of disarmed citizens put to the sword by their own government over the past 75 years against that which you write this day. You will never see that here. You may criticize this culture that you do not understand til the cows come home. And still, when your backs are against the wall again, you may call and we will come.

Rick, Indiana, Pa / USA

Americans are willing to take responsibility for their own personal defense and not become sheep like most of Europe. If one of the murdered students had been allowed to possess a legally procured (validted by authorities) concealed weapon, this tragedy would have likely had a much lower victim count. The UK has chosen to eliminate private handgun ownership, but still has significant gun violence. It seems Europe wants to immediately find guns to blame instead of the maniac who actually committed this crime. I remember when Europe and England in particular used to possess a sense of insight and also a backbone.

Paul Revere, Seattle, WA

Legally owned firearms are used in 2,000,000 cases of self defense in the U.S. every year. That far outweighs the number of people killed illegally by firearms. Lets also not forget the statistics behinds most of the numbers; It does not take into account accidental and gang related killings.

More gun laws are not the answer to problems; stricter penalties is.

Any country where guns are restricted, only allows criminals to be armed. Wake up.

If there was one teacher legally armed, we'd be most likely looking at far fewer dead

John, grand junction, colorado

If just a few of the students and/or professors had weapons via conceal carry permits and were carrying, then the mass murderer would have been stopped dead in his tracks in the first shooting spree! The death toll would have been limited to just a few. The District of Columbia with its heavy gun bans is and has been the murder capital of the U.S. The U.K. and Australia are next! Why don't the Brady bunch and their ilk wake up and peruse the facts?

JOHN HADDOCK, Sedona, USA/Arizona

The majority of criminals do not buy guns RETAIL. They get them on the black market or import them from other countries.

If we make guns illegal for law abbiding citizens, the criminals will OWN us!

Also, the only thing that fears a socialist or intrusive government is an ARMED citizenry. Withour our guns we would be a huge target for takeover by a dictator or a King.

larry, charleston,

Once again, its all about the guns and not about the individual. This young man would have found some way to kill people! I agree with Chris Paducah. The answer does lie in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Kim Glander, Clawson, MI, USA

Don't the bad guys have guns in England, in fact the states that permit gun ownership, have less crime that the states that do not permit gun ownership.

bernard michael, delray, FL. U.S.A.

Students at VPI were not permitted to carry guns on campus. Praise be. It is terrifying to think that this gunman might have been shot himself, before he killed so many. At least we were spared that.

Sudha Shenoy, Birmingham Gdns NSW Australia,

The NRA members will spin this to support their points of view. They say the campus gun ban contributed to the problem. Had the university allowed concealed weapons someone would have been able to stop the shooter before 33 were killed.

And for those who truly believe that we must have guns to protect our freedoms, I use Afghanistan as an example. In the Taliban era, everyone had guns and there was neither freedom nor security....

Justin, Washington, DC

Since the VT campus was a gun-free zone, nobody had a weapon to defend themselves from this maniac.

Cary Strickland, Fort Pierce, St. Lucie/FL

You Europeans are so full of yourselves. It was our personal guns that overthrew an oppressive government and established our own. The only people gun control laws disarm, are the law abiding citizens. Criminals will always find a way to get a gun.
Even if the U.S. banned guns, all they have to do is walk accross the border to Mexico. Gun control isn't the problem, it's the crappy attitude that came from europe where criminals have more rights than victims and police have both hands tied behind their backs. Violent crime was never a problem when our justice system was allowed to give justice for the victims.

alex, Longmont, Colorado, U.S.

Hand Guns have been banned in the UK, but the shootings have increased.

Shaun Donovan, Mansfield, UK

As deadly as guns are, we should also ban automobiles - since cars and their drivers kill more people each year than guns. Not to mention the environmental savings. If we ban citizens from legally owning guns, you might cut down on the gun owners. Of course, the criminals, those that mean to do harm, will always find a way. If the population is unarmed, then the weapon of choice can be simpler. Whether with a gun, knife, rock or bomb, if someone has intent is to kill, they will do so. No amount of laws and regulations will change that.

Richard, PP, FL

This FOREIGNER was already breaking American laws by possessing a gun in the first place. Federal law forbids foreigners on a visa from possessing firearms.

He was already a criminal before he fired the first shots.

Bill, Nashua, NH

Its another terrible tragedy.
Since the Dunblane massacre in the 1990's it's true that nothing like it has happened in Britain due to handguns being banned.However the only people to have them now are criminals.With the state of our policing in this country vunerable citizens are scared to walk the streets.
I agree with Michael in Idaho,If you can carry a licenced weapon do so.Law abiding citizens would have nothing to fear from this.
I go sports shooting in this country and know that if act unsociably my weapon will be confiscated.

j jones, wolverhampton,

I live right near VA Tech. This is a tragic incident and we are all grieving. While thankfully I don't know anyone who was hurt, everyone here at the least "knows someone who knows someone who knows someone" as do I.

As if England and Europe don't have issues of their own. It never ceases to amaze me how any incident can bring out anti-American comments, the likes of which would not be expressed towards any other country. Let us grieve...

Aaron, Christiansburg, VA

The comments from some Americans on here show exactly why this type of incident will keep happening - people will break the law anyway, if guns were banned this would still have happened etc

Neil, Utopia,

I don't suppose it matters to any of you that the gunman was not in fact an American, he was a South Korean in the U.S. on a student visa and ineligible to own a firearm..... just wondering if any of you knew that before you started condeming the U.S. and it's "gun culture". And while we can all count how many have been killed by gun violence, how many people have been saved by firearms? just a thought....

superfred, detroit, MI

The bitter irony is that the lives of many of these young people would have been spared if some of them had been armed and able to defend themselves. Anyone with the cold-blooded determination of this gunman will always be able to lay his hands on weapons.

Jan Landman, Gieten, Netherlands

I believe approximately 5-6 teenagers have been gunned (that's right, GUNNED) down in London over the past few weeks. Has Britain lost control of her own gun control laws?

Andrea Walden, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Mr. Baker has summed up American's attitudes towards guns fairly well, especially with respect to distrust of big government. If he would like to understand this feeling even better, perhaps the British government has an opening for Donald Rumsfeld, I understand that he may be looking for employment.

Rolf Uhlenberg, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The shooter was a FOREIGNER not an American. He was a Chinese student in the US on a visa -- he had NO RIGHT TO POSSESS A FIREARM under American law.

So while we are discussing American gun laws let's acknowledge HE WAS BREAKING THE LAW. If there should be a new law in the US maybe it should be a 2 year moratorium on student visas for Chinese nationals. We open our universities to foreigners and this is what happens.

He was a product of the Chinese communist society not of American society -- the guy was only in the US for 8 months.

Bill, Nashua,

"UK crime is higher than US crime per capita -- and they have a total handgun ban."

USA - 0.042802 murders per 1,000 people per year

UK - 0.0140633 murders per 1,000 people per year

(Source - www.nationmaster.com)

So it's not higher, it's lower - by a factor of three.

Paul, Yorkshire, UK

To my recollection, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin had the best gun control laws the world has ever seen. As for me, I'll like my chances better under the Constitution than under the sweet mercies of liberals like Mssrs. Hitler and Stalin.

Goldberg, Flower Mound, Texas

As an Australian, I've always found the "right to bear arms" the most puzzling aspect of modern US politics.

"Arms" - does that give US citizens the right to bear nuclear-powered attack submarines? stealth bombers? knuckledusters? Why are assault rifles OK but rocket-propelled grenades beyond the pale? The 2nd amendment has got nothing to do with hunting, nor with stopping criminals. It was only ever about fighting off marauding Indians or rapacious European powers. But it's not 1776 and the redcoats aren't coming anymore.

The problem here is the status of received truth that many Americans accord their constitution. But the founding fathers realized it wasn't meant to last, and had to be improved and changed as the world did also. Gun legislation written in the age of flintlock muskets is as relevant to today's world as privateering commissions. But, as Mr Baker points out, there has to be a motivation for change. Surely this is it.

Philip, Stuttgart, Germany

According to the International Crime Victim Survey, the overall crime rate in the UK is higher than in the US. Yet the UK murder rate is much, much lower than that of the US. The difference is obviously the ready availability of guns in the USA. When are we going to wake up, America?

SC, Springfield, Illinois/USA

For Heaven's sake. When will the Americans learn that the ONLY way to rid themselves of scourges like this is to ban ALL guns EVERYWHERE starting IMMEDIATELY. Forget having the right to bear a gun for self defence. Learn to sort out your problems by teaching adult behaviour and communication. Learn to build a social network that catches those who fall through the upper meshes onto the lower thresholds. Continued incidences like this only serve to degrade the American nation.

Imogen Lathbury, Vienna, Austria

In response to Matt from Hong Kong:

You're most likely right; weapons around the time the amendment were made were much more arcane and harder to use, therefore there was a marginally smaller risk to human life.

So the solution is simple and obvious; restrict firearms ownership to period weaponry, such as flintlocks, muskets and blunderbusses! I think this is the most sensible conclusion. (Also, the most entertaining)

Jack, Gosport, England

What a pathetically simplistic assessment of our country...who wrote this, Gerard who ? As you pointed out the USA is a vast country, with a population of three hundred million. I live in one of the biggest states in the Union, Texas, and with one of the highest percentage of gun owners, many with permits to carry them concealed.The animal that committed this horrific crime used a firearm because he was a COWARD, and a mental case.It has nothing to do with the "gun culture" and everything to do with mental illness.Because we have the right to keep and bear arms doesn't mean we all think we have the right to kill people. It means we have the right to protect ourselves. If you want to analyze why this happened, then look for and weigh the FACTS, not your opinion Gerard.This is about violent mental illness not gun ownership. My heart goes out to the victims and their families in this desperate heartbreaking time.

Ian Turner, Austin, Texas USA

As an American, I am well aware of and disturbed by our obsession with guns and the association we make with personal freedom and gun ownership. However, when situations such as this arise and I see the resulting commentary, I am also reminded that we are also the perpetual scapegoat for many of the world's problems and the centuries old object of snooty derision by old world countries we replaced as world powers. Let us not forget that the Second Amendment so critcized here and else where almost directly results from resentment of British policies in her American colonial holdings.

That said, we do have a serious problem with gunplay here in the States, despite the fact that murder rates have dropped in the last decade or so. Events such as Virgina Tech are random and unrealistic to control, but the greater casualties of guns in the inner city resulting from poverty and failed social policies are issues to be addressed more carefully.

Eric Stratton, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

I completey agree with the author of this article. The mindset of the American people must change. How many peoples children must die before the american people are convinced that guns must be regulated properly and not allowed to be in such general circulation.

Personaly I went to different state schools here, hung around with different people and NEVER ever known or heard of anyone in my school or anyone else I know owning a gun or shooting someone. I've been at school with a few violent wierdos but never ever have they resorted to guns, probably because they just aren't available. I felt perfectly safe at all of my schools and now at my university.

I sympathise with those who carry guns and use them only as a measure to defend themselves. However if these people had experienced what its like to live in a culture where its not necessary then perhaps they would want to have that culture for themselves. The fact that you feel the need to defend yourself speaks for itself.

