virginia

"Learning to bear the consequences of their actions is difficult for many young men but it is essential for the development of their character. Our founder, Gen. Francis H. Smith, mentioned this as the first lesson he had learned as a cadet at West Point. When addressing the VMI Corps upon the resumption of academic exercises in 1866, he said, "This, then, is the great lesson first impressed upon me on my entrance upon military life as a cadet... my personal responsibility as founded upon my own individual action.""

"No college in America can match the record of the Institute in training the citizen-soldier."

"With the Institute in sight, I let down so that I came over Alumni Hall at about 200 feet. I kept the speed down to about 450 knots so that we did not go by the Institute too quickly. As we passed Alumni Hall I continued letting down in altitude over the Parade Ground and then lit both afterburners. I would like to say that we flew between the flagpoles, but that is not possible; you cannot clear the barracks if you get that low. I will say that we were low and- being in afterburner- noisy, now doing around 500-550 knots. As we passed over the barracks I pulled up into a vertical rolling climb. The Institute was well and truly buzzed! We proceeded on to Byrd Field at Richmond and landed there. We got absolutely wonderful treatment from the Air National Guard people there. We went to Howard Moss' parents' home, borrowed a car from them, and drove on to Lexington. And that is how I got to my 20th class reunion, the first one for me, and how the Institute got buzzed."

"During the war, as was to be expected, several VMI men voluntarily cast their lot with the North. Twelve served as officers in the Union army: one brigadier general, three colonels, one lieutenant colonel, three majors, three captains, and one lieutenant. One alumnus remained a private, and another was a surgeon in the United States Navy. Even though VMI had been in existence only twenty-one years when the Civil War started, it had experienced, fortunately for the Confederacy, a period of expansion and vigor during the decade of the fifties, and the doors of the school were opened for the first time to students from outside of the Commonwealth. Also, Major William Gilham in early 1861, upon instructions from the governor of the state, began work on a drill manual for the militia. During the war this excellent book of instruction was used, at one time, by both the Confederate and Union armies. Another significant development pertaining to the military prior to the outbreak of hostilities was the successful firing on the VMI range of a new rifled piece known as the Parrott Gun. The tests, which ultimately led to the adoption of the gun by both the North and the South, were primarily conducted under the supervision of Major T.J. Jackson, instructor in artillery at VMI. This moody, deeply religious, eccentric figure had joined the Institute's faculty in 1851 as professor of natural philosophy- physics as we know it today. He remained in Lexington until April 1861, when he left to become one of the great commanders in American military history."

"There is no school anywhere remotely like the Virginia Military Institute. It is a special place, with battlements mustard-colored in the setting sun on a bluff above the Maury River, within sight of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Its athletic teams perform prodigies of valor out of all proportion to the student body of 1,300. A military maxim says that morale is to physical as three to one, and opponents of VMI have an uneasy sense, when they take the field, that whatever the betting odds may be in a game, the 3-to-1 ratio for morale always attends the Flying Squadron. The cadets are apt to play to their utmost potential."

"You have something most people can only dream of- you belong to a beautiful place, a beautiful history, a beautiful people. You were and are so lucky."

"The Lexington school has been under pressure to change since late 2020, when then-Gov. Ralph Northam (D) ordered an independent investigation into VMI, saying the school suffered from a “clear and appalling culture of ongoing structural racism.” Afterward, the 183-year-old college, whose cadets fought and died for the Confederacy, appointed its first Black superintendent, retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins and created a diversity, equity and inclusion office, led by two Black women. Recently, VMI changed the title of its diversity office to Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion to reflect the title of Brown’s office in Richmond. The scrapping of “equity,” though, also came after blowback by some of the college’s mostly White, older alumni, who graduated in the 1970s and 1980s. They have spent months attacking DEI as anti-White. On Friday, before several hundred VMI professors and other staff members, Brown, who is 60 and makes $160,000 a year, echoed the criticisms of its conservative graduates. “VMI’s in a unique space … You’ve been at the tip of the spear in serving our country in sending warriors to battle, but in a way, you’re at the tip of the spear in this cultural war as well,” said Brown, who also argued: “Generally, when you are focusing on equity, you’re not pursuing merit or excellence or achievement. Not all the time, but you’re looking at equal outcomes.”"

