NYC: Va. Tech massacre rekindles debate over gun control

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-20-2007 16:32

The shooting spree at Virginia Tech has rekindled the debate over gun control in the US. Pro-gun owners and anti-gun advocates are weighing in.

The US has estimated 250 million privately owned guns.

The number equals about 80 percent of its total population.

New Yorkers are weighing in on the country's gun ownership.

Josef Kaplan said, "If somebody wants to get a gun, they'll probably get one anyway. So I think like personally, like hand guns, like three's a lot of people that have it for business reasons or whatever, so I think that's okay. But like there should be some sort of better balance obviously, because you hear of way too many shootings in schools and shootings just on the streets."

Robert Matos, New Yorker, said, "The average person really doesn't abuse these laws or abuse the weapon that he's been assigned to and has a responsibility of. The one who really does abuse is the criminal element that he has access in the underworld to all the weapons that he wants, whenever he wants."

Advocates of gun control say their availability in the US had made it easier for people to commit murder everywhere, including in schools and colleges.

However, the National Rifle Association argues the right to bear arms is enshrined in the US constitution and disputes efforts to link the incidence of gun crime with access to firearms.

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Editor:Du Xiaodan