Theresa, London, England

Let's, in this country, stop pointing the finger at the US. Socially, we are in fact a lot closer to that country than to the EU. While we do not have legalised gun-ownership, we nevertheless have a problem with people being shot. We also have problems, arising from the same psychological cause, with underage drinking, pregancy, anti-social behaviour and knives. The root is that we have successively closed off cathartic avenues where agression can be purged. Violent movies are an attempt to exorcise violent feelings, not to stir them up. Their popularity is a result of repressed violence and anger in their audiences. It is strange that the ancient Greeks knew this, and compensated, and that we don't and instead tighten the screws on an unstable society.

KJ Keir, Aberdeen , Scotland

Gun supporters say that they need guns to protect themselves i.e. they will be safer with guns. But this is manifestly untrue since the chances of getting killed by a gun in the US is 117 times that of a Japanese citizen and 37 times that of a citizen of the UK, calculated from 2003 data. The Second Amendment that seems to give citizens the right to bear arms refers to the Militia that was that local protector against Indians, the British et al. But nowadays they have the National Guard, the Police and the Army. I guess that given a legal right to carry a gun the nuts will always do so.

william garrett, Harrow,

I am an American citizen living in the UK, and I find Gerard Baker's article surprisingly simplestic in its views--and I expect more from The Times. Gun control is a separate issue, and there is no guarantee that 'stronger' policies would have prevented yesterday's attack.

First, as Mr Baker noted, the 'right to bear arms' has its roots in the beginning of American history. Generations of families have used firearms to hunt for food and protect themselves; fathers taught their sons, who then taught their sons.

This is a separate issue to gun control. Given the UK's very strong gun control laws, how do you explain the recent spate of shootings in London? Conversely, why is gun crime remarkably low in Switzerland, where firearms are VERY readily available?

Problems such as the Virginia Tech shooting, Colombine and others, reflect what appears to be a general trend in the 'civilised' world that devalues human life as a whole -- and this is what we should be reflecting on.

Tony Perry, London, UK

The American acceptance of gun possession results from a misinterpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution which was originally intended to allow the citizens to bear arms, to have their own militia, to defend themselves against the British and anyone else who tried to take them over.

As with many laws, it is now used by a strong and dangerous political group, the right wing belivers in the US who have a strong political and financial base. Sadly, I do not see any change to this misuse. The country is divided in two by culture and beliefs.

Please believe that there are many people in the US who are totally against the possession of guns and, on a wider level, all that goes with the mindset of the far right in the US.

Susan, Franklin Park, NJ USA

Well, Michael, if only the statistics proved your crazy philosophy:

In Britain, during 2005/06 there murder rate (committed with guns) was 0.1 per 100,000 of population.

By comparison, 3.9 murders per 100,000 of population were reported by police in the United States in 2000.

Long may you and your children live, never to be the victim or perpetrator of a fatal shooting.

William, Aldershot, UK

My regards go out to all the families involved in this tragic event..
Hopefully we will never want to be trusted with firearms by our government as most of us dont want the right to bear arms, only the right to walk down the street in peace without the fear of a gun being pulled on you for no apparent reason.
Why is it so dificult for a president to promote the abolishen of the right to bear arms? Actually that law is pathetic.Why cant the rest of the country follow the state of Columbia and ban them all together.Has this measure cut shootings in Columbia state?I bet it has. The words "no brainer" springs to mind. I fail to understand any sort of logic in everyone being allowed to own them when Americans complain vehemently about countries having weapons of mass destruction when they allow all families the ability to have pricisely that..Obviously some of these countries cant be trusted with them so the same would apply to guns in America.Also Ban NRA from funding political campaigns

G.Hall, London, England

Owning firearms keeps us free.

I will not give up my car because some idiots get drunk and kill people with their cars. I will not give up my weapons either because some idiot murdered people with his.

Vincentf, Tooele, Utah

To all the US bashers, including the author, one word...Dunblane. if you think that cannot or will not happen in the UK again you are sadly mistaken. I'm sick and tired of all the critics who need to clean up their own backyards first.

Viv, London, England

People kill other people all over the world. You may try to control access to weapons and advocate good parenting, but you cannot get away from the fact that the human brain is a complex organ that we will never fully understand. You could spend years trying to figure out why the "boyscout" next door suddenly snapped, but never reach a concrete answer. It could be religious or cultural or the person was born with a brain that is wired differently. Unless you are willing to submit every person on this earth to psycological testing (which in many cases would still be inconclusive), these tragedies will continue to happen, be they one life or several, and unfortunately someone will always be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My prayers go out to all the people who have lost a loved one.

Jennifer, Lakeville, Massachusetts

I cannot believe after such a tragedy there are still people so vigorously defending the 'gun tolerant' legislations.

Well it seems logical to say that criminals will get guns even if they are illegal. But lets face it, was this mass murderer a criminal before he used his guns to kill 30+ schoolmates? He was not a Mafia member or drug dealer for God's sake, he was just a mentally troubled kid. Now tell me was it not the guns made him a devil?

And obviously without the vast number of legally owned firearms, it will certainly much more difficult to get illegal guns.

Zhedong, Coventry, UK

Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people. Try killing 32 people with a knife.

Of course, your can' do anything about it ... it's in the constitution, isn't it? Well no, not really. The 2nd ammendment is about a "well regulated militia".

Anyway, if you can trash the 1st, 5th and plenty of other ammendments due to 3,000 deaths on 9/11, surely you can trash the 2nd ammendment over 11,000 deaths per year.

To put it in context, 56,000 americans died in Vietnam ... thats 5 years worth of NRA victims

Andrew Dale, London (ex Atlanta), UK (ex US)

I wonder if any of the murdered youngsters had parents who belong to the NRA?
I wonder of those parents will still support "the right to bear arms"?
Probably they will blame the lack of armed guards at school for their child's death.
You can't argue with ignorance.

Robin Bather, Metepec, Mexico

This isn't a problem of gun laws as much as it is American culture. We see it time and time again with wars, trade laws, unilateral action, inequalities, etc etc... Americans have fostered an overly aggressive culture that promotes winning at ALL costs.

The country has become so isolated (except for its forced economic relationships) that there is little hope of changing this culture of aggression any time soon.

As was said in this column, a sadly predictable event that is a direct reflection of the attitudes of a nation, albeit in a savagely gruesome manner.

Dave C, London, UK

I completely agree with James Torrance. The "basic human rights" argument and the freedom to carry a deadly weapon surely infringes upon others' human rights? Rights to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that unless someone has premediatated an attack (which is unavoidable in any scenario) they can feel safe to leave their home unarmed. That a whimsical decision made by an angry lover/ disgruntled office worker/ spousal disagreement could be settled with angry words or a much less fatal slap in the face. The argument to the right of gun ownership seems to me somewhat similar to smokers' rights to passively kill everyone in the room for the sake of their own pleasure and freedom. We need to be more open minded and understanding of the consequence of our own desires and realise that we are part of a society, we are not just a group of individuals that happen to cohabit on the same planet.

Kate, Salisbury, UK

People will always find a way to kill their fellow humans. So is it useful to ban all tools that can me made useful for murder. People also murdered before firearms were ever concieved. If one has the desire to kill it will remain despite the tools at his disposal.

Jonathan, Dahlonega,

Years ago, my home was broken into and robbed. I called the Police who came and filed a report. Their advice to me? "Change your locks and buy a gun." We have to depend on ourselves to protect our families and property. I don't trust the Government to do it and I don't trust the police.

Kelly, Cincinnati, US

After the 1996 massacre at Port Arthur, Tasmania where 35 people died, Australia's PM John Howard outlawed all semi-automatic guns. There was a national buy-back scheme and a huge number of weapons were collected and destroyed.

Since then, Australia hasn't had any major shooting incidents and I certainly believe the policy succeeded in making the country safer. However, Australia never had a lot of guns to start with. Given the massive number of weapons already in the US, passing restrictions now would probably be fairly pointless.

Tim, Perth, Australia

People talk about not understanding how having "more guns" is the solution. I guess if you live in a society that relies totally on official governmental control you cannot understand this. However, long history and common sense show that having normal law abiding citizens who are armed poses NO additional dangers to society. The majority of US States allow citizens to carry concealed handguns for protection, and there is ample evidence from long term look at such laws that they do not increase violent crime, but rather reduce it. It is constantly claimed by gun control advocates trying to stop such laws, that it will result in a "wild west" atmosphere, where people resort to their handguns to finish an argument. However, this has NEVER been the case. Violent crime goes down and a "wild west" atmosphere never develops.

Chad, S Jordan, Utah, USA

Here we go again, ‘if we only had tough gun laws this would not have happened.’ This argument has no creditability.

The issue is criminal behavior of one individual and the do nothing response of the authorities in charge of public safety. Considering the inadequate response demonstrated yesterday by the authorities I would insist that my son or daughter be armed if they attended VT. As for the shooter, the other shoe has not fallen here. I will wager we will be shocked about his background and motivation. If no guns would have been available he would have found another method to carry out his criminal and evil deeds.

David, Knoxvile, TN/USA

Having emasculated the UK to the extent of an adult not even being allowed to carry a decent penknife, we get hysterical every time a lethal weapon is used to kill the innocent - except of course in countries such as Iraq where the prime minister can authorise such atrocity in bulk.

So a few hundred americans get unlawfully shot every year? There are after all a few hundred million of them. But what about the lethal weapon that we are licenced to use in the UK that kills thousands out of just sixty million residents. We don't get excited about that because we all claim the right to bear a driving licence.

Mike Poulsen, Reading,

Michael Boise, have you ever traveled outside of America? Probably not as you'd be too scared without your precious gun. In Europe and most of the civilized world we manage to defend ourselves very well without firearms. From what do you need to defend yourself from with a gun if no-one else has a firearm? Your argument is specious.

ed, London,

Americans believe in the right to self-defense. Sadly, the students at Virginia Tech, where firearms are banned on campus, had no such opportunity. It is true that European countries and Japan have much lower levels of gun violence than the United States. But there are other countries with stricter laws that have even worse gun violence (e.g. Russia). Moreover, even if there was no gun violence in the United States, we would still have a far higher homocide rate than most countries due to stabbings and other modes of violence. America has a very individualistic culture, which often means many wonderful things. However, the tradition of violence in America that was prevalent even in colonial times is the darkest side of American exceptionalism. The fact is that the murderer at Virginia Tech did violate Virginia gun laws. Does anyone honestly believe that additional gun laws would have deterred this psychopath?

Matt McGuire, Richmond, VA

Peter from Brisbane, you stole my line about "nuclear weapons don't kill people..." I've used that argument many times. The funny thing is that some of the crazy right wing militia types have argued that we should have whatever the govt has. Crazy!

Justin, Washington, DC

I am actually shocked that so many American readers are disagreeing with this article. How difficult is it to understand that if guns are illegal, the level of gun crime will decrease? Check out statistics on gun crimes per capita anywhere else in the world and you will realise that the USA has the ignomious honour of topping that list.

Many of the American readers have also commented on the disrespectful attitude of Mr. Baker by writing this article so soon after the event. I would respond that blaming the genocides of the 20th C. on Europe is equally disrespectful, and downright ignorant.

I honestly assumed that any Americans actually reading The Times would be more intelligent than many of those who have commented here.

To Mr. Baker, I commend your article and could not agree more.

