Good question a friend asked me about gun crimes?

Seung-hui Cho, did carry in a "gun free" zone. terrorist like him, look for places where people can not defend themselves.
yes, some firearms used in crimes are purchased legally. just like the fact that most cars used to drive there and/or are used in a crime are purchased legally. but i think the majority of cars are never used in a crime
i was going to give you some sites that showed armed citizens saving lives. the Appalachian law school comes up a lot. there were just too many. just do a google search

Mixalis said:

I was explaining to my friend how carrying a handgun actually makes everybody safer, and that most crimes are definitely not committed by people who legally carry.

She reminded me of Virginia Tech, which was a pretty good point. But when I think about it, Virginia Tech is the only gun crime that I've ever heard of, or read about, where the perp was legally carrying a handgun.

So my question is, was he even supposed to be carrying? also, are gun crimes by legally carrying citizens actually as low as I'm thinking?

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I beg to differ that he was carrying it legally. The minute he set out to do harm with it, he was carrying illegally.

I'm sort of surprised that Grapeshot hasn't corrected the claims made as to the "legality" of Cho's guns on VT's campus...

Under VA law, there are no prohibitions against carrying on campus--only in the buildings.

There is a provision in the VA Statute for colleges and universities to have ADMINISTRATIVE prohibitions on their property, but carrying on a VA college campus is not "illegal". There would have to be a statutory prohibition on campus carry for it to be illegal, and there is no such statute in VA...

At least that is the way I understand the laws in VA.

If some of more astute VA members know how to better explain this, or I am incorrect, please enlighten us.

What is particularly interesting in the case of the VT shooting is that up until just 9 months before the incident there was NO administrative prohibition against possessing a firearm on campus.

It might be administratively prohibited, and therefore you can be kicked out of school, or asked to leave the campus if you're a visitor, but it's not a statutory prohibition...

I hate to be a nit picker, but there is a BIG difference between "legal" and "administrative".

And technically, since state-run colleges and universities are "state property", they SHOULD be under VA's preemption law, but the politically correct education lobby carved out an exemption for themselves.

Hopefully, the lawsuit against GMU on this very issue will restore to the fine people of VA the same sort of freedom that citizens of Utah have when visiting institutions of higher learning...

Dreamer said:

SNIP Hopefully, the lawsuit against GMU on this very issue will restore to the fine people of VA the same sort of freedom that citizens of Utah have when visiting institutions of higher learning...

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GMU won the lawsuit.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...s-GMU-s-Unlawful-Gun-Ban&highlight=DiGiacinto

The shooter at Va Tech was said to have purchased his guns legally - in accordance with the system. IMO he did NOT as he lied on his application and lack of reporting the restriction left the door wide open for him. There were many other failures in the breakdown - some if which, notably at the university level, still exist i.e rendering people defenseless.

The understanding of the issue of guns on campuses in Virginia is much like peeling an onion - pull off one layer only to find another.

State preemption (§ 15.2-915) refers narrowly to localities.
http://leg1.state.va.us/000/cod/15.2-915.HTM

More careful examination determined that the general public was not restricted from carrying guns on most campuses outside of buildings if they are public schools or accept public funds. The only two colleges that had been granted authority under the Administrative Code to totally ban guns where VCU and Geo. Mason.

That all changed with the decision issued by the Va. Supreme Court in the Geo. Mason case mention by Citizen. Reaffirmed was a university's ability to restrict guns anywhere by students and staff - no legal penalty is directly tied to this though. Students may be sanctioned (expelled) and staff can be fired at the determination of the school.

The general public was NOT addressed in the Va.Sup.Ct. decision leaving intact the right to carry on the grounds by the non-affiliated persons of most (almost all) university/colleges. The only schools not so effected would be private colleges who do not accept state funds - are there any? Liberty Univ. maybe? As a benefit the administrative authority granted for VCU and GMU to ban the general public from carrying on the grounds is now defeated/abolished.

This constitutes my understanding of where we are on this issue. There are enough other layers/details to make your eyes water as you peel this onion. One of the things being looked at is whether a student in their legal domicile can forbidden weapons under recent SCOTUS decisions and other potentially applicable laws, but that is a matter for another thread.