Why don't Americans make it harder to buy guns?

Virginia already has the death penalty for murder. It doesn't have to be a "multiple and mass murderer."

There are already mandatory background checks. In VA there is no waiting period but it would not have mattered. Cho bought the guns a month ago. No state has a one month waiting period. The longest is ten days.

Determined deranged people will always find a way to harm others. Punishing others who have done nothing wrong by taking away their rights does not make any sense.

If you want to pay tribute to those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech establish mechanisms to more adequately deal with mentally deranged people. This guy had serious problems and there were obvious problems with him but he still was able to carry out these attacks. The authorities were notified but they were still unable to prevent him from doing what he did. That is what we should focus on, not the fact that he used guns.

Each state has it own laws on guns. In the state of New Jersey, gun laws are very strict, however people can buy them from states like Virginia where the laws are very lax. The NRA is a strong gun lobby and has become extreme in the last 20 years and the Republicans count on votes from this lobby. Republicans allowed a federal ban on assault weapon to expire. Clinton had a heck of a time passing a federal law to track guns used in crimes back to the original owners.

The answer is we need federal laws on guns to override state laws that are to lax. There is no reason for a private citizen to not have a background check before owning a weapon and there is no reason for a civilian to own an automatic weapon.

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Listen, I'm pro-gun control, but we shouldn't be making gun legislation based upon this incident.

What type of legislation would have prevented this guy from getting a gun? He had a clean record; he appeared to be a normal guy; he was of legal age; he purchased the gun long before he went on his rampage. What would have stopped this? Required psych evaluations before you can own a handgun? Full FBI screening (which would then take the full energy of the FBI--no more crime investigation)?

And WHAT would the death penalty do? The guy took his own life! He obviously didn't care about the consequences of his actions or any potential future penalties. And Virginia is one of the most aggressive death penalty states. capital punishment isn't going to deter deranged, insane, or sociopathic people from doing these sorts of things.

Guns actually allow one to defend themselves. And they would be able to, if there weren't so many legal restrictions in this country. Many people complain that if everyone has a gun, it will be like the "old west." Well, in the old west, massacres like this didn't happen. One armed person could have taken out the shooter and stopped it. Things are actually safer if everyone is armed than if only a few criminals with illegally-obtained guns are armed.

And to answer your question, Americans see the ownership of firearms as a basic right. And history shows the importance of gun ownership. Americans are armed not for hunting, not for self-defense against thugs, but to be able to engage military forces. When this country was first founded, there was no standing army. The armed populace was our security. It was thought that they could repel invasions, suppress insurrections, and topple corrupt governments. But since the people are no longer well-armed, they really can't do things like that anymore...

Legal channels only impact honest gun buyers. People who want to commit a crime can get a gun anyhow.

And here is why, despite somewhat liberal leanings, I support the right to bear arms. Every government becomes corrupt in time. When that day comes, I don't want my great-granchildren standing in front of the tank throwing rocks at it.

guns don't kill it don't matter how hard or if you ban all guns only outlaws will have them you really think all of the gang bangers and drugies bought their guns legally, now if a honest citizen with a concealment permit was in one of those classes the outcome probably would have been different. Support the second admendment and be American buy American

That's a state by state issue. In California where I live, it's very hard to buy a gun. Handguns, which are most commonly used in crimes are easiest to get but still require a waiting period, background check and licensing. The weapons that are hardest to get are actually the least likely to ever be used in a crime, rifles and SMGs. Most are banned in the state and require a lot of paperwork and delays to try and get one.

You say that but how much harder can we make it. You need two pieces of ID, your thumbprint, a instant criminal background check and three days to get one now in my state. What exactly do you recommend?

He was no child he was over 21- if he had been unable to buy one from the store he would have gotten one on the street -not that hard.

If all good and honest people give up thier guns then only the bad guys will have them !

most crimes committed with firearms typically are with stolen or illegal firearms...

the firearms themselves aren't the problem

i don't know the percentages, but I believe that crimes committed with legal firearms are rather low...

Texas is the most efficient state for the death penalty, but it hasn't deterred crime from happening, well, maybe a bit, but the jails are still occupied and people are waiting for their date for death..

which makes me wonder... how is it ok to show people that killing other people is wrong by killing people?

I do not deny that a tragedy did occur in VA, however, I bet that this person showed signs of instability or even reached out a bit for help, but we're a hands off society... we don't help our fellow man except in time of tragedy (this is generic, there are many people that volunteer and help others, it just seems much more rare to occur)