Helen, Dublin, Ireland

A response to the argument from people like Stirling Webster that banning handguns wouldn't make a difference as it didin't in Dublane.

At lease criminalising the carrying of handgns makes it more difficult for people to perpetrate these acts.

Sure you're still going to get the odd psycho who decides to stabs someone with a kitchen knife, but at least you can be relatively sure that if you get into a row with your neighbour that they're not going to pull a gun on you. In my student days, I worked as a door to door salesman in Virginia for a few months (no it's not on my CV!), and despite being polite, unthreatening and inoffensive I had a gun pulled on me on four or five occasions. How is that right??

And before you mention it, I live a couple of roads away from where that poor woman Krystal Hart was recently shot ... however I can assure you that the murder weapon was not acquired in Homebase.

JM, London,

Sadly your weak politicians refuse to take on the culprits who are controlling your government and congress - namely the gun manufacturers. At the end of the day, what do they care that Amercians shoot one another - as long as they continue to buy their weapons... so Amercians will continue to shoot each other.

Jonnyboy, Portsmouth, UK,

I have been sad to read the tenor of many commentaries in many different places on the web. This one is no different. Don't you think a debate on gun control could wait a few days? Is anyone sorry enough to ignore this opportunity to trumpet one's own views on the subject? I don't imagine anyone has collected enough information from this most recent shooting to determine whether stricter laws might have prevented the shooting. What audacity to opine otherwise.

Nathaniel Higgins, Washington, DC,

If you were in the class and the killer came barging in, would you think "I wish we had more gun control", or would you think "I wish I had a gun"? That's the gun control thing in a nutshell. If VT had not been a gun free zone - except for the killer - then this would have been a much shorter killing spree.

Julian Morrison, Reading, UK

Hardly surprising, but despite this disaster George Bush supports the right to carry arms as it is a "sacred constitutional right". So what??

When are the US going to wake up and see that the arguable "infringement of liberty" in banning weapons is more than outweighed by the potential disastrous consequences of allowing them.

Another 33 people needlessly killed, all as a consequence of not wanting to deprive a load of rednecks like Dubya of their favourite hobby of shooting up livestock with an AK47.

Bring on the US presidential elections, then the world can revert to being a relatively safe place again.

JM, London,

Why do we tolerate guns here? Because we fear tyranny from the government more than we fear getting killed by a common criminal. In fact, if we had MORE guns in the hands of responsible people, murderers would be taken out before killing 32 people.

Jeff Wilson, Sonoma County, CA/USA

after reading some off the comments from the above
Americans IAM SURPRISED IT DOES NOT HAPPEN
MORE OFTEN wake up America guns kill people
this man had serious mental health problems and
needed help not guns ,GUNS ARE MADE TO KILL
PEOPLE NOT FOR FUN OR SHOW ASK YOUR ARMY
we don't have guns in the UK check the stats its not
rocket science.

george taylor, hull, uk

It is the human condition. There will always be innocents murdered and there will always be tools which can be used for murder.

Those who want to outlaw guns can go be naive with those who pray for world peace.

Rod, Bethesda, MD

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin

Dennis, Fayetteville, AR/USA

Two points: 1.) The Second Amendment to the Constitution was practically a foregone conclusion, given that the "shot heard 'round the world" fired at Lexington-Concord was in response to the existing government's attempt to confiscate the local citizens' firearms; not to protect the students of nearby schools, but to protect the government; 2.) The per capita murder rate in Washington D.C. is the highest in the nation, not despite its draconian gun laws, but because of them.

Bob Meier, Chapel Hill, USA/North Carolina

As an exchange student the shooter could not have acquired any guns legally. To purchase a gun you must be an American citizen. Therefore the shooter acquired the pistols on the black market, just like any criminal would, in Europe. Possibly like the school shooter in Germany, a couple of years ago, who killed 38 students with a 9 mm Beretta. Very few crimes have been committed in the USA with legally owned firearms.

Bert Fechner, Memphis, Tennessee / USA

I find it strange that a Christian country such as America supports and believes in the right to carry an item designed and produced to one thing and one thing alone - kill.

Surely this is most un-Christian?

Chris, London,

It is obvious to the rest of the world - the Americans just have far too many guns..

Michael Wills, Trilla, France

The very well funded gun control lobby in the US took its agenda to the media while the bullets were still flying and before any facts were known. This callous group of power lusting statists will milk this evil act for all it's worth. It would be just as senseless to exclude foreign students by changing the immigration laws.

The logical and humane reponse would be to repeal all laws and regulations, like those in effect on the campus, that disarm the innocent and deny them the most basic right of self defence.

Patrick Rioux, Frankfurt, Germany

Will we ever face up to the reality that there is evil in this world that will find a way to manifest itself no matter how many laws we put into place?
Why is it that whenever any type of tragedy occurs, the immediate reaction is to find someone or something to blame? Did anyone ever promise us a risk-free, completely safe life?
This was a horrible tragedy and I mourn the loss of these young lives that had so many plans and much to live for. Isn't that enough for now?

Lee, St. Louis, MO/USA

I bet your ancestors were glad we had a gun culture when we came to your aid in World War I and World War II. It is interesting to me that liberals think that if you take away someones rights that all will be well. Take your head out of the sand!

Jeff, Austin, MN/USA

Let em shoot each other. Its obvious from most of the comments here that Americans are insane!

Richard, leeds, UK

Just to note the NRA's financial support is the least of their assets. On this point you are very incorrect Mr. Baker. You paint an interesting and very simple picture of politics in the US, one of Congress strong-armed by the NRA alone and the Judiciary controlled gun-toting conservatives. Well specified.

J. Hockaday, Oxford, Ohio

It is quite absurd to hear someone use this incident as a club for more gun control. The often used saying, "if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns" rings very true to the majority of us Americans. Criminals, by the very definition of being a criminal, do not care about laws. In yesterdays tragedy, had there been some law abiding citizen with a 'Conceal-Carry Permit', the goof-ball who perpetrated the killings could have been stopped. Is it not obvious that the killer chained the doors to keep those with the guns out? As a responsible gun owner myself, it will be a cold day in hell before I give mine up.

Vince, Farmington, Missouri

Are we so naive to believe that criminals and deranged lunatics will obey gun laws? So we'll pass gun laws preventing ownership of firearms and suddenly there will be fewer guns in the hands of ... law-abiding citizens (who are hardly the problem). I agree that violence is way over the top in American society and I certainly cannot say that I have all of the answers but blaming the gun manufacturers, NRA, and Hollywood is flat out wrong. Perhaps we should point the finger at ... are you ready for this ... the killer (gasp!).

Danielle, Ohio, USA

"But why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year ?"

Try changing "Americans" to " the British" and "gun laws" to "traffic laws" ; a British schoolchild is far more likely to be killed by a motorist than an American child is to be killed with a gun.

stelvio, Reading, UK

While I agree with you about our gun laws, could you please wait until the bodies are cold before you go on your feeding frenzy. Thank you.

Elizabeth, Santa Monica, CA,

I'm a Brit living in Switzerland, and yes I practice shooting with both pistol and semi automatic weapons regularly. Here there are many guns but the ratio of gun crime to population is extremely low. In the UK where the gun laws are very strict, gun crime is on the rise as is aggressive behaviour in general. I think the problem is one of society and its breakdown that leads to these problems, not the guns of themselves. However, guns do make things easier if you decide you want to kill a few people. Banning weapons now would only take them out of the hands of law abiding people, not those who want to use them for nefarious purposes. There is no easy solution.

Russell, Lugano, Switzerland

To understand why so many of us Americans support the right to keep and bear arms all you have to do is to do a search on the internet for the following words; Kleck, guns, crime.

Also:

"To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
[Richard Henry Lee writing in letters from the Federal Farmer to
the Republic (1787-1788)]

Thomas W. McCord, Houston, Texas

I don't mean to sound callous but every time this happens the same old tired points are trotted out, none of which are very illuminating. We all know that until Americans bring in some form of gun control, this sort of thing is going to happen again and again, so either do something about it or accept it. Just spare me the hand wringing/ hand washing. Either put up or shut up as some wise American once said.

Chris, London, UK

To M. Hernandez (San Fran)
He was South Korean, not Chinese.

T, Beavercreek, Ohio/usa

In your opinion article you state that the District of Columbia bans all guns. You fail to note that the Court of Appeals has reversed that decision.
I have a concealed carry permit and have carried a pistol for years. Doing so has saved my life once. You cannot imagine how being confronted by three thugs armed with kinives (shall we ban them too?) changes one's view on carrying firearms for personal protection.
What is crime/murder rate in the UK since they banned firearms?

Robert, Lansing, Michigan

The late William Styron's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Confessions of Nat Turner" provides a bit of insight into southern attitudes, at least. After Nat Turner's rebellion in 1831, Virginians and the rest of the South lived in fear of greater slave rebelllions. The region was somewhat distinctive in having public military colleges. The Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute remain that way. Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M have moved away from that tradition, though A&M's marching certainly looks like a survival from a military dictatorship.

Constitutional questions about gun ownership have, for some reason, seldom gone to court. At present, there's a national ban on fully-automatic weapons, dating to a period when bank robbers and gangsters were fond of them.

David, Vero Beach, USA

There are four classic views generally held by the Religious Right of the USA:- 1) 'Christian' fundamentalism, 2) anti-abortion, 3) pro-death penalty and 4) the right to bear arms.

It seems that if, as an American, you hold one of these views you hold them all. BUT they are all morally contradictory. If you respect life then numbers 1 & 2 are appropriate. If not then 3 & 4 are reasonable.

What I cannot understand is how any moral person could hold all four views at the same time.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

How does the US wants to take arms out form the street of Bagdad. If it allows them and is not able to control them at home.

Miguel Santos, Lisbon, Portugal

The old phrase "isn't the guns that kill people, it's people that kill people" is being repeated. True, but so simplistic ... I think we can all agree that the guns have a pretty big part to play.

A kill ratio 27 times that of the UK ... doesn't that make anyone in the NRA think that maybe things have got a little out of hand, and maybe there should be some restrictions. Are assault weapons ok? How about cooling off periods? What about semi automatic weapons? Do all states have background checks? Etc.

Alan, London,

The lack of gun control in the U.S. stems from a gross misinterpretation of the Bill of Rights. It is clearly a comma in the middle of the Second Amendment and not a period when it reads: '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 right is reserved for those serving in the militia, at the time of the Revolutionary War, the minutemen. It was never intended that the average citizen should have free access to firearms.

Douglas, Pembroke Pines, Florida

It's astonishing to see how defensive a large share of the American crowd in here gets when there's mention of restricting gun access. Granted, the second amendment gives Americans the right to keep handguns, but all laws and regulations have one goal: to ensure the common good. If they don't they should obviously be changed.

On the other hand, gun use is a culture in the US, and has been so ever since the nation was established. People in many countries around the world actually have more guns on average than the US, but the difference is that in most countries people do not view weapons as something you would aim at other people. In the US, they do. That's the real problem.

Sanford, Leicester,

DC does have some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country...and every year it ranks as one of the most violent, dangerous cities to live in in the US. Gun control has done nothing to stem shootings, killings, robbings, and rape in this city (DC). the only thing it has accomplished is ensuring that criminals are the only people in the city who are carrying guns...those of us who are law-abiding citizens RESPECT the law (something criminals will never do) and forgo carrying.
American culture, not guns, is the true culprit in these atrocities.