"An uncompromising code of honor sets the school apart. It belongs to the cadets and is enforced by them. Not a device for the convenience of the Institute administration, it is for the protection of the cadets. In the face of permissiveness in education today the Institute is convinced that a twenty-four-hour daily military regimen nurtures growth of the whole man and that intellect is more apt to be sharpened than not in such a regimen because much teaching, though informal, goes on all day. In this day of do-your-own-thing, some professors and college-age youth reject the idea that learning can be achieved in such an atmosphere. The military turns some so far off that they simply close their eyes to the possibility that this approach may produce something worthwhile, not robots. The most ardent supporters of the VMI way do not now, nor did they ever in more tranquil times, claim that it is for every young man. And it is relevant in this context to point out that those who associate with VMI men would be quick to say that they, whether cadets or alumni, are highly individualistic persons- anything but automatons."

"Virginia Military Institute (VMI): Established in 1839 in Lexington, Virginia, VMI had 1,902 alumni by the outbreak of the Civil War. Of this number, 1781 would fight for the Confederacy. One-third of the field officers commanding Virginia's Civil War regiments were graduates."

"Every new cadet, or "Rat" as he is known at the Virginia Military Institute, is required to learn the inscription on the parapet facing Cocke Hall. A portion of this inscription, in the words of its author, Colonel J. T. L. Preston, states that the mission of the Institute is to produce "fair specimens of citizen-soldiers, attached to their native state, proud of her fame and ready in every time of deepest peril to indicate her honor or defend her rights." The Corps of Cadets carried out this mission nobly during the Civil War by answering the call on several different occasions to operate in the field as a separate and distinct military unit, by serving as drill instructors, and by furnishing hundreds of officers and men for the armies of the Confederacy, especially for the famed Army of Northern Virginia. The late Douglas Southhall Freeman, the most famous historian of the Army of Northern Virginia, wrote: "I am convinced that the Army of Northern Virginia owed to the Institute such excellence of regimental command as it had." He even went so far as to say: "I do not believe the campaigns of 1862 could have been fought successfully without the VMI men.""

"The Virginia Military Institute was founded by gentlemen in the nineteenth century who believed strongly in the importance of physical fitness as part of educating the whole man. Francis H. Smith, superintendent from 1839 to 1889, stated unequivocally in an address to the Corps that "physical education constitutes the beginning of the cadet life." Claudius Crozet, first president of the Board of Visitors, had been educated at the Ecole Polytechnique in France, where physical fitness was a prerequisite for admission and a part of each student's curriculum. John Thomas Lewis Preston, a lexington lawyer who gave the school its name and served on the faculty for fifty years, wrote in an address prepared for the college's semicentennial in 1889 that exercise had been a part of a cadet's daily regimen from the start. Perhaps General Smith best captured the assumptions of VMI's founders when he explained to the Corps of Cadets, "If you would mark the perfect man, you must not look for him in the circus, the university, or the church, exclusively, but you must look for one who has 'mens sana in corpore sano,' a healthful mind in a healthful body. The being in whom you find this union is the only one worthy to be called educated. To make all men is such is the object of education.""

"The war, when it came, broke in rudely on the routine of the Institute and the ambitious plans of Colonel Smith. It is a testimony to him, the faculty, and the cadets that this basically academic institution was ready to march when the drums sounded assembly. The war gave meaning to the untested military mission of VMI: as former professor "stonewall" Jackson had predicted, the Institute was heard from during the Civil War. The conflict also provided the Institute its most heroic chapter at the Battle of New Market, but the price was staggering and the war left the school in ruins."

"In early 1861, Professor Thomas Jonathan Jackson was an unhappy, unpopular professor of artillery, optics, mathematics and astronomy at the Virginia Military Institute. Remarried after the death of his first wife, the deeply religious Jackson believed in predestination: Everything that happened to him was intended to happen. Conversely, one of his frequently stated maxims was, "You can be whatever you will." Guided by these two contradictory ideas, he became a fearless commander. If the Civil War had not happened, Jackson likely would have passed the rest of his life as a teacher, spending his spare time boning up on unfamiliar subjects, practicing his lectures, and spending time with his daughter. Instead, he was thrust into leadership positions. The Civil War changed his life forever, and his death changed the course of the war."

"I have always felt that track fit naturally with the VMI system. Ability, self-discipline, and determination are overriding factors, and dependence on weight and size is minimized. Individual performance is the foundation, but team spirit is critical too, and that is what VMI tries to teach us."

