"I have the authority to ask you any question I please."

No, you do NOT have that authority, you are not my master, I am not your slave or servant. You have no authority over me, yet like many neo-Statist you think you do.

"As for the state: The state -- the representatives of the people in congress, the White House and in state legislatures -- has not merely a right, but an obligation to evaluate the rights of the individual vs. the general safety of the populace."

No, they do not have that authority either. Congress, the White House and every other civil function in our society only have the powers that the PEOPLE grant them. It is not up to them to examine and debate what rights can and cannot be excerised. It is their duty to uphold the Constution and nothing more.

"Your assertion that the state has no right to question the safety of a weapon that can discharge multiple projectiles in an extremely short period of time is simply illogical. Does our constitutional right to bear arms extend to RPGs? Does the state have the right to tell me that it's not okay to deploy land mines in my front yard? Our rights are inherent, but they are not beyond reason."

Since explosive have never fallen under the category of keep and bear arms, your statement just shows a wholesale ignorance of American political history.

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"Two, firearm owners understand that semi-automatic weapons are not more inherently dangerous than other types of firearms. Your argument is based on the conclusion that they are. Any revolver, or even more dangerous, single shot shotgun is capable of the type of carnage witnessed at VA."

Really? So had the gunman at VT carried a shotgun all the way across campus -- as opposed to easily concealable handguns -- your position is that that would not have raised eyebrows?

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Since it took literally two hours before alerts starting arriving, yes, he could have simply walked across campus with a shotgun.

"Had he done the crime with two heavy shotguns that he needed reloading after a single shot -- as opposed to at least one weapon that could be easily and quickly reloaded after discharging 16 rounds -- your position is that that would not given someone the chance to stop him?"

You know nothig about firearms do you? You've never shot a single shot shotgun, you've never fired a pistol, yet you try to make ignorant conclusions when you have no background in the area.

It would be just as easy to stop him while he reloaded his 9mm as him reloading a single shot shotgun. How long do you think it takes even a moderately skilled person to reload a shotgun?

Each round can easily take out numerous people and it takes less than a second to reload.

There is a reason why a short shotgun is the preferred weapon for short range indoor combat, but you probably aren't aware of that.

Someone doesn't become an American based on some arbitrary length of time, it's not a service obligation that's met.

I've meet plenty of people from other countries, some become American in almost no time, and some never become American. By this I mean, their outlook is typically American, and though they may have an accent or eat different types of food, they embrace what America is and what America stands for.

Others are kept either by the own personality or family from ever becoming part of American society, they are self segerated and either can't or are forbidden from interacting with the people around them.

We know nothing about the American intergration of Cho, so we shouldn't be trying to draw conclusion based on his background.

Plus, it doesn't matter, whether he arrived recently as an exchange student, or was born here, his actions speak to himself, not whatever ethnic background may be assigned to him.

I've never encountered someone with a computer science degree, whether male or female, who is at the top of his or her game. All the really good people are like the women who posted earlier, she got into technology because she wasn't afraid. I've been doing this for more than 15 years, and I've never seen an exception to this rule. While some great workers have had degrees in a CS field, it was to open a door and didn't really contribute to what makes him or her great.

The reason is that what really matters is not and can't really be taught in a class, it's the ability to determine what the solution is and implement it.

Think of it is writing a book. You can take a class in writing, you can even be good at it, but that doesn't mean you can write a book. It's the same in tech. They try to teach you how to write, but don't teach what to write.

Plus, a large number of people who get into Computer Science have backgrounds in computer gaming and activies such as role playing games, and these are areas where men outnumber women by a huge margin.