Eric, Washington, DC, USA

Instead of blaming the guns, the gun laws and the lawmakers, blame the ppl (and their parents for not properly raising them)...blaming guns for murders is like blaming pencils for misspelling words. Parents need to take responsibility for their kids, and in raising them to know the difference between right and wrong; maybe teaching them to have some self-worth wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Kay, TX, USA

Not all Americans carry guns and not all Americans think guns should be readily available.

Although it is true that people will always kill others one way or another, guns are unforgiving. Think about it: if the shooter in this case had not been able to obtain guns could he have killed so many people so quickly?

Karen, Washington, DC,

Some people are saying that you shouldn't ban guns because it doesn't work, like with drugs. Do they not realise that these laws DO work, just not 100%? Guns are illegal in the UK and I wouldn't have a clue where to go and buy one.

A ban may not completely solve the problem, but it will go a long way in reducing it.

C B, Kent, UK

Perhaps nuclear weapons should be available for personal protection.
After all, if as many contributors here seem to believe, it is not guns that kill people but people that kill people, then surely it is not nuclear weapons that kill people, it is people that kill people.
At least GW is saying prayers for the victims - so thats all OK then.

peter, brisbane, australia

There are many comments from Americans here, defending their right to bear arms with comments like "if more of us were armed, more lives would be saved"

Why would more lives be saved if more are armed? It's a ludicrous premise. As a society, are Americans happy to to have shootings as the accepted way of sorting out problems?
We do have gun crime in the UK, that horrible day when the chilling shooting of primary school children in Dunblane made us cry out as a nation for change in legislation.
The nursery nurse who defended those children did not call out for laws that would have enabled her to be armed to defend the children. No more did their parents. Quite the opposite in fact.
The massacre of the American Indians put in place the way Americans would deal wiith each other and the rest of the world for the next 200 years.

emma, Dorset, UK

It did not get a lot of press, but soemtime in the past couple of years, on another US east coast college campus, a gunman started shooting. Several armed students quickly responded and stopped the situation. I do not recall the name of the school off hand but it was in the last 4 years or so. Because it was not a blood bath it did not get the level of press, and most press did not report on what stopped it. But some press did and the answer was "armed citizens/students".

Killing people is already illegal, why do people think that gun control laws do anything to stop violent crime? The UK has a total handgun ban. I keep reading articles in The Times and The Guardian about how easy it is to find guns on thr street for rent or purchase. Gun violence in the UK has gone up since the handgun ban. GUN CONTROL LAWS make no LOGICAL SENSE. They are an emotional response to the problem and have no positive effect.

Chad, S Jordan, Utah, USA

Typical reaction. UK crime is higher than US crime per capita -- and they have a total handgun ban. The gun does not cause the crime. In fact, gun laws -- gun control probably made the incident in Virginia worse. Virginia Tech probably has a "no guns on campus" policy, which meant that there was no "rapid reaction" force of armed citizenry to stop the problem before it got so big. Contrast this to the recent shooting in Salt Lake City, where an armed citizen engaged the shooter and kept him from causing more death while the police were on their way. There is no evidence AT ALL that gun control laws reduce any sort of gun crime but there is great scientific evidence that an armed citizenry reduces violent crime. Criminalogists have looked at gun control rigorously and the results do not look good for gun control. Look at the UK, Australia, and other places that have draconian gun control laws. All the criminals and anyone who wants one still have guns. Guns do not cause crime.

Chad, S Jordan, Utah, USA

Anyone with life experience knows that tunnel vision goes with strong anger, and with weapons at hand, men particularly feel like doing something about it. Guns easily at hand will surely lead to a higher murder/suicide rate. I assume that the US death rates from these two causes are higher than the rest of the developed world. If this is so then these figures ought to be more widely used, especially in articles like this one

Kenneth Hutchison, Tauranga, New Zealand

I think the main problem is not the right to bear arms but the lax regulations allowing people to buy arms. For example I was reading that in Virginia you can buy one gun per month ??? and that there are no background checks on the individual buying the gun. Also, do people realy need military style semi-automatic weapons to protect themselves. In a nation which has in it's consitution the right to bear arms, the only way to protect people is to arm everyone, and the NRA have had more than a minor input in ensuring this is the case.

Tony Remmer, Blandford Forum, Dorset

This is not a time to bash or lecture America, it is a time for reflection. Perhaps the makers and sellers of violent movies and video games would like to reflect on the effect their products they have on young minds. The horror that happened in Virginia happens every second of the day on a TV screen or a computer somewhere in the world. In one case it is entertainment and in the other it is an act of unimaginable suffering. Sure most people who find violence entertaining don't become lunatics and there were lunatics before TVs but surely the rise in violence across all westernized countries over the last 30 years is related to our consumption of violent entertainment.

Jason White, Paris,

It speaks of a deep defect in the American politics, that nobody, neither the gun lobby nor the gun control activists has made the effort to get a Supreme Court to give a clear opinion on the modern interpretation of the Second Amendment.

The cause of these massacres are of course not gun ownership, but gun worship. It was not the first time our killer of yesterday has shot at living things, and he did not buy hundreds of rounds of ammuntion on the spur of the moment.

Niel Malan, Pretoria, South Africa

Gun laws in the States are absurd, and the people who stand up for them must be blinded by ignorance. If you look at what occured, it is much more complex than a lone crazy gunmen. America has to realise that havings firearms in a society, will always have the deadliest consequences. What yesterday proved was that you individuals are in no way protected by gun laws. The facts are there for everyone to see. Highest death rate by Gun Violence, highest teenage murder rate.

This occured in Virginia Tech. The equivilent of Exeter Uni in the UK. You cant blame poverty, music or crime on TV, all answers point to banning guns

EK Menmuir, London, UK

To Jason of Hong Kong. Responsible gun owners...of which there are literally millions of here....DON'T..leave their guns lying around for children to play with!!! In the small percentage of what you claim I'd advocate strong laws and penalties...perhaps under the heading of "Parental Responsibility"!

Murph, Madisonville, USA/KY

"the country's religiosity....it's economic system which seems to tolerate vast disparities of income, even all those strange sports American enjoy.."

So the economic system in the UK or even much of Europe for that matter ,does not tolerate similar disparities? It never ceases to amaze me how some people will use any forum, including a most tragic event as this, to lay bare their antiAmerican sentiments. Assuming the high road, while Europe has seen greater atrocities perpertrated on its own citizens, only serves to highlight a high-browed self-righteousness that is, frankly, hypocritical

James, Mooresville, NC, USA

I think the constitutional right to bear arms should be restricted to old rifles that have to be manually recharged. That 9MM handguns are available to private citizens is criminal. There is almost no skill involved, the perpetrators just have to spray in every direction. Surely this distinction could be made to limit "the right to bear arms".

There are guns and guns. No matter how right you are, you shouldn't be handling this type of weaponry. That in your forum, people would fall back on the "it's the pitbull owner who's sick, not the pitbull" argument within hours of the tragedy is also very disturbing.

David MacKinnon, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Gun ownership by civilians has actually been shown to reduce crime, including gun violence.Many criminals strike at times when the victim(s) are known to be unarmed including burglaries, muggings, ect. In surveys of state and federal prisons many felons revealed that the reason behind this is that they (felons) dread the possiblity of encountering an armed civilian, often times more than the chance of being confronted by law enforcement officers. Also, the shooter would have been stopped much more rapidly if another person on campus had had a firearm with which to halt said shooter. The shooter in question would not have been able to get very far had he been up against another armed opponent who could have then crippled or disabled him and it's entirely possible that if the shooter had even the slightest notion that another person on campus possessed he might not have committed the shooting all together. In the event that we banned guns, this could have easily become a knifing incedent

Andrew, Irvine , CA US

I think it's interesting how people condemn American gun laws, while not conceding that virtually all of the school shootings and other gun violence perpetrated in this country is done so with firearms gained illegally. If a psycho in Virginia Tech decides to go on a massacre, the fact that he might go to jail for having an illegal firearm is not going to stop him. If the idea of murdering dozens of people isn't enough, I doubt stricter gun laws will do the trick.

Finally, we do have a written Constitution, and despite the archaic origins of our 2nd Amendment, it's accepted in our legal tradition that the amendment does guarantee the right to bear arms.

James, Ohio, US

I can understand how someone outside the U.S. would be puzzled our "tolerance of guns", but it isn't as simple as passing a piece of legislation. The ensuing logistical nightmare would no doubt come from its enforcement, and trust me, no one is willing to be the first to set their guns down over here. There are far too many guns in the U.S. to try and do away with them.

Would anyone truly expect the criminal element to comply with any new gun control laws? Why would they be compliant on this matter and no others?I am for gun control, but I'm not willing to wager my life that everyone will be participating. Guns are EVERYWHERE here.

There is a saying in America that I believe is quite true: "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." If someone is thinking of breaking in to my house, I think it only fair to warn him by the signs in my windows that he, indeed will be shot dead.

Terry, Houston, Texas / U.S.A.

The logistics of disarming the world's most armed population would be a nightmare, even if laws were in place. In a country that, during the Katrina crisis, saw people shooting helicopters coming to help them.
This, coupled with the ability of the NRA to mobilise its several million grass root members through to its Washington lobbyists, will ensure that this tradegy will be enveloped in an energetic effort to protect their (and the current administration and supreme court's) interpretation of the constitution, supporting the old mantra that "if we criminalise guns, only criminals will have guns".
I did a dissertation of US gun laws, and any effort groups such as the CSGV make seem futile in comparison to the pro-gun groups. I truely believe it would take something on the scale of a mass shooting within the NRA's own headquarters to shift the balance of power.

james , Tring, UK

I would like to point out that in the last two years in attacks/attempts on students, the following facts stand out. All the perpetrators were foreign nationals, All but this man were Muslim. So quit the stupid gun crazy Americans Cr..p. How about crazy knife wielding Londoners on a killing spree.!! Like that.? Most countries have more gun murders than the US. Yesterday, 70 million Americans with legal guns did not kill anyone. That included me. Look up the English Bill of Rights 1688. It is still legal to carry arms in the UK.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

I currently live in a town that suffered a horrible school shooting about a decade ago. I did not live here at the time, but I have family and friends who were at the school at the time, and well acquainted with the shooter and the victims. Seeing the enourmous effect that incident has on the area ten years later is depressing. I am convinced that the answers to these problems are not the answers being promoted by the world. The answers lie in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and living a life centered in charity and service.

Chris, Paducah, Kentucky, U.S.A.

Americans love guns and the power it gives them. This event will be forgotten by Sunday, it will be put on the shelf and foregotten as people go back to baseball, golf etc. It will inspire guns to be bought, a gun manufacturers will make more money. Nothing will change.

Ian, New York, NY

Affluenza has been recently described as the feeling that we have a right to whatever we want and the next thing and the next thing and a right to have it immediately.Unless Western Society reintroduces self restraint and altruism into our thinking with or without religion , we are vulnerable to selfish desires.We have to give up a few personal freedoms for safety and the environment.We have to give up dangerous things even if they make money.It is obscene to say that mass murder is an acceptable price for freedom.It is decadent in the sense of the "Decline of the Roman Empire." Once dead citizens have no freedoms at all.

frances truscott, Tunbridge Wells, UK

I wish my fellow Americans would read our Constitution's Bill of Rights. The much-cited second amendment does not give any citizen an automatic "right" to bear arms; only in the event of the need to form a Militia.

