Monday, April 16, 2007

All Eyes and Prayers Are on Virginia Tech

The campus---as well as family and friends--at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA where 33 students were killed today by a lone gunman, need our unceasing prayers for the horrific tragedy that has just happened there. God help them. God help us all.

Several friends at McLean Bible Church in McLean, VA have children at Virginia Tech.

What we don't need right now are crazy, frenzied liberal conspiracy theories, finger pointing or calls for stricter gun control. If anything, they need the opposite: looser gun rules. Glenn Reynolds writes earlier:

"THIS IS AWFUL: "At least 20 people were killed this morning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University after a shooting spree at two buildings on the campus." Nobody seems to know much yet on what happened.


Reynolds continues,

"These things do seem to take place in locations where it's not legal for people with permits to carry guns, though, and I believe that's the case where the Virginia Tech campus is concerned. I certainly wish that someone had been in a position to shoot this guy at the outset.

UPDATE: More here and here. And some background here. And reader John Lucas, who works with a Virginia law firm, emails that Va. Tech is a "gun-free zone." Well, for those who follow the law. There was an effort to change that but it failed: "A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly." That's unfortunate. Had the bill passed, things might have turned out differently, though we'll never know now.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's a big, continuously updated roundup on the subject from Pajamas Media. And here's lots more from a blogger at Virginia Tech.

5 comments:

Pen of Jen said...

I just came over from Midnight musings and I visited for a bit.I like what I have read and I will come back:)

Rita Loca said...

Do you have any more news on whether any of the church members children were harmed?

Webutante said...

Am trying to get information now. There was a prayer vigil at McLean last night, but I was unable to go.
Waiting to hear back from friends now.

Webutante said...

The families that I know with children at Virginia Tech have reported their children are okay, and are, needless to say, deeply thankful.

McLean has over 12,000 members and so there may be others I don't know about.

Rita Loca said...

PTL!