"VMI has many notable works of art. Some of these fine pieces memorialize national heroes, VMI professors, world leaders; others are symbolic of great events and themes in world history. Many are by great sculptors such as Sir Moses Ezekiel and Benjamen Clinedinst. These works are on display throughout the VMI post, not just on the parade ground or in Memorial Garden. A tour of VMI and its historical buildings is an exciting cultural experience to be treasured, in part because of the diversity and richness of its fine arts."

"Brown, a Black Republican who is a former Heritage Foundation fellow and worked for two prior GOP governors, was the featured speaker at a mandatory annual “inclusive excellence” training for VMI’s faculty and staff members. VMI recorded the speech and made it available after The Post asked to see it. Post asked to see it. The freewheeling talk — which Brown kicked off with a prayer to Jesus and laced with mentions of “our Creator” and “God” — angered some of the people who attended. “Other colleges have had DEI embedded at their schools for a long time, but at VMI, it’s new and not fully supported by alumni and staff,” said one professor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “It’s a place where you can stomp it out. Multiple people I spoke with afterwards were outraged. They were concerned about our students, our minority groups. How is this going to impact them? They’re already struggling even with the current diversity push.” Brown’s speech came at an especially sensitive time for VMI, the nation’s oldest state-supported military college. Its 1,500 students remain mostly White and male."

"Well it's where I spend my life, about nine months of the year Where it always rains and never shines, and you're not allowed to drink beer Where folks called Rats play with geese scat and give everybody pink-eye There ain't noplace like it in the whole dang world, it's a place called VMI"

"There have been misfortunes, mistakes, missed opportunities, disruptions, near disasters, and always problems. These as well as the happier aspects should be treated in anything purporting to be a history. Here is at least one institution that holds fast to values proved sound over five generations. Refusal to throw out what is demonstrably good simply in favor of novelty or caprice has led some, who disdain the meaning of education in its historic sense, to dub VMI an anachronism. If that word means that the school serves no cogent purpose or is moribund, the characterization is wrong. Growth in the academic area, in physical plant, in almost every facet has been admirable, especially considering the obstacles. Yet nowhere is more apt the phrase, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." [...] Almost two hundred years before the Virginia Military Institute was thought of, John Milton succinctly defined its mission: "I call a complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously all of the offices both private and public of peace and war." In pace decus, in bello praesidium"

"My teaching environment is the Corps of Cadets. The Corps is an experience in living with and dealing with problems. Mostly people problems. In every respect these problems are real. By real, I mean real. Cadets may be hurt, physically or emotionally, or many relationships within the Corps may be affected and the cadets have to live with the consequences of their actions."

"Oh clear the way V.M.I. is out today, We're here to win this game; Our team will bring us fame; In Alma Mater's name. For though the odds be against us we'll not care, You'll see us fight the same; Always the same old spirit and we'll triumph once again, And though defeat seems certain it's the same with V.M.I.; Our battle cry is 'Never never die!'"

"For when our line starts to weaken, our backs fail to gain, Our ends are so crippled to win seems in vain, Then the Corps roots the loudest, we'll yet win the day; The team it will rally and Fight! Fight! Fight! Ray! We'll gain thru the line and we'll circle the ends, Old Red White and Yellow will triumph again, The 'Keydets' will fight 'em and never say die, That's the spirit of V.M.I.!"

"I can tell a first class that the way they conduct their affairs in the first semester will determine how well the under classes cooperate as followers during the second semester: that they have to build respect in their subordinates. They must demonstrate character. If I tell them this in September, they'll nod in agreement, but it will be merely an acceptance of words. If I tell them this in April, they'll nod in understanding because they've been down that road and understand even if the principle wasn't articulated during their journey. The acceptance of responsibility of the Corps in barracks, in ranks, and in public encourages cadets, perhaps even compels some of them, to examine their personal qualities and to become the crowd of honorable youths we are so proud of."

"VMI has a long and enviable tradition, of which the intrepid charge of its cadets at New Market is one of the most glorious chapters. Although only about 15 percent of the graduates pursue military careers, the mass of them have served well- many with great distinction- as citizen-soldiers in every conflict in which their country has been involved, beginning with the Mexican War. Foremost among them was General of the Army George C. Marshall, the chief of staff throughout World War II, who late served in two cabinet posts and became the one military figure ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Each of the diverse curricula in engineering, the physical sciences, and the liberal arts has prepared its cadet-students well to follow civil callings in peacetime, which most alumni do."