Kendall, Long Island, New York

Regardless of what our state and federal governments do to restrict access to guns, if someone really wants to get one, someone will. Chances are that neither the weapons or ammunition used in Virginia were legally obtained. The only way to stop access to these devices is to stop the manufacture of them. That will never happen.

Merrill, Shelby, Ohio/USA

If someone is willing to murder 32 innocent people, why would he not be willing to break the law to obtain a gun? This was not a crime of passion, this was planned. Outlawing guns would not have stopped this tragedy. It would merely have made the killer guilty of one more lesser crime.

steve, Washington, DC

And I'd also like to say that tighter gun controls only make it harder for people to legally get guns. Do you think that a majority of criminals actually buy their weapons legally?

Patrick, Chaska, MN

In the United Kingdom handguns are banned completely and licences for longarms are difficult to obtain. Has this legislative framework actually reduced the per capita instance of gun crime in Britain? How does 2007 compare with 1964?

If legislation is objectively and demonstratively effective then we can legitimately recommend it as a solution to our American cousins: But if it has achieved litttle or nothing in Britain then recommending such legislation to anyone else is obviously foolish.

Jon Branch, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

All of the calls for gun control laws ignore one thing: laws don't affect law-breakers. Outlawing guns simply leaves the law-abiding defenseless -- as they were in the case of this shooting, which took place in a zone defined by Virginia law to be "gun-free". Well, all the people that were killed obeyed that law. The killer did not. And killers never will.

Michael Smith, Sharpsburg, Georgia

When opportunistic crimes (muggings, robberies, domestic violence, etc.) result in gun deaths, there is no question that restricting access to and availability of guns would make a serious difference in fatalities from gun violence. The overwhelming majority of people killed by guns in America die one by one in violent instances, and without the great media frenzy wrought by a shooting spree. Those deaths must be analyzed with the same intensity as these.

In such extreme cases of violence as this one and the other major killing sprees in the US and abroad (let's not forget the school shootings in Scotland and Germany), however, the weapon is the person as much as the gun. Time may be a mitigating factor--time to locate the weapon and acquire it--but as long as the killer wants to kill, gun laws won't stop him/her.

Resolving conflict with violence is now so ingrained in many dangerous people and our US culture--the very real problem that must be addressed alongside the guns.

M. Bassett, Brookline, MA

There are laws in The U.S. restricting the ownership of firearms.One big one is that no one convicted of a felony is allowed to own a firearm or to be where firearms are present.The law is simply not enforced across the board.This law provides for up to 25 years in prison for an offender.The problem is that the felons are treated too leniently.Two recent examples:Two 20 something felons in the state of Maine were sentenced to 2 1/2 years in the federal penitentiary for firearm possession and the rapper Snoop Dog,also a convicted felon, was sentenced to community service after he was caught with a gun in his automobile.Gun laws are useless unless they are enforced and the violators dealt with harshly.

ron, toronto,

The problem is that the students on US campuses are as vulnerable as people here in the UK because the law abiding have no guns to defend themselves with and are just sitting targets.

Let us all have our freedom to defend ourselves back and these atrocities will never happen again.

Fenris , Birmingham, UK

Any country which spends more money on arms and defence than the entire world put together, is immensely proud of its shoot first ask questions later armed forces, glorifies violence through its film industry like no other nation and wreaks havoc across the world interfering with sovereign nations consistently for the last 50 years is going to have major problems convincing its public and citizens that violence, murder and guns are wrong.

Samuel, Edinburgh,

too bad none of the students had a gun. that might have ended this tragedy much sooner. Here in American the cities with the tightest gun control have the highest violent crime rates as opposed to cities with little or no gun control have the lowest violent crime rates.

Roger Smith, Baton Rouge, louisiana

Mr Baker, for possibly the first time ever I find myself in complete agreement. What a shame that the debate in the US has already turned to actually increasing the number of weapons (by allowing students to carry guns on campus) rather than the much more logical and intelligent course of action of actually making gun ownership harder, and as close to impossible as possible.

Timothy I Mullen, Stoke-on-Trent, UK

Americans have ridden across their lands sooting and a killing to their hearts content ,as a right to bear arms, since they wiped out half the Indians living peacefully there.It is some kind of bully boy mentality. Ban the damn things would be a good place to start.
Did none of them learn a thing from Michael Moore's excellent Columbine documentary on US gun culture. ??

M McGregor, Tunbridge Wells, UK

As a mother of a recent college graduate in the US, I am first sickened that tonight there are mothers, fathers, siblings and friends grieving the senseless loss of a loved one while I, thankfully, had the chance to speak to my son this evening and for him, all is well. It is without a doubt, a wretched American issue, this killing of innocents in mass numbers, but the gun control situation will not ever change here - its what this country was founded on; the "right to bear arms" is ruled and controlled by sources far more powerful, unfortunately than this one mom.

The thing that I ask myself and that my friends and family are discussing this evening is, yes, this is a horrific, heinous tragedy in our country, but what about the hundreds, thousands even, of mothers left cradling their children that have been killed due to the force of US soldiers in Iraq?

I pray for all of them that we taken today, for their families and I pray for us all.

Lisa, Boston, MA

It would seem to me that the polite thing to do in instances like this is to at least allow the bodies to cool before beginning to dance on their graves. Both the pro gun and anti gun factions are behaving disgustingly on this board and elsewhere. There is plenty of time to use their deaths for political purposes later.

Eddie Bozman, Nashville, USA/Tennesse

It is interesting to note that most of the past school shooting killers had reportedly been taking antidepressants. The author should spend some time researching that correlation before blaming everything on having the right to defend yourself. Killers will always find the means to kill. Their twisted minds are the deadly weapons. Where is Hollywood's culpability; I'm certain that the movie Natural Born Killers has inspired some of them.

John, Connecticut, USA

Scary!

Tom, London, England

If I need say any more than.... Look at what happened at Virginia Tech yesterday....Then I sure do hope you tell your loved ones GOODBYE everytime they leave your eyesight, because you may never see them again. NO one and I do mean NO one has any reason to own a GUN. !

Barbara, Shreveport, Louisiana

Bears & pumas

Roo, London,

Perhaps nuclear weapons should be available for personal protection.
After all, if as many contributors here seem to believe, it is not guns that kill people but people that kill people, then surely it is not nuclear weapons that kill people, it is people that kill people.
At least GW is saying prayers for the victims - so thats all OK then.

Peter, Brisbane, Australia

It was illegal to carry a gun on the university grounds. The gun ban cost people their lives - the only person armed was the killer, the ban didn't stop him. If one person had been carrying a gun then maybe the killer might have been stopped sooner and lives saved. As usual, the gun control people don't know what they are talking about, they do more harm than good.

Christopher Holland, Canberra, Australia

The article has the usual stereotypical premise except for the fact that the gunman was CHINESE.

Why do the Chinese have a facination with guns? Is it because they invented gun powder?

M. Fernandez, San Francisco,

To Christina of Oldham. Your point well taken! Actually after the last school shooting here a move was afoot to arm teachers and school staff members. I haven't heard anything about it in months though. Maybe this will bring it back to the forefront. Training and arming these folks would be a very good first line of defense and I dare say discourage many future sickos from repeating this.

Murph, Madisonville, USA/KY

I am horrified and deeply deeply saddened by what has unfolded today at Virginia Tech. As painful as it is to acknowledge this, Gerard Baker has made some very astute observations that cannot be easily brushed aside. I am an American who believes, as he does, that it will only be a matter of time before these tragic events are played out again. How many of our children have to die before we take harsher measures to control guns?

A reader above mentions that these incidents are hardly the norm here, but it's beginning to feel that way, and I can't tell you how that terrifies me.

Pamela, Dallas, TX

Sorry Michael White but I can't let this comment go: 'if Brits were more stand-up in this regard, we wouldn't have been treated to the recent pathetic, limp-wristed display of hand-wringing and whining surrounding the recent Iran-RN Incident.'

What would you have us do? Bomb them in to submission or invade them?? Would that help to stabilise the region?? Is violence your only answer to these problems? I seem to believe that the sailors were returned to the UK 'unharmed'. Amazingly diplomacy does actually work Michael.

M.B., Bristol, UK

These responses completely miss the point. and are self deluding and I am waiting for the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" remarks to be brought out of the closet - its about that time again isn't it?.
The common place availability of guns means a large percentage of the US population have free and almost unlimited access to guns and more importantly the opportunity to learn how to use them. There is a BIG difference between a person who goes over the edge while having a practical understand and unrestricted access to firearms and a person with similar mental problems who has never even seen a real pistol let alone know how to use an automatic weapon!.

Tony, Liverpool, England

Tony Hanley, Liverpool, England

Americans must feel so safe when they study overseas!
They know that they won’t get shoot at college. Not bad!
As I am not an American, but Norwegian I have to say that it just looks ridicules that one is aloud to carry a weapon in the States in 2007. What’s the point, when you know that this is the outcome of the laws?
Can some of you please explain that to me, as just don’t get the point.

Where ever I travel in Norway, I feel safe, 100 percent safe, all the time.
Expect from the time I was in the Norwegian army. Because it is not safe to hand out firearms left rite and center. As you never really know who the guy next to is…

martin, Oslo,

Tougher gun laws would not have helped in this instance. Not only is the VT campus a gun-free zone, but the guns used were apparently illegal, because, according to the Washington Post, the serial numbers had been obliterated.

Liz, Sterling, VA, USA

Why do you need a pump-action shotgun to defend yourself, or an M16 assult rifle with night-sights or a Kalashnikov? Funny, the right to bear weapons and defend yourself doesn`t make the US a safer place. Just means more die when (one of the many) psycho`s flips out. At the very least they could ban everything except handguns. This shouldn`t lose too many voters (which is all the politicians really care about). However their gun laws will never change so we get this predictable event take place every few years.

andy, london,

Death rate by firearms in the USA is running at about 30,000 per year.

Given the excellent medical facilities, you could probably add 60,000 permanantly disabled per year too.

Fair to say that those 90,000 people have had their constitutional rights restricted?

Bill Bird, Wallasey, Wirral

Gerard, there are so many guns in the US, a ban would be meaningless.... there are millions of them, and we have been unsucessful in banning anything, be it alcohol (in the 1920's), marijuana, narcotics, immigration... you name it. I would imagine there are as many guns in those cities which have banned them as anywhere else. People just keep them well hidden. For what it is worth, I heard the shooter at VT was an exchange student. (Not that that means anything.) Most of these killers are loners with a chip on their shoulder... usually a lot of chips, and want to take as many out as they can, then commit suicide. There are about 20,000 homicides in the US every year, give or take... and only about 60% of the cases ever have an arrest. So you've got about a 50-50 chance of whacking someone, and getting away with it.... not that I'm recommending that!

