fldpan; People have a right to their opinions, and I respect that, knowing that's all they are, just opinions.
What's maddening is the way people make assumptions and throw out those assumptive opinions as fact.

Well, Wisconsinheat, they say he was off his medication when he started acting weird and making threats. So yes it would be safe to assume he was on that type of medication. Do you know otherwise? Please excuse my "blanket statement."
Housewife, I am not telling anyone to believe in God. But, you don't even see where I am coming from?
Dvlwmn, a LACK of religion, had a lot to do with this. No one is preaching, believe me. I believe everyone should be free to do WHATEVER they want, just as long as they are not hurting anyone else. I am just giving my opinion. I very much respect your politeness and methods of debating.

fldpan; "he shouldn't have been able to buy guns. He was on medication, for what I don't know. If you're on mind altering medication you should not be able to buy a gun." That's a pretty blanket statement don't you think? I would guess that many responsible gun owners are on SOME type of medication at any given time. Then, you say you do not know what type of medication he was on, but you make assumptions that he was on "mind altering" medication?

To bring GOD into this is a little much for me. I am catholic (hard to believe with the dvlwmn name?:) and semi-religous but I do not think that religion had anything to do with this. If you want to raise your kids one way do not preach to others for doing it their way. To each their own!!! What works for one kid/one family, might not always work for the rest. We learn in different ways and only certain types of discipline work for each of us. NO ONE IS THE SAME! Housewife- good point on the 9-11 bombers. I do however have to say that God works in different ways and maybe he saw a reason as to why this had to happen AGAIN. There has got to be a bigger picture here. I hope that one day someone will wake up and say "So that's what this has all been about!" and all this horrible, unexplainable violence will end.

fldpan: If there was a god and He was in the equation, why did he let this happen? Why couldn't he have taken this guy out?
I don't think putting this guy in Church would have helped. Remember, the 9-11 bombers thought they were also doing Holy duty.

Also, he shouldn't have been able to buy guns. He was on medication, for what I don't know. If you're on mind altering medication you should not be able to buy a gun. Not that he wouldn't have gotten one somewhere else, if he wanted to. Or he could have used another means to kill. It is not the weapon it's the mentality.

Do you people want to know why things like this keep happening?
IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE TAKEN GOD OUT OF OUR CHILDREN'S HEADS AND HEARTS AND ARE TELLING THEM THEY ARE NOTHING BUT ANIMALS, WITH NO HOPE, NO LIFE AFTER DEATH!
Go ahead people keep teaching our kids the way we are, and it will only get worse! Children are mad.
So when life sucks, all they have to do is end it. Why not take out a bunch of people with them? Nothing bad will come of it.

First off, my prayers go out to those involved. This is a terrible incident. Its unfortunate that these people will get no closure. What the gunman did was a selfish act and there is no reason. Some people are just wired wrong.
What a shame that these incidents are happening at an alarming rate.

fldpan- While I can understan and appreciate your comment, I think that the backround checks have failed in the past. According to several news stations, this particular individual purchased two of the guns used on Feb. 9, 2008 and they state that he did go through the channels to get them. Did his backround show anything of significance? Probably not or else he would not have been given the right to purchase said guns. You never know when some one is going to turn. According to the news, he also had some sort of disorder that he quit taking medication for shortly before his so called "rampage". I believe that the bigger picture here is the lack of understanding and help for individuals with mental health disorders.

If there were people in that room holding weapons, would all these people have been shot? NO!
This is what is wrong with America. People always know what's best for one another. We don't have to give just anyone a carry permit. Of course there would be background checks, and training courses. I'm sure the person who wants the permit will pay for these things, as opposed to the costs of locking down campuses, and paying for security. Then, who's to say these psychos won't just go somewhere else after schools are safe?

Pooky is a bit mistaken- while it is true in some areas (hunting grounds and gun clubs, for instance)you may carry an unconcealed firearm on your person, in WI you may NOT transport a loaded gun in a car. You must have the gun unloaded and in a case. You also cannot carry a gun- ANY gun- in any school zone. Also, you cannot carry any gun into a tavern unless that tavern is connected to a sports club.
While there is no state law in WI against unconcealed carry, most municipalities have laws against carrying a loaded firearm. Each responsible gun owner is obliged to know the gun laws where he/she is going to carry a firearm.

And, Pooky, one may get a Wisconsin permit, how??

Oh yeah, concealed carry is a right lacking in Wisconsin and Illinois. I just don't think that young people, congregated together, and weapon usage is ever a good idea. The potential to shoot an innocent, get in a shoot out or be a poor aim and get themselves killed is too great. However, I believe in the right to own guns and would support the right to concealed carry. BTW, it is not illeagal to carry a weapon OUTSIDE your person, in full view, if you have a permit. The flip side is you'll attract negative attention from the police.

This shooting was caused by a mentally ill young man, who had stopped taking medication for a couple of weeks. Just like the right to own guns, everyone (at this time) has the right to refuse to follow their therapy program. Nobody forces them to take their meds, unless a judge orders it, even then, they usually won't take the drugs, anyway.

Please don't flame me with the guns kill people, if the police were doing their job....,society is going crazy or the end of the word is near. There are dozens of reasons anyone can give why this happened. You and I risk the same fate simply going about our day. Nonetheless, condolences to the students, parents, survivors and the family of Stephen , the shooter.

Housewife- I think your point about Wyoming might be a vild one, but in my opinon, that would not be the case for heavely populated areas. I also feel that people should quit blaming the internet and other media sources for their actions. Even though he was a graduate student sometimes people have chemical embalances that make them feel unable to handle life at certain times. I hope that they can figure out the reason why this man felt that there was no other way. Housewife- your sincery sympathy is nice to see this day in age. A lot of people now a days act less effected unless they are connected to the incident in some way.