"The challenges of civilian or military life after VMI are often laughable compared to what they have been through. They are ready for what the world has to throw at them- and the world is badly in need of them. The highest accolade one can pay is that in this state and country, and the world, is a better place to live in because of this little fortress-like barracks in Lexington. Would that we had a hundred like it!"

"Although documented references to sporting activity at VMI before the Civil War are rare, we can infer several points. Water played a large part in the life of cadets, as they occasionally reached and departed Lexington by canalboat and used the North (later Maury) River for swimming, fishing, and bathing. By virtue of being enrolled in a southern military college, young men at VMI often engaged in fencing, rifle firing, and horseback riding. In 1857 a report mentioned increasing the use of horses for artillery and cavalry instruction, and thirty first and second classmen were reportedly interested in maintaining horses on a permanent basis at the Institute. In addition to participating in improvised, high-spirited games on the Parade Ground, one can also imagine cadets hiking across streams and through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. All of this physical activity contributed, along with a proper diet, sufficient sleep, and invigorating fresh air, to the robust health and mental vigor of cadets. These were positive attractions that the Institute's founders pointed to with pride."

"Thus ended VMI's seemingly brief affiliation with horses. The memories are still strong, I suppose, because of the thrill that riding brought to cadets at the Institute, or maybe as a welcome diversion from the strict regimentation at VMI. The horse offered a taste of the Old South that drew crowds to VMI, and the VMI cadet is at his best when there is a crowd."

"Another bomb story (I'm not really a pyromaniac, I just remember these events): Gargantua. Think this was also a '59 story. Notes appeared daily on the Bulletin Boards for about a week advising that "Gargantua was coming," the largest bomb to be set off in Barracks. Ever! The Corps was looking forward to this, but the Commandant, Col. Glover Johns, was not about to let Barracks be destroyed. He published memos requiring the parties to come forth. No response. More memos, this time promising amnesty. No response. Finally, Col. Johns said he would cancel drill, and with proper supervision, allow Gargantua to be detonated on the Parade Ground, and no penalties would be assessed anyone. An Agreement was reached, and on the appropriate day, the perpetrators assembled at the far end of the Parade Ground, an order was given to open all windows on the West side of Barracks, and Gargantua was ignited. Much to the delight of the Corps, only a small cloud of black smoke rose into the air, and a very weak bomb sound was heard in Barracks. At least, we got out of drill! However, late that night the familiar "Bomb in the Courtyard! Bomb in the Courtyard! Sentinel, get out of the box!" was heard. Shortly thereafter, Gargantua went off, waking all, and breaking several Courtyard windows. A Class of '59 success."

"I think it real strongly that athletics is more important at a school like VMI than it is anywhere else. It's almost a necessity to have a good program- one that's competitive with our adversaries and not just participatory. We need competing teams, whatever the season is, in order to keep the morale up in Barracks. We don't have to win all the time, but we need to go with the expectation that we have a chance to win. VMI can compete with almost anybody; most VMI people deep down really believe that."

"The Institute will be heard from today."

"The class of 1953 returned to Lexington for its 50th reunion in April 2003. It was the first time that my three roommates and I had been together since our graduation day. We had pictures taken in our room on the first stoop during graduation week in June 1953. Therefore, we thought it would be nice to have our picture taken again in our old room. After the old yell for our class in the courtyard of barracks, we went over to our room to have our picture taken. A change had occurred to our room, since it was now a women's bathroom. As Doc Caroll always said, "It's not like the old corps, but it never was.""

"At Chancellorsville when Jackson stated in the presence of three of his former colleagues on the VMI faculty that the Institute would be heard from that day, he was fully aware of the large number of VMI men present. In this battle one corps, two divisions, four brigades, numerous regiments, and most of the cavalry were commanded by Institute alumni. In the Second Virginia Cavalry alone twenty-one officers had formerly worn the uniform of a VMI cadet. And had "Stonewall" Jackson been alive at the time of Gettysburg he could have made a similar statement about the school's performance on the battlefield. For one thing, thirteen of Major General George Pickett's fifteen regiments were at some point during the great charge on the afternoon of 3 July 1863 led by men of the Institute. Tragically, only two of these officers survived unscathed in that heroic but suicidal assault. Three of Pickett's colonels- Lewis B. Williams, W. Tazewell Patton, and Robert C. Allen- were not only in the same VMI class (1855) but also had been roommates in school and had become lawyers after graduation. All three were killed in the charge."