Tony Francis MD JD, Wichita, KS/USA

Part of the problem is that these days the second amendment is killing more people than it saves. The article says that Americans defend the right to defend themselves due to a deep mistrust of government? What is all that about? It seems to me as if the right to bear arms may have been important during the birth of the nation but it is simply too easy for people to abuse this right. The law that restricts Americans to buying no more than one gun a week has to be the most pointless law ever passed. I love America but it is a strange country, where everyone carries guns due to strange laws .... a bit like Afghanistan really.

Crashing Dashing Kid, Wirral, UK

I used to live in the US, and in the years since have defended it in thick and thin. I can't, however, defend the ridiculous gun laws that continue to blemish this otherwise great nation.

The Second Amendment, which the right wing continues to quote, states that an "Armed militia" may bear arms, not the population at large. It was designed so that the US and its people could defend themselves against a British invasion a couple of hundred years ago. In the aftermath of this, the right wing have used the amendment to flout its own ideas about gun use, and the result is the carnage we see today.

Just look at some of the responses on this very comments board. "It's not guns that kill people, but people kill people". Yeah, sure, great logic, guys. An event such as this in Europe would have had at most a couple of fatalities, as a person with a knife would have been stopped long before he could ever kill 31 people. If that's the best argument you can come up with I'm truly sorry.

Magnus, Bergen, Norway

I am a law-abiding American citizen. I have had a concealed weapons permit for over 15 years and I carry my gun wherever I go. Ditto for my wife: 5'4" and armed with a Glock 45. Both our children (16 & 12) have had many hours of instruction in safe gun handling. We have never shot anyone - and don't intend to do so. Should we ever find ourselves in the unfortunate situation of having to defend our lives however, a crazed gun-toting idiot with an illegally obtained weapon who is intent on venting his rage by "executing" people, would be long dead before ever succeeding in killing anywhere near 32 innocent persons. I value my life, the lives of my family and the lives of others, but I feel very strongly that IT IS BETTER TO HAVE A GUN AND NOT NEED IT THAN TO NEED A GUN AND NOT HAVE IT!

Michael, Boise, Idaho/USA

As a long term student of history, one should remember that the English/Cromwellian form of government imposed on Americans in 1789 whereby the President of the United States is both King/Comander in Chief and Prime Minister with political party affiliation; whereon we cannot remove him because of No "no vote of confidence" rule along with no "one person one vote" Then the fundamental system of democracy must change first. Until it does, then sadly, the right to bear arms must remain.
We must have the right to remove any and all politicians by the ballot first, rather than the bullet.

J Hullican, Wirral, UK

I am surprised to see the number of comments saying that if students/teachers had the legal right to carry a gun on campus then all would be fine as a responsible student/teacher would have shot the miscreant. I fail to see how increasing the number of guns on campus reduces the number of deaths. Surely it increases the number of opportunities to resort to finishing an argument with a gun, thereby dramatically increasing the likelihood of more murders in the playground. Or are we saying that these "responsible" guns would only ever be used to stop a lunatic on the rampage and never, ever used in any other circumstance?

On another note I was lead to believe that the constitutional right to bear arms was granted so that an Army could be formed from the citizenry as and when it was required and then stood down. This meant no standing army was required. There is now a standing army is there not?

Pete, London,

I may be seeing patterns where there are none, but is there a common strand? School and workplace shootings (and the refusal to legislate), a world record for friendly fire incidents (and the state's behaviour afterwards), a foreign policy that lurches between isolationism and "regime change at any cost", and of course Hollywood. All seem to reflect a society in which dead strangers matter a lot less than they do in America's parent societies in the Old World.

This is of course the coarsest possible generalisation, and there are plenty of places in the world where they matter even less. It just suddenly struck me while listening to a gun lobbyist being interviewed on TV this morning, and I thought I'd share it.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

The sad fact is that banning things doesn't work. The total ban on handguns in the UK after the Dunblane killings has already been cited - since the imposition of this ban handgun crime in the UK has soared. All that was achieved was that law-abiding gun-owners were stripped of their rights. Similarly, when the US tried to stop alcohol consumption during Prohibition, organized crime moved in to fill the vacuum. Banning is knee-jerk politics - are we to ban kitchen utensils? After all, most knife crime utilises something from the kitchen drawer - so why do headline-grabbing politicians think banning the sale of swords in the UK will achieve anything meaningful, apart from stripping many antiques collectors of their rights? Anything can be used as a tool to kill by a deranged person - and you can't ban everything!

Stirling Webster, St Andrews, UK

I am a European living in Virginia. It horrifies me every day to think that me or one of my family could get shot over pissing someone off, a road rage incident, my son dissed someones' son, who knows what. It is right and just to defend ones own country so I understand the indignant comments from some American posters. But please, this is not a rare or unusual incident. It is making world wide headlines because of the amount of victims. Here, every week, someone has been shot, school kids, marital fights, road rage, you name it. It only makes the local news (if that) and we live in the suburbs! These are the cold hard facts, all caused by shootings, BAN GUNS ..

jennifer, Ashburn, Virginia

It amazes me the ongoing rationalization of the gun loving insanity that grips America. Laura's last point about everybody has gun violence just a little more in America is a case in point. Stuff happens in many places in the world but no where near on the scale and frequency seen in the US. One thing the world likely doesn't know and American's are oblivious to is the fact that school shootings happen every day in America. Thirty three is a big one but the occurrence has become commonplace. Like John Lennon sang, "happiness is a warm gun". For a nation that is regularly shown to be ignorant of the world around them, Americans have no credibility on any comparisons to other jurisdictions.

Doug, Calgary, Canada

I agree with David (Baton Rouge) that it is idiotic to think that a policy that criminalize guns would be any more successful at prevention of importation than the current policy of criminalizing drugs. Handguns were banned after the Dunblaine massacre and it has done nothing to quell gun violence in the UK, which is now at an all time high.
But I must take issue with his comment that us Brits do not have a "border". Many of the illegal guns on our streets today were manufactured in former Eastern Block countries, disassembled, and smuggled into the UK via container freight at the channel ports. That's also the way drugs, illegal immigrants, and all the other contraband gets in.

Joe, London, UK

The death of these young men and women is the necessary price of doing business for the gun industry. The NRA, the gun industry's lobby group who rallies ordinary Americans to their cause with powerful settler rhetoric but whose real agenda is purely economic, wields far more power than the writer suggests. He is correct when he states that 'only the names and numbers will change'. The hand wringing from politicians unanimously labeling this a 'terrible tragedy' but not a 'preventable terrible tragedy’ renders visible the dark shadow that the NRA casts across the Potomac all the way to Congress and to the Whitehouse. The NRA not only contributes cash directly to politicians but is probably the most powerful lobby group of any nation in the world. Enough is enough. It is time for Americans to stand up for what freedom really means - to be able to send their sons and daughters out into the world without the real danger of gun violence.

Colm Byrne, Los Angeles, CA

I've visited the UK several times and have relatives that have lived there. I'm happy that most Brits, at least the ones I've come into contact with, don't hold the warped anti-American sentiments of Mr. Baker and, even if they did, would have the courtesy not to use a tragic event like today's to show it. Forget that this column is littered with false statements and misguided opinions. Bottom line, it's poor taste and poor timing. I know the majority of Brits out there probably are giving a moments thought or a prayer for these Virginia families who have lost loved ones. Thank you for that, and thanks to the UK for always standing shoulder to shoulder with the US as usual.

CP, Dallas, Texas

The fact is, the guns are here and you're not going to get rid of them. Tighter gun controls won't stop the criminal from getting them, just like drugs. And as we learned from prohibition (trying to eradicate the evils of alcohol) ,not only did it not stop people from drinking, but crime increased. The same would happen with guns. It would be just another lucrative business for gangs. When I hear cries of gun control by people who think this is the simple answer, I only see how woefully ignorant they are. Don't we hear people say we should legalize drugs to stop the drug-running gangs? The majority of gun crimes are in low-income, gang-banging areas.Those who want a mass murder/suicide will just zip on a vest if they didn't have a gun. And then there's Timothy McVeigh, no gun needed. Personally, I loathe violent movies and videos that desensitize you to violence and the value of life. Most likely, an unstable family & poor parenting leads to more problems than anything else.

MCD, Elmhurst, USA

People with guns kill people, people with cars kill people, people with knives kill people. Enforce the law and hold people accountable for their actions. People who kill with their cars in the UK are given a slap on the wrist. People who kill with guns and knives in the UK are first felt sorry for because they are maybe social misfits etc. and given a derisory sentence. The punishment should fit the crime. I don't need a gun but if they were banned I expect I could get one. In Switzerland (crooks) people who carry pistols are regullary just getting no custodial sentences at all.
What I am saying is we all want criminals to be punished sufficiently.

Fred, Dubai, Dubai

I am inclined to agree with the majority American opinion, which seems to sum best in the phrase, outlaw guns and only the outlaws have guns. That would include quasi-governmental organisations. We don’t have guns in this country, but how many people live in constant fear as a result? Perhaps it is one reason why Americans have expansive, genial personalities where the British are more suspicious, reserved, and defensive.

Henry Percy, London, UK

This tragedy has left me with a lot of shock and anguish. It's sad and sick and it's heartbreaking. I would gladly sacrifice my right to own a firearm, if it meant I could walk anywhere, in any street or on any campus, without fear of being shot. But how can you put the toothpaste back in the tube?

Most gun shootings occur in "gun free" zones like schools. You never have heard of a massacre at a gun convention. And I think many people who oppose the NRA and gun rights advocates paint them all as gun toting rednecks. Most gun related violence occurs in inner cities, by people who could be called anything but redneck.

This is not a black and white issue. Perhaps if one of the students had had a gun he could have shot dead the killer and been a hero--or perhaps he would have missed and hit an innocent before being killed, and the toll would be one higher.

I have no answers on this. None, but I pray for the victims and all those involved in this horrible tragedy.

Tim W, St Louis, MO

"But why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year,"

Yes, why do we allow restrictions on our God given right of self defense? Many lives would be saved if more were properly armed.

Our rights are not given to us by the U.S. Constitution or any government, therefore cannot be taken away by them. Our Founding Fathers had a clear understanding of this. People that lack this understanding demonstrate where they were educated....government schools.

Mike, Sandy, Utah

The problem is not a gun culture, but a culture of fear and insecurity. We spend more on defense than the rest of the world put together, but we're not safe. There is a malaise that those who are irresponsible will not be held accountable - clever lawyers, liberal jurists, etc. If we stopped wasting vast resources on phoney wars that only line the pockets of those who wholesale weapons and focussed on ethical laws that are enforced - there might be real change. After the 9/11 attack I was asked by a newsperson if I was going to buy a gun. I asked the idiot how many people with handguns would it take to stop a Boeing 737 at 1,000 feet anyway? But a "rational" state only exists on this planet in theory and yet we've led the world in innovations of governance before.

George Weisinger, Houston, Texas

According to the Seventh UN Survey of Crime Trends (1998-2000), the number of murders with firearms per capita is 27 times higher in the US than in the UK, where I wouldn't know how to go about buying a gun on the black market. While gun crime will always exist, surely we can agree that at the moment of a crime of passion, it's best that there isn't a gun readily to hand.

A belief in individual freedom is admirable. Yet it is ironic that in America the purest expression of that belief is the trade in weapons of death, and those most completely protected by that belief are those who seek the ability to kill. As a citizen of the land of Magna Carta, I am glad that here suspected terrorists are tried by a jury and that I can't buy a gun.