First off, my utter condolences and sympathies to the familes and victims of this tragedy.
Second, what shocked me most about this was that radio station stated this was the 4th school shooting this year. Was this in error, or is this true?

I see your fears, foofoogrl, but you must remember... an armed society is a very polite society. Wyoming is kind of an anomaly, because of its low population, but I have spent quite a bit of time there. Everyone and their brother seems to be packing there- and I'm not talking in a hidden holster, it's a gun on the hip, out in the open, etc.

Anyone here remember the Rosie O Donnell fiasco? When she said, It's 2006, no one in America needs to own a handgun?
Well, six months later, she filed special papers so her children's bodyguards could carry concealed weapons while protecting her babies.

This was not a crackhead. This was a graduate student with education and privilege.
I would bet bottom dollar he/she was influenced more by the media and internet than gun onwership to commit this heinous deed.

FooFoo- I almost like your idea of professors being trained in using guns. I was thinking more of a campus lockdown at all times. what if every building on every campus was locked from the outside only. If studentes were required to use their IDs to open a door then that would allow for less non-students on campus. I know that this could happen with a current student as the subject, but closing campuses more than they are would help to reduce the risk of those not associated with the school. Also, locking the doors from the outside only would not make any harder to escape in an emergency because when locked from the outside only, all you nee to do is push the door open from the inside.

TOTALLY agree with the itchy trigger finger, actually, as I think about it, there is a good chance that I would fall into the category of a too quick to shoot. I do tend to be VERY aware of my surroundings, and do tend to get a bit more nervous than the average civillian. So, I do agree that is a huge factor, with openly admitting that I would be at risk of not rationalizing properly. I do still believe that there has to be some way to enforce self protection, whether it be constant securtiy, professor's trained in weapons as protection or whatever, but boy, something just needs to be done. We are becoming such a vulnerable society, and it can only get worse....I sure wish I could see this as a glass half full, but it seems impossible to be optimistic at this point.

Yeah civility! Reasonable debate about gun crime is so rare. I understand the argument of those who say concealed carry laws would reduce things like the NIU shooting because the shooter would be concerned that others are armed. However, someone who decides to do this is either not thinking rationally so the logic of determent will not work, or they are thinking very rationally about how to kill which means they will just better prepare and arm themselves. Plus, I'm concerned that many people with concealed carry permits are not as well trained as police officers. There is a difference between knowing how to use a gun and knowing when to use a gun. Clearly if someone is already shooting like yesterday, that's one thing, but what about other cases where someone acts unpredictably in a public place, but really poses no threat. I'd be afraid of quick trigger fingers.

DVLWMN ~ ((love)) the name...I also appreciate your point of view as well. I do accept that these individuals would still commit these types of crimes as a consequence of a lack of respect for their own lives....as they say, you must love yourself first before you may love others, and they obviously don't. And I do believe that our society is not self diciplined enough to use weapons on an AS NEEDED basis only, but we can dream..... This truely scares me, even more because I just had a new little peanut and have two other boys. I can't even imagine what their world will be like...I almost feel guilty for being responsible for what they are to endure in their futures. Can't even begin to imagine what the world will be like in 20 years.

foofoo- While I can apreciate your opinion I do disagree that if people were able to carrry weapons that less of these incidents would occur. I feel that there would be more of an issue with people taking justice into their own hands. While it would have been nice to know that he did not die on his own accord but at the mercy of someone else, I just think more problems would have been created. Also on your point of capital punishment, I understand where you are coming from, but I do not think that loss of life would be a deturent for any of these individuals. Most of them have commited their acts of violence and then turned the gun on themselves. This to me shows a lack of respect for their own life and the lives of others. I also hope that people will respect other peoples point of views and not criticize their thoughts. FooFoo- I believe all your points are valid and applaud you for putting them out their without negativity. My heart and prayers go out to all those effected by this tragedy.

This is yet another example of how our freedoms have come back to bite us in the bum. In the 18th-19th century, when our society was not as evolved and people didn't feel so "entitled" to everything, you didn't see incidences such as mass shootings. If a person decided to take out individuals, they were dealt with immediately, taken out themselves. That would then mean that these types of monsters would think twice before going into a room full of people and opening fire, because chances are, they would be taken out before they even began the travisty. That is why I agree that we should have the option to self protect. If people knew that they were not the only one to most likely have a weapon, they would be more apt to avoid the situation and quite possibly, just take their own pittiful life without bringing down others with them. Sure, there would be the ones that would still try, but there would definately be LESS innocent victims killed. I also believe in capital punishment. If the fear of these grotesque individuals lives were at stake, they may think twice about murdering, fondeling babies and abusing people. Consequences are the best prevention, and our society has pretty much taken consequences out of the crime equation. Most dirtbags that commit crimes look forward to being in the prision where they are no longer a misfit, they feel right at home with other losers. I really am at a loss as to what types of public establishments I feel comfortable visiting any longer. I know they say that these types of incedents shouldn't effect our life styles, but really, how can't they? They are happening more and more. ANd with the way the economy is, the unstable are becoming more unstable every day with the diminishing wages and loss of homes. They are snapping all over...and they are blaming society for their lack of well being, and that is why they are preying on the innocent. This truely scares me.....little ole WI seemed so far away from all of these incedents, but they are creeping in quite rapidly. De Kalb is not that far away....not at all.

like we need more people with guns running around

If one in ten people had a gun on their hip, this monster would have been neutralized right away! Instead, they are slowly being taken away...