"One thing we had been constantly told in the week leading up to matriculation was, "Don't lose your Rat Bible." (Note: The Rat Bible is a little book every rat carries containing all of the information about VMI a rat is supposed to know. A rat is supposed to memorize every word in it.) Over and over, we heard, "Whatever you do, don't lose your Rat Bible." Of course, I was determined that I would not commit this grievous sin. On matriculation day, after we had received our Rat Bibles along with a lecture as to its importance, we were led to our rooms to change into "idiot dyke." (This was the rat uniform consisting of white shirt, utility trousers, low quarters, and utility cover.) Upon entering my room, I put my Rat Bible on my desk and started to change. I no sooner had done this than a sergeant walked in, scooped up my Rat Bible, and walked out. I couldn't believe it! I hadn't had my Rat Bible five minutes, and I'd already lost it! The one thing we were warned not to let happen, and I'd already done it! I was crestfallen! I was also thinking that this was not a very good start to my cadetship and did not bode well for my future. Luckily, the sergeant brought it right back along with a few choice words about taking care of my Rat Bible. I did learn my lesson though. I never lost my Rat Bible again. In fact, I still have it today. One final note on matriculation day: it was the only time in my life when I was actually looking forward to football practice."

"The whole history of VMI is a triumphant chronicle of the part which the citizen-soldier can play in a democracy."

"Virginia’s chief diversity officer was blunt. He took the stage Friday at Virginia Military Institute — a college embroiled in a tense debate over racism, sexism and diversity reforms — and slammed the whole concept of diversity, equity and inclusion. “Let’s take a moment right now to kill that cow. DEI is dead,” said Martin D. Brown, who was appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in November. “We’re not going to bring that cow up anymore. It’s dead. It was mandated by the General Assembly, but this governor has a different philosophy of civil discourse, civility, treating — living the golden rule, right?”"

"Before its removal from the college’s website, VMI’s explanation of its DEI program stated that equity was different from equality because, “whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to address historical and existing discrimination.” “Inequities happen when unfair or biased practices, policies, or situations contribute to a lack of equality. Equity must permeate all practices, policies, and procedures for every constituent.”"

"Several staff and faculty members said Brown didn’t fully explain his office’s vision and why “opportunity” is superior to “equity.” “What is the purpose of DOI? How is it positive? I just didn’t get any clarity. What are the pieces of that? How can we see ourselves in that effort? It just lacked substance,” one staff member told The Post. “I don’t think he understands how many people in that room were disappointed. This was a mandatory meeting, and it was a waste. And to say that DEI is dead? He’s killed two parts of his office — diversity and inclusion. He made a case as to why he shouldn’t have a job.”"

"Well, it's where we'll spend our lives, about four whole years Then watch that old rearview mirror, as it all just disappears Where you come a boy and leave a man, and meet the friends of a lifetime There ain't noplace like it in the whole dang world, it's a place called VMI"

"I do not pretend to be without bias. Who ever tried to write a history of a college unless it meant much to him? Every effort, nevertheless, has been made to be accurate."

"At VMI integrity subconsciously becomes a way of life."

"By the end of the war 1,796 cadets and former cadets had served the Confederacy. This was ninety-four percent of the Institute's living matriculates. In the sizable group of Institute men in the Confederate service were three distinguished major generals- Robert E. Rodes (Class of 1848, hereafter cited by year only), William Mahone (1847), and William Y.C. Humes (1851). General Rodes' leadership at Chancellorsville won for him "the nearest approach the Army had known to promotion on the field of valor," and he was the first non-West Point graduate to command a division in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia."