James Torrance, London, UK

It's strange that the tone of the above emails is quite consistently self righteous. I would expect something more like horror, introspection, and the repeated question, "what can we do to stop this?" Instead, you're all "don't ask me to give up my gun - that would be stupid and wrong". That's the attitude, coupled with readily available guns, that is resulting in so many of your kids being shot dead.

I've never seen a hand gun. I wouldn't want to be within 10 miles of something that was made for the purpose of killing people with great ease. It is quite clear to the rest of the world that your attachment to guns is sick and crazy. Guns are bad. Wake up.

Jules Platt, Hornby Is., BC, Canada

Mr. Baker's points are well taken. The horror of these types of incidents cannot counter the "Wild West" mentality which continues to support the gun laws and the death penalty. As an American it is indeed an embarrassment for our society. But I acknowledge it is a complex issue which cannot be solved by simply changing our laws, though we should certainly start there.

William, Dallas, Texas USA

Why do Americans insist on this right 'to bear arms'? This law was passed when the most deadly weapons available were a cannon and a musket rifle. Now you have members of the public allowed to buy machine guns at gun fares without even a background check! Yes in every country around the world there are previous examples of a crazed gunman who have taken peoples lives but what usually occurrs is some sort of ban from that nations Government to prevent it from happening again. Handguns are now banned in the UK as a result of Dunblane. There is still gun crime but on a much smaller scale and usually between rival drug gangs instead of whole classrooms filled with children. However time and time again Americans refuse to face these facts and instead hide behind their ‘right to bear arms’, resulting in another tragedy not too long after the last one. Isn’t it time to at least ban automatic weapons and machine guns - why are they needed anyway? Won't a rifle do for hunting ?

Matt, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Perhaps if the instructors had weapons, the doors secured, this might not have happened. Guns are a part of American life and always will be. Our founding fathers thought enough of them to make the second amendment. Much to the utter dismay of do gooders who do not understand the right of self defense! This nut may not have been stopped even with safe guards. But still if instructors had, had weapons he may have thought twice about this senseless murder spree. Well he did the public a favor by killing himself and saved the taxpayer's hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of time. I hope he burns in hell.

lynda, Denver, Co

Mr. Baker seems to think that because of our with guns and our right to personal freedoms, us Americans are more violent and more accepting of violence. He sure does seem to be right on, and today's tragedy illustrates his point. No price is too high to keep our treasured killing tools (which, for some reason we equate with ALL personal freedoms), even if that price is murder and carnage on a scale never seen before.

Something is fundamentally wrong when headlines focus more on administration not giving students enough notice than on the sadness and shock of a community. Something is fundamentally wrong when media outlets further their sensationalism by showing bloodied, terrified students being dragged or carried from the scene. And something is fundamentally wrong when we cannot stand up and take personal responsibility, refusing to admit that the guns we own are part of the problem.

What happened today was a symptom of our cultural disease.

Andrew Karls, Appleton, Wisconsin, US

Sadly, it's the same mentality, camouflaged as a 'frontier spirit' or some such nonsense, that has provoked them into Vietnam and Iraq. Brute force: I can do it so I will, and backed by their right-wing leaders and the NRA. And, tragically like Iraq, it's too late to retreat from this mentality.

O when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Peter Day, Doncaster, uk

Its funny worrying about weapons of mass destruction in iraq, when just about any psycho in America can go and buy a machine gun with thousands of rounds of ammunition. No right to carry arms if you happen to be sitting on an ocean of oil.

Peter Godfrey, Leeds,

Every nation has deeply imbedded characteristics. In America, a cherished part of our identify is rooted in the fact that without a standing army, and relying primarily on a volunteer militia comprised of common folk, we revolted against one of the most powerful nations on earth.

Had we no weapons, we would have failed; there would be no America. The right of our citizenry to bear arms is intrinsic to our history and self-image from the founding of our country. We have a terror of Big Brother knocking down our doors. Put another way, Kristallnacht could never have occurred had the Jews not been disarmed.

Having said all this, and as an American, I am personally in favor of tighter gun restrictions, but I don't see that significant change will happen soon. Before we give up our guns, a critical mass of citizens will have to agree on a new paradigm of exactly what it means to be an American.

I think -- and I have to hope -- that we will eventually get there.

Paula, Washington, D.C.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the unfortunate victims. We earnestly hope that some lasting good will arise from this terrible tragedy.

B.Taylor, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

I do not own a gun and am frankly terrified of them. However, having been a citizen of New Orleans 7 weeks after Katrina sitting in my looted apartment when our power went out due to high winds knocking out power lines that were still unstable; I cannot tell you how frightened I was in the dark still mostly deserted neighborhood. Nor can I emphasize how mch better and safer I felt when my landlord came and got me and invited me to stay with him and his family next door until the power was restored. One of the biggest reasons I felt better was because both he and his wife had guns for protection. Very few people living in the western world know what it is like to have the city you have lived in for years degenerate so quickly into chaos. Believe me it can happen fast and will likely happen again in the future somewhere else. Everyone should have the right to protect themselves and their property. It is a constitutional right that I will always support. My prayers go out to VT.

Marianne, Cincinnati,

One idividual, obviously a deeply disturbed one, has again taken advantage of America's lax gun laws to inflict mayhem on a bunch of students. Maybe he couldn't keep up with coursework, couldn't get a girlfriend, or felt himself to be failing somehow in a country that brands people eithe 'winners' or 'losers'. The difference between America and other countries where similar tragedies occur is the frequency- a direct result of the easy availability of guns. So hang on to your 'right tot bear arms',America, and prepare to mourn more of your sons and daughters.

Anna, Hampshire,

It's a strange fact that US supporters of "guns for all" provide benefit only to the criminals and psychos who gleefully exercise their "freedom" by killing and robbing those self-same supporters.

"Guns for all" supporters argue that they need guns for self defence, but we never hear of them being used in self-defence in cases like this; they just end up being hapless victims.

It's a bit like turkeys exercising their constitutional rights by inventing Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Paul, Yorkshire, UK

How to assess such a terrible tragedy? An American phenomena? Not solely but mostly. Could weapons (handguns) be banned in the US? Probably but unsuccessfully, as many otherwise "law abiding" types would keep their guns (my late father, a life member of the NRA, held this position). What to do? Accept the cost in lives until someone kills hundreds? I hope not but doubt even that would change the law. The likely remaining option left is to live in an even more comprehensive police state where such actions can be interdicted before so much carnage occurs. Strange how the "right to keep and bear arms" will likely lead us to less freedom overall. I hope I am wrong but innocents need protection from those incapable of knowing right from wrong who can be armed with deadly weapons.

Carl Moyer, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Criminals who plan these types of mass murder sprees don’t follow gun laws. This type of senseless violence occurs all around the world. Only the details are different.

I would hope next time the faculty/students of Virginia Tech have the tools available to protect themselves from madmen.

Deputy Sheriff, San Diego, California

Mr. Baker -

Since the shooter is now identified as a Chinese National on a student visa, perhaps you'd like to reframe your argument regarding American society?

The Utah Mall killer from February was a Bosnian Muslim teenager, who fancied himself a self-starting Jihadi (apparently unaware of the fact that America had intervened to save him and his family's miserable lives) and was only stopped by an off-duty cop with a concealed weapon.

The lesson I draw is that If a school cannot guarantee that it is a 'gun free zone' it shouldn't declare itself one.

M. Fernandez, San Francisco,

An awful tradgedy, not because of the means, but because one man can become so misguided that he believes it is okay to murder 31 people. Banning the purchase of guns does nothing to deter people who are criminals to begin with, as most weapons are stolen or illegally obtained. Blame the artist, not the medium. Tighter restrictions may make us feel safe, but they do not make us safer.

Wyatt, Blacksburg, VA, USA

That's really bad. But what this columnist really wants is all guns banned. These Brits might wish their government trusted them with firearms, not long from now. Or else, they'll all just be under Sha'ria Law.

luton, Elizabeth City, North Carolina

In response to the last comment about tolerating gun laws. We “tolerate” them because the 2nd amendment grants us the right to bear arms. You can’t just throw away the constitution because you have an opinion about weapons. I say that if someone close in the building was armed and noticed people getting shot and mortally wounded the gunman may have not needed to kill himself. Lives could have been spared and no anti gun law would have helped anything. As "they" say, if guns are outlawed against the constitution then only criminals will have them. Would a law stop a murderer or a bank robber from getting a gun? Also, perhaps the student would not have even tried if he knew that some professors or even students might have a weapon. I always wonder to myself how an anti gun advocate would defend their home against an armed person breaking in to kill their family?

knute, anytown, usa - michigan

You would have to live in The U.S. for a long time or be a citizen to understand our obscene "gun culture." Americans will always find a way to keep their guns; give up on trying to take them away. If all the assassinations and mass murders haven't really made a dent in the availability of guns nothing ever will. Ever. The Right Wing is too powerful a politcal force on this issue. What happened today in Virginia will happen again; maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but it will happen again. I am not a pessimist, I am a realist. At times like these I am ashamed of my country.

Mr. B, Los Angeles, California

"The simple truth is that Americans themselves remain unwilling to take drastic measures to restrict gun availability. This is rooted deep in the American belief in individual freedom and a powerful suspicion of government". Sounds like a pretty sound belief system to me. By contrast, the British are too trustful of government and as a result the populace has been disarmed and is now subject to intense surveillance. 32 lives is not a good trade for freedom, but there are worse trades, such as liberty itself. Btw, burglaries are much higher in the UK because the burglars have nothing to fear from homeowners. An armed populace would put a stop to this nonsense right away.

chie, Tokyo, Japan

Americans need to move themselves from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first and finally begin to restrict the availability of guns. Right to bear arms or not, NOBODY aside from the police should have access to handguns.

Alan Hewson, New York, NY

Ask yourself this question: If all of these acts of extreme violence had been committed by women, or by African-Americans, or Latino-Americans, wouldn't sociologists and pundits be asking some pretty sharp questions about what the HELL is going on? Maybe the question should not be about guns. (How would we go about destroying the millions of guns already out there, without becoming a police state?) Ask why our culture somehow produces men who believe that shooting people is a way to solve their problems, vent their anger, or fix their lives. Include in this query, please, the vast numbers of men who kill their wives, ex-wives, and/or girl-friends (and often any children who happen to be home) because someone made them mad. One of the leading causes of death for women is homicide, by battering, shooting, or any other means. As Baker says, only the scale and the location varies. The perpetrator's background varies only slightly--and the gender not at all. Let's figure out why.

L.G., Binghamton, NY

We've outlawed drugs, you can buy them on any street corner; underage drinking is against the law, look at the thousands of teenage deaths each year attributable to alcohol; aren't explosives illegal? how many bombing take place each year? Quit taking the easy way out! it isn't the guns that kill people, it's people that kill people. If guns are outlawed the only people that won't have them are the honest, law abiding citizens. Quit being stupid, change society and not the law, put the blame and responsibility where it belongs, hold people accountable. Jack Bauer for president!

