Ok, so now for a reality check:

Based on real world experience, if you allow everyone to arm themselves, then the threat will escalate. Instead of using a firearm, Mr. Psycho will switch from a directed attack to something with an area effect, such as a car bomb. These are impossible to detect, impossible to stop, and relatively potent for mass killing. Let me repeat myself from yesterday; Baghdad is under Martial law, we have hundreds of thousands patrolling that city continuously, and yet almost daily we have multiple suicide attacks killing at least as many as died at Virgina Tech, this amongst a well armed population as well. I've driven through the streets of Baghdad and through the markets and the number of civilians openly carrying automatic firearms is astonishing. You see cops and soldiers in almost any direction you look, and yet still the bombings continue. There's no reason to think that it would be any different here, so changing the defensive posture of the populace will only force the insane to alter their M.O.

That said, I think the element of surprise is something to be capitalized on. It is one thing for a would be gunman to know he is likely going to face an armed and able crowd, quite another for him to attempt ambush and receive unexpected return fire at point blank. Thus, given that a lot of schools out there have not instituted mandatory searches yet, my recommendation would be to pack heat to class anyways, and be prepared to use it, and don't let other idiots attempt to impede your objective of self-defense.

I still accept that firearms possession by the law abiding public is a fundamental right. However, I would not want to compel or encourage individuals who are not pro-active about the use of lethal force in a self defense situation into carrying a firearm on their person or where it can be easily deployed. Right now I would say that the majority of our citizenry has no business carrying a firearm with the intent to use it for self defense, as they lack the necessary skill, maturity, and will to use one properly.

I still say that the worst is yet to come, and it will be horror on a scale that will dwarf 9-11. So far we've only faced reckless crazy people with little or no planning or access to the right munitions. There will come a time when the public will face a well organized, well armed, and fully capable and willful assailant(s) that will truly break our hearts. While this current situation and the many before it were all grievous, really they pale in comparison to what remains probable to occur.

What really peeves me is how our media is reacting to this event, like it is such a greater calamity than what is happening to people elsewhere. The location of the event ought not make any difference. Just shows how truly out of touch we are with the reality of present day events.