"FBI agents are devoting substantial resources to a multistate hunt for two baby piglets that the bureau believes are named Lucy and Ethel. The two piglets were removed over the summer from the Circle Four Farm in Utah by animal rights activists who had entered the {Smithfield Foods-owned factory farm to film the brutal, torturous conditions in which the pigs are bred in order to be slaughtered. While filming the conditions at the Smithfield facility, activists saw the two ailing baby piglets laying on the ground, visibly ill and near death, surrounded by the rotting corpses of dead piglets. [...] Under normal circumstances, a large industrial farming company such as Smithfield Foods would never notice that two sick piglets of the millions it breeds and then slaughters were missing. Nor would they care: A sick and dying piglet has no commercial value to them. Yet the rescue of these two particular piglets has literally become a federal case — by all appearances, a matter of great importance to the Department of Justice. On the last day of August, a six-car armada of FBI agents in bulletproof vests, armed with s, descended upon two small shelters for abandoned farm animals: Ching Farm Rescue in , and Luvin Arms in . These sanctuaries have no connection to DxE or any other rescue groups. They simply serve as a shelter for sick, abandoned, or otherwise injured animals. Run by a small staff and a team of animal-loving volunteers, they are open to the public to teach about farm animals. [...] Subsequent events confirmed that this show of FBI force was designed to intimidate the sanctuaries, which played no role in the rescue."

"At Smithfield, like most industrial pig farms, the abuse and torture primarily comes not from rogue employees violating company procedures. Instead, the cruelty is inherent in the procedures themselves. One of the most heinous industry-wide practices is one that DxE activists encountered in abundance at Circle Four: gestational crating. Where that technique is used, pigs are placed in a crate made of iron bars that is the exact length and width of their bodies, so they can do nothing for their entire lives but stand on a concrete floor, never turn around, never see any outdoors, never even see their tails, never move more than an inch. That was the condition in which the activists found the rotting piglet corpses and the two ailing piglets they rescued. [...] In the U.S. states where factory farms actually thrive, these devices continue to be widely used, which means a vast majority of pigs in the U.S. are subjected to them. The suffering, pain, and death these crates routinely cause were in ample evidence at Smithfield Foods, as accounts, photos, and videos from DxE demonstrate. [...] What has vested these two piglets with such importance to the FBI is that their rescue is now part of what has become an increasingly visible public campaign by DxE and other activists to highlight the barbaric suffering and abuse that animals endure on farms like Circle Four. Obviously, the FBI and Smithfield — the nation’s largest industrial farm corporation — don’t really care about the missing piglets they are searching for. What they care about is the efficacy of a intent on showing the public how animals are abused at factory farms, and they are determined to intimidate those responsible. Deterring such campaigns and intimidating the activists behind them is, manifestly, the only goal here."

"Virginia Tech. Gabby Giffords. Now Aurora, Colo. The names and places are linked by tragedy, death and the Glock semiautomatic handgun. The young men who carried out these mass shootings — and analysis says such killers are almost always male and most often young — all counted at least one of these versatile, easy-to-fire pistols in their arsenals.... Like other mass shootings, Friday’s attack sparked calls for more gun control."

"Police revealed other new information yesterday, including that 9mm and .22-caliber guns had been recovered from Norris Hall, the scene of the second round of shootings, and that ballistics tests showed that the 9mm Glock had been used in both incidents."

"Examples of Mass Shootings in the United States Involving Glock Pistols Mass Shooting Incident Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia April 16, 2007 Shooter: Seung‐Hui Cho Casualties 33 dead (including shooter), 17 wounded Firearm(s) Glock 19 pistol Walther P22 pistol"

"In the last nine years, Glocks have figured prominently in at least five mass shootings. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech University, used a Glock 19 and Walther P22 to kill 32 people and wound 17 others in two separate attacks on campus. The Glock 19 is a smaller pistol that is easier to conceal. Three years later, Jared Lee Loughner used a Glock 19 to shoot 20 people in Arizona, gravely wounding US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, including a nine-year-old girl. In 2013, Pedro Vargas went on a shooting rampage inside his apartment complex in Hialeah, Florida. With his Glock 17, Vargas murdered six people and held two neighbors hostage during an eight-hour stand-off until a SWAT team stormed the building and killed him. On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof killed nine people with a .45-caliber Glock pistol at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Two months later, Vester Lee Flanagan II shot and killed a Roanoke, Virginia, television reporter and a cameraman with a Glock 19 during a live news broadcast."

"Investigators said Cho procured one of the guns he used in the rampage, a Walther .22-caliber pistol, Feb. 9 from a pawnshop on Main Street in Blacksburg near the Virginia Tech campus. On March 16, he bought the second gun, a 9mm Glock 19, from Roanoke Firearms, a gun shop on Cove Road in Roanoke. He used his driver's license as identification and had no problem buying the guns because he was complying with Virginia law, which permits the purchase of one gun a month, investigators said. The Glock was used in two shootings, first in a dormitory and then in Norris Hall more than 2 1/2 hours later, officials said. A surveillance tape, which has now been watched by federal agents, shows Cho buying the Glock, sources said. Both guns are semiautomatic, which means that one round is fired for every finger pull. Cho reloaded several times, using 15-round magazines for the Glock and 10-round magazines for the Walther, investigators said..."