Jack, Columbia,

First, the killer was a Chinese national in the country on a student visa. American culture cannot be blamed. Second, Virginia Tech was a "Gun Free Zone" so any law abiding student with a permit couldn't bring his gun to campus and potentially stop this guy. Third, there's no point in passing more gun laws, because I, and most of my fellow gun owning Americans, don't intend to obey them. You want my guns, you can pry them from my cold dead hands.

Steven, washington, dc

In the USA we have 20,000 individual gun laws.That includes all federal.state and local entities.This number does not include special city ordinances.Virginia, has a right to carry a concealed weapon law.However, all colleges and universities im Virginia are excluded from this law.In the booklet one receives from Va Tech and all other USA higher learning institutions, this law is discussed.Also are the rules of enforcement are disclosed.
Now only the shooter has a weapon, the rent-a- cops are useless, so now no-one on campus has the ability to destroy the shooter.Of course the shooter knows how useless the campus security forces were at a previous shooting.And he knows the chances that anyone at the quad has any weapon.

Keith D Allan, Philadelphia, Pa/usa

Americans enjoy freedoms the the rest of the world can only long for. With those freedoms comes personal responsibility. What happened at VT is shocking and horrific, but the freedom we have outweighs the occasional stupidity of one citizen who was clearly deranged. The American constitution grants us unalienable rights that we will not give up. Assembly, speech, redress from goverment and the right to keep and bear arms. Those who broke us away from the tyrannical rule of an English king understood what freedoms people must have to ensure freedom for their children. It's a shame that so much of the rest of the world hasn't figured that out. If the Iraqi people had the same freedoms we enjoy over the past 40 years, I submit that they would of handled Saddam themselves and we would not be there.

Steve, Lansing, Michigan

9/11 saw 3,000 Americans and visitors murdered by terrorists. This triggered world wide war and the slaughter of tens of thousands of people, and the torture and abuse of thousands more.

Approximately every three months or so, more than 3,000 Americans are murdered by their fellow citizens by gun, yet a majority of Americans wont tolerate even the lightest gun control laws, such as making people wait a few days for criminal and sanity checks.. They'd rather a lunatic or proven murderer had a gun than other citizens might have to wait a few days.

Neil Murphy, cromer,

i have friends that go there....if anyone knows the names or knows how to get the namesof the injured and the dead...let me know ASAP...i'm freaking out

Adam Johnson, Mechanicsburg, PA

Can you see my eyes rolling from the other side of the Pond? It's really ... I am at a loss for words ... strange to read that someone actually believes Americans tolerate mass killings via firearms as part of our political calculus. I totally disagree. Simply passing a legal ban on firearms will not eliminate the possibility of the carnage we have seen today. Perhaps it will reduce it. But, since these people have no little concern for others' legal rights when they commit these acts, I suspect they will find the means to kill with or without guns.
We need to find out how to identify and assist people before they literally go "postal" on everyone around them. Rather than focusing just on the gun laws, perhaps the Health Care "System" and its meager mental health component would a better place to start.

Greg, Morristown, NJ

If gun ownership is made illegal then criminals will still have them though the black market, as is the case in the UK.

It's a shame that teachers and other adults on campuses don't carry guns, because the only way to stop a massacre by a crazed gunman, is to shoot him. Surely adults in charge of children or young adults should have the responsibility to protect them when a known recurring threat exists?

Christina, Oldham, England

I find it astounding how some are already exploiting this tragedy in order to further their personal agendas on gun control. According to Mr. Baker's rationale, automobile accidents, which claim thousands of lives each year, or even terrorists attacks on busses, could be prevented by banning all busses and cars! If anyone on that campus was armed, this madman could have been stopped sooner; why has no one considered this possibility?

Tom Sgouras, Long Island, NY

What about gun shot accidents? Especially with kids got killed from playing with guns legally laying around in the house. You don't believe strict gun laws can prevent these from happening?

Jason, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Guns don't kill... Weak minded, disrespectful, selfish individuals lacking morals do.

Dan, Central, Louisiana

In 1996 in Australia the world's worse massacre by a single gunman occurred and 36 innocents lost their lives. This was a cathartic event in this county and with public backing politiicians introduced very harsh gun control to the point that only farmers and those belonging to gun clubs can own firearms. A huge government buy-back scheme bought back thousands of weapons.
This action would be abhorant to Americans as this would be an attact on their rcivil rights.
The NRA would be shocked to learn that over the past 10 years gun related violence has plummeted in this country. Of course criminals will always be able to get weapons but at the end of the day the worst loss of freedom that i could imagine would be to lose my life at the hands of someone who should never have had the weapon in the first place.

Julian , Brisbane, Australia

I think the writer here just does not get it. Ownership of guns and weapons were historically restricted in much of the world by rulers in an attempt to maintain power. The United States was born out of a rebellion against this type of rule and as a result, wrote into the Constitution that citizens can have arms. The first battle of the American Revolution was a result of the British attempting to seize arms from colonists. Put this constitutional element together with, hunting, exploration of the wilderness, self protection and you had many valid reasons why Americans had guns.

Gun control works well in a society that has few guns to begin with. I am for gun control but the fact of the matter is that if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. With over 200 million guns in distribution in the United States, this ship has already sailed. As the writer stated, the United States, for better and worse, is not like the rest of the world.

Paul, Boston, USA

The gun laws work great, no one at school had a gun but the shooter. If some of the faculty could have been armed maybe, just maybe some of the deaths could have been prevented.

Ernie Johnston, Greensburg, USA/IN

Why don't Americans insist on enforcement of existing gun laws?

Granpa Chet, St Petersburg,

Guns don't shoot people. People shoot people. Restricting gun availability doesn't apply to criminals. It would only apply to law-abiding citizens.

Use your head, people.

CaptainAmerica, Anyplace, USA

It may interest you to know that Virginia Tech is a gun-free zone. That meant that the killer was assured of a large number of victims who would have no way to resist as they were cut down like rabbits. Sure, let's impose a gun ban. Government bans have always been completely successful, haven't they? The ban on alcohol during prohibition, for example. Or the ludicrous war on drugs. If a few people on that campus had been carrying firearms, and had known how to use them, today would have ended with a lot fewer people dead.

Richard Clarke, Chicago IL, USA

The U.S. have out lawed the use of drugs, Cocaine, Heroine, Meth....the list goes on, but their is still a drug problem. If you outlaw our right to bear arms, the people (criminals) who must commit a violent act will still get his/her hands on a gun, illegal or not. In the South and the Midwest the US citizens use these guns for hunting protection and use them the right way. Taking away guns is not going to solve anything. Just ask the Japenese when they had the crazy go in their subway slashing people. This argument shoulden't even be presented.

So please educate yourself before saying out gun laws are the problem....it's a simple fact they are not.

Cory, Davenport, IA

Well it's not that hard to understand really. There are several factors to explore. In the US, you often either live in the country miles from any police, in which case you are often on your own to protect yourself from criminals, or you live in the city and are never far from one of the "projects" where the disadvantaged live, whose young male residents have an unfortunate culture of random shootings and burglaries - note New Orleans. In either case you need guns. If you are fortunate enough to live in a nice suburb, your need for guns is less. On the other hand, husbands in those areas are often the ones to travel on business, leaving their families alone for days at a time. So, let's face it, you just need guns here in the US, no matter where you live.

Claudia, Atlanta, USA

No, and as you say, Laura, it is not an "only in America phenomenon". However, it is "only in America" that this happens again and again and again. It is not that America wants children to die - of course it doesn't. The problerm seems to lie in the fact that America makes no attempt to modify the laws that help this to happen. The constitution has been modified in the past and could be again. Saving one life would be worth it. The reason that people of other countries are shocked is this lack of "attempt" to rectify matters.

Marc, St. Barths, France

Gerard, You are bang on, hitting the right gun shot at the bull's eye. America of today, is still living in the basking glory of its yonder days of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", as rightly by Fernandez, frm San Francisco. Gun laws in America are quite liberal , and many a few Americans still believe in leading a 'trigger happy' life of the wild, wild west. Youngsters, and even school going teens carry illegal firearms and rifles, and totting them at the spur of the moment for no rhyme or reason.The level of tolerance and self resilience is diminishing among our juveniles, perhaps due to peer group pressures and societal changes. NRA should certainly rewrite their gun laws, and make them more stringent. Cops and highway patrols should keep a strict and vigil eye on such delinquents and their nefarious activities. Another way to curb down the gun-slingling , is to make firearms and rifles very costly and dearer, beyond the reach of a common man.It's tragic to watch innocents killed.

Sandy, New Delhi, India

Does anyone truly believe that outlawing gun ownership would dissuade the people who who are intent on committing such crimes? As the saying goes, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

J. Macomber, Philadelphia, PA

The only thing more frightening that people having weapons is when only the government has all the weapons. Last century over 75 million people were killed by their own governments. In america, according to the FBI, guns in the hands of private citizens stop three times as many crimes as criminals commint with guns. In our country only the individual is sovereign, not the government. Law is the collective organization of the individual right to protect life, liberty, and property. Governments have authority, but only individuals have rights. Being armed is a responsibiliy, not a crime. Thank you for this forum.

Pat Bratton, Lawrenceville , Georgia

As an American the gun violence in America is a curious phenomena. Americans readily believe in and demand Government legislation to solve social problems such as sexual predators, drunk drivers, and other social ills. But when it comes to legislation controlling the availability of guns, nothing can be done. In such a dynamic country as ours, I believe that attitudes to gun violence is similar to the "inshalla", attitude which is common in the Middle East. What God wills cannot be stopped. Gun violence is like destructive weather, we are all appalled by it, but nothing can be done. For us to take action to prevent such tragedies, would change us in an unacceptable way; to do so we could no longer be Americans.

Ralph Carver, Richmond, Virginia

Guns don't kill people, people kill people. What do you do when a psycho runs over a crowd of people with a car....do you take away cars?
Parents teach your children to love not hate!

Al, Olympia, WA

To say that Americans are desensitized to this sort of thing is an overstatement. If you look at the number of students, the number of high schools, and the number of institutions of higher learning, this sort of event is anomalous, and not at all the norm. Except in the very worst ghettos, statistically we are very safe - a statement that could probably be said about any modern westernized country.

Even as an anomaly, it's of course horrendous and terribly sad and senseless. But if we do at times show signs of being desensitized to violence, I would suggest that that has very little to do with guns and their attendant laws, and a great more to do with the media telling us repeatedly that we are getting mowed down left and right in a land bereft of laws or sanity.

What happened in Virginia is a tragic insanity. It is not anywhere remotely close to being the norm here.

Michael Larsen, Santa Cruz, CA

Look it's common sense. The easier it is to buy a gun, the easier it is to kill someone with a gun. Do you people think this dude would have stabbed 33 people to death? Get real.

Russell Goodman, Houston, Texas

I have always considered the NRA to be the number one culprit in preventing rational gun laws in my country. Depending on what poll you read, up to 75% of Americans want new, stricter, gun laws. The NRA has a very powerful and wealthy Lobby. That talks in Washington.
Unfortunately, I do not think new laws are going to prevent this from happening again. There are too many guns already in the hands of too many unstable and criminal individuals. And if you can't get them legally, you sure can get them illegally. I think it's too late.
You can try to analyze the American character, good luck, but I disagree that this tragedy is somehow connected to Americans being leery of the government restricting our freedom! I think if