[Beemnseven]

First, I think we have to clearly define our positions. I am not making the argument that gun control laws are keeping guns out of the wrong hands. In fact, my position is just the opposite. Gun control laws do not apply to those who break the law and use firearms to harm other people.

The VT argument does work because it represents exactly the parameters of the classic society in which restrictions on the ownership of firearms are placed upon the law abiding public.

The campus of Virginia Tech does not permit the possession of firearms -- just like some cities in the United States and around the world have similar restrictions. Since firearms will always be available on the black market no matter what legislative steps have been taken to eliminate them, those that have no intention of causing harm or breaking the law will never have firearms. They follow the law -- therefore they won't have firearms.

But a law-breaker, intent on violating the rights of those he knows to be unarmed and defenseless, is not affected by the Virginia Tech policy on firearms (just like the perpetrators in cities where gun control is very strict).

This guy did buy his guns legally, and brought them into a place where the laws say that you may not have a gun under any circumstances, for any reason. You can use this scenario in the gun control argument whether the perpetrator purchased the guns legally or on the black market. You will have the same outcome either way -- the unarmed victim will be at the complete mercy of an armed criminal.

I'd be willing to bet that the police would find their jobs much easier and safe if they could burst through the doors of unsuspecting citizens in the middle of the night without the burden of a search warrant or probable cause. Does that mean we should bow to their demands of tighter gun control?

As for Vietnam, my point was to illustrate how a determined populace whose only aim is to defend their homeland and protect their individual rights, even while armed with the most basic weaponry available can upend the most powerful, technologically advanced army the world has ever known.

And this country has far more powerful weaponry than just .22s in the general public. If poor, backward rice farmers can repel the United States of America, how would America's troops fare against their own families, hometowns, and countrymen?