"The Lord sent a world-class whopper of a massacre to Virginia Tech, killing thirty-three, drawing headlines like 'Shocked!', 'Horrified!', 'The worst massacre in U.S. history!'. Well, we wish you were thirty-three thousand killed, but we are thankful to our Father for thirty-three.President Bush and thousands of others, politicians and preachers, are making speeches and lying in their teeth, all agreeing that they can't explain such tragedies, but they're just certain a loving God had nothing to do with the massacre. They say, evil did it, like Star Wars, some evil force.Bush said, in a big memorial service the other day, we've come to mourn and grieve and try to make some kind of sense out of this senseless tragedy that makes no sense. Well, wrong, President Bush. It makes perfect sense, to those who believe the Bible...God is punishing America for the way they have persecuted us..For sixteen years, America has conducted a crusade of terror against Westboro Baptist Church: bombing and vandalizing our property, raiding our church with lying search warrants, seizing and destroying our goods, assaulting and battering us, putting our people in the hospital, slandering, threatening us with death, suing us, prosecuting us, arresting and jailing us, blaspheming, mocking and scoffing at our message from God, vilifying us, demonizing and marginalizing us, a technique that they hope would silence all those who are trying to preach, saying that we're just a bunch of kooks... Only brute beast blindness explains America's conduct against Westboro Baptist Church. By refusing to heed Westboro Baptist Church, that God hates fags, and by continuing to persecute Westboro Baptist Church, America is pouring gasoline on the raging fires of God's wrath. America may expect many more dead and maimed bodies from Iraq, many more Katrinas and other natural disasters, and many more Virginia Tech massacres. Westboro Baptist Church rejoices, not grieves, when we see God's vengeance... Think, America. Think Iraq. Think Katrina. And think Virginia Tech massacre, because worse and more is on the way."

"As you all know 33 people lost their lives today, this morning. Most of them were of the age of many of the young people in this audience, they were going to class, they had their lives in front of them, their parents were proud of them and looking forward to having them home for summer or visiting them on campus and their lives were cut short in a tragic and random fashion. And so it makes all of hearts ache, particularly those of us who are parents. I have an eight-year-old daughter Maila and a five-year-old daughter Sasha and they describe all that I hold dear in the world and so when I hear stories like this I think from the perspective of a parent and I try to imagine what that must be like - not even just the parents of those that were killed or wounded but a parent who knows their child is there and is uncertain as to whether they were in that class or participated in one of the venues that was struck. And it makes us think about violence in this society. On the way up I asked my staff to pull a quote, or pull the speech that Robert Kennedy delivered after Dr. King had been assassinated. Riots were taking place all across the country. This is a famous speech that Bobby Kennedy delivered at the City Club in Cleveland. And he said: Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded. And he goes on to say: Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far-off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire whatever weapons and ammunition they desire. That was written in 1968, almost 40 years ago. What's striking obviously is that when you read that passage you have a sense that in a lot of ways we haven't made much progress. That this society is still riven by violence, that we continue to be degraded by murders and crime and all manner of abuse perpetrated on our children and Bobby Kennedy is right: we tolerate it. Obviously what happened today was the act of a madman at some level, and there are gonna be a whole series of explanations or attempts to explain what happened. There is gonna be discussion about how did this person get the firearms that he used. And there are already reports that potentially the semi-automatic weapons he used would have been banned under an assault weapons ban that was allowed to lapse. There'll be discussion about security on college campuses. There will be speculation as to what caused this young man to snap. But I hope that it causes us to reflect a little bit more broadly on the degree to which we do accept violence, in various forms, all the time in our society. We glorify it, we encourage it, we ignore it, and it is heartbreaking and it has to stop."

"The Korean people and I were horribly shocked and deeply saddened at the tragic incident two days ago at Virginia Tech in the United States. I pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and express my wholehearted sympathy to the wounded, the bereaved families and the American people. In addition, I hope that Americans will overcome this great sorrow and difficulties and will regain peace of mind as soon as possible."