Dancing in the Blood

October 1, 1997, Pearl High School, Pearl, Ms. - 16 year old Luke Woodham carried a rifle onto the school campus, killed his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends and wounded seven other people. Assistant Principal Joel Myrick retreived a handgun from his truck and held Woodham for police. It was later learned that the teeneager had beaten and stabbed his own mother to death before the attack at the school.

January 9, 2002, Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va. - 43 year old Peter Odighizuwa, who had flunked out of the small law school earlier in the week killed three people and wounded three others. Two law students - Tracy Bridges and Ted Besen - retrieved a handgun from Bridges' vehicle and held Odighizuwa at gun point for several minutes before police arrived. (Bridges was a reserve deputy sheriff, but was not on duty at the time of the incident.)

January 31, 2006, Virginia legislature affirms ban on student and employee carry of self-defense tools on campus of Virginia Tech and other state schools.

At the time, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said he was happy to hear of the bill's defeat, according to the Roanoke Times.

"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus," the Virginia Tech spokesman said.

April 16, 2007, 32 members of the student/staff population of Virginia Tech are killed by an armed assailant who met little or no resistance in multiple attacks before taking his own life. Lockdown appears to prove primarily a method for gathering victims in convenient groups for the killer. Initial reports indicate VT may have failed, after the first attacks, to have notified the University community such that they might escape and "be elsewhere". Investigations continue.

That victim disarmament plan really works well, doesn't it? An adult is an adult is an adult - whether they are on a University Campus or in a supermarket - if they are lawfully entitled to carry in one, they should logically be entitled to carry in another.

Lawdog posts insightfully. Ambulance Driver chimes in.