From Amendment II Democrats: How should we honor the fallen at Virginia Tech?

[derby378]

Usually, I discuss gun rights on this blog. Today, however, I wish to talk about gun violence - and how best to honor the victims of gun violence.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008, marks the one-year anniversary of the senseless and tragic massacre at Virginia Tech, where a mentally deranged student gunned down 32 students and faculty in a blind rage. To commemorate the killings, the grassroots gun-control organization Protest Easy Guns (in conjunction with the Brady Campaign) is conducting a series of "lie-ins" across the nation today, with at least 80 lie-ins scheduled to take place in 33 states. At the lie-in, 32 protesters will lie on the ground to simulate death for three minutes, which one of the organizers says is the length of time needed to buy a gun. One of the lie-ins will occur on the Virginia Tech campus at the Drillfield.

This, however, has generated some resistance. At first, Virginia Tech balked at the idea of Protest Easy Guns and the Brady Campaign staging a lie-in on their campus, partially because they already have an all-day remembrance event planned for the 16th topped off with a candlelight vigil at night. On Monday, April 7, a Virginia Tech spokesman stated that neither the Brady Campiagn nor Protest Easy Guns had applied for an assembly permit, and neither would be issued one even if they did because neither was a student organization. This got the Brady Campiagn scrambling to preserve the centerpiece of the nationwide lie-ins, with Brady Campaign spokesman Peter Hamm stating that he hoped that both sides would have "constructive conversations that will hopefully lead to an amicable resolution."

Full article is posted here:

http://blog.myspace.com/a2dems