Va. murders are ‘a dark day in our history’

The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history yesterday sent shock waves through Capitol Hill, where the House and Senate observed a moment of silence for the students and faculty killed by a gunman at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va.

The shooting is likely to prompt interest groups and lawmakers on opposite sides of the gun control issue to renew their push for legislative fixes that in the past have been slow in coming.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday that President Bush believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed.

{mosads} Each of the five Democratic presidential hopefuls sitting in Congress released statements of sympathy for the university community. The party’s three 2008 frontrunners, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), blackened their campaign websites in mourning.

In addition, the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday postponed today’s planned hearing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales until Thursday.

Just days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., an unidentified gunman opened fire in a dorm room and an engineering hall at Virginia Tech, killing at least 33 people and injuring more than 30.
The shooter was among the dead, but it was not clear whether he shot himself or was shot by the police. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) told CNN that he had heard the shooter was a student at the university.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), who represents Blacksburg, said in a statement he was “deeply saddened” by the shooting.
“My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of those who were harmed in this horrific and senseless act,” he said.  “I have offered my full assistance to Virginia Tech University to assure that all resources the University may need will be provided.”

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) said that that he was “truly saddened” to hear about the shooting at the university. Webb said that his office has been in communication with the governor’s office and university officials. As of yesterday evening, the senator had no immediate plans to travel to Blacksburg, a spokeswoman said. 

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said in a statement: “All Americans join the citizens of Virginia in grieving over the tragic loss of life at Virginia Tech.” He added that the tradition of the historic university will carry on despite the tragedy.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) is cutting short his trip to Tokyo, where he was set to begin a two-week Asian trade mission to return to his state.

“The state is working closely with Tech officials, local law enforcement, and the community health system to provide whatever additional resources and support may be needed,” Kaine said in a statement.

For Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), the Virginia Tech shooting was a cruel reminder of what had happened at Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20, 1999.

“As today’s horrific events at Virginia Tech remind us, the passing of eight years has not dimmed the sadness, shock and horror surrounding the school shootings in my own state of Colorado at Columbine High School,” Salazar said. “I know that Coloradans will offer everything they can to help.”

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who rejected money from gun advocacy groups after the violence at Columbine High School rocked his district, also offered his condolences.    

“This is a dark day in our history as the lives of so many promising young kids have been cut short by a disturbed and evil person,” Tancredo said in a statement. “From experiencing our own tragic event whose anniversary is only a few days away, I can say with some encouragement that in time, wounds do heal.”

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sees the tragic event as an opportunity to tighten controls over the possession of high-powered weapons. Paul Helmke, the organization’s president, said that Congress has generally been afraid to take up gun control issues. But in the wake of yesterday’s shooting, he said, the American people are “hopefully going to ask Congress what it is going to do about gun violence.”

“There is good legislation that has been introduced this year and hopefully the leadership will get some of these common sense measures advancing,” Helmke said in a short interview.  “This is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, if not now when… can we do something about gun violence?”

There are several bills in the House and Senate. There are two House bills, sponsored by Reps. Mike Castle (R-Del.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), while Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has sponsored a bill in the upper chamber. McCarthy’s bill seeks to reauthorize the ban on semi-automatic firearms and expand the list of banned firearms, while Castle’s bill would require instant checks for private transactions at gun shows. Schumer’s measure would allow the Attorney General to inspect gun dealers for any purpose.

“We allow virtually anyone the means to turn almost any venue into a battlefield,” said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center. “In the wake of these shootings, too many search for any reason for the tragedy except for the most obvious — the easy access to increasingly lethal firearms that make mass killings possible.”

On the other side of the gun issue is Gun Owners of America, which will press Congress to repeal the law that bans arms on school grounds and campuses. Utah is the only state that allows owners to carry concealed weapons on campus.

“It is certainly very tragic and our hearts go out to all the family members. Congress will probably be debating this,” said Erich Pratt, director of communications for the organization. Pratt said that school shootings could be curbed and ended if legal owners could carry their guns on campus. They would have immediate means to shoot back and prevent any more deaths and injuries, he explained.

“We are asking Congress, in light of this, to repeal the law that bans arms on school-grounds and campuses because it does not stop bad guys to take [weapons] on campus but would punish the good guys,” he said.

The ban on bringing weapons onto school campuses has been in place since 1996.

Elana Schor contributed to this report.