Early morning, July 20 - shot rings out in Aurora Colorado

[maycocksean]

Originally Posted by cobl04

Neither of these are good reasons not to tighten gun laws.

I agree. But neither does this tragedy provide the strongest platform for arguing for stronger gun control laws. There are plenty of reasons we need stricter gun control laws.

[Axver]

Originally Posted by cobl04

Neither of these are good reasons not to tighten gun laws.

They definitely don't seem very compelling from an Aussie or Kiwi perspective. The considerable tightening of Australia's gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 certainly seems to have been effective.

Meanwhile, New Zealand (a small country, true, but the comparison still holds on a per capita basis) has, to the best of my recollection, experienced only two major massacres in the last hundred years: seven people killed in the Koiterangi Incident of 1941, and thirteen killed in the Aramoana massacre of 1990.

So either we're just more peaceful people, a claim laughable to anybody familiar with the violence of the Australian frontier, or our tighter gun laws work.

[Moonlit_Angel]

Meanwhile, people ARE being banned from wearing costumes to the theater. So at least that threat is being swiftly dealt with!

[AchtungBono]

Originally Posted by Jeannieco

Interesting question. Are we going to see metal detectors now at the movies? I wouldn't be opposed to it.

It's way too easy for psychos to get a hold of weapons and guns made for warfare.

There's more of a background check for getting your drivers license. Why are gun fanatics opposed to this? ( background checks, passing a safety test) What's the problem?
Or putting controls on how many bullets or what type of bullets you can buy. What is the big freaking deal? This makes me so mad.

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!......

[BVS]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

There's a good article in the Disgusting thread that points out that, unfortunately, stricter gun laws are unlikely to prevent mass shootings like this one.

Originally Posted by Globo14

Exactly. In my opinion, you can't stop a murderer from doing what he or she is going to do.

You can't stop whatever it is that triggered this person's thoughts on why or how to pull this off with any laws, but I do think there are steps that we could make as a nation to not allow the tools to shoot so many is such a short span in the hands of common citizens. Letting the assault weapon ban to be lifted was one of the dumbest steps backwards we've made in a long time. This amount of people killed and injured would be much less if it were conventional handguns or hunting rifles being used.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Jeannieco

Interesting question. Are we going to see metal detectors now at the movies? I wouldn't be opposed to it.

It's way too easy for psychos to get a hold of weapons and guns made for warfare.

There's more of a background check for getting your drivers license. Why are gun fanatics opposed to this? ( background checks, passing a safety test) What's the problem?
Or putting controls on how many bullets or what type of bullets you can buy. What is the big freaking deal? This makes me so mad.

I've thought about it long before Aurora- that the movie theater is one of the few public, crowded places post 9/11 with no metal detectors, no bag checks, and very little security. You're also basically stuck there in a dark place with a few exits that would be very difficult to use in that situation, if not impossible. In the theater I go to no one ever stays in the theater who is employed by them-they barely have enough staff to sell tickets during the week. At night it's better. I guess I just have to face the fear and go, the longer I put it off maybe the worse it will get.

A background check wouldn't have mattered, he only had a traffic ticket. And no known mental health record. That being said I don't see why any human being needs to own an assault weapon.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by notsomadLisa

As I posted in the hugs thread, I personally knew of the people that were there. Unfortunately her boyfriend died in order to save her.

She's a friend of mine, and we went to the same school. Since it is a small school, it is certainly hitting home to a lot of us.

I'm so sorry

[LJT]

I find it odd when supporters of guns point out countries like Switzerland and what not having equal numbers of gun ownership but less shootings. In my mind that's because you have a more homogeneous population and likely a lot less social inequality. Social inequality being one of the great creators mental illness (though I know in many cases and in this case Mr Holmes is not from an underprivileged background).

The people who say it's not the fault of guns, all they are really implying is that your all just more violent than anyone else, which is just a bit dumb.

[digitize]

Originally Posted by LJT

I find it odd when supporters of guns point out countries like Switzerland and what not having equal numbers of gun ownership but less shootings. In my mind that's because you have a more homogeneous population and likely a lot less social inequality. Social inequality being one of the great creators mental illness (though I know in many cases and in this case Mr Holmes is not from an underprivileged background).

Not just mental illness. Social and economic inequality have a tendency to promote violence in other ways, too.

[MrsSpringsteen]

gawker.com

Warner Bros. Will Donate Portion of Dark Knight Rises Proceeds to Aurora Shooting Victims

Though it would not say exactly how much it planned to donate, Warner Bros. is expected to contribute a "substantial" sum, according to sources.

The Hollywood Reporter says the studio will contribute to a Giving First fund that will distribute the money among several charities providing support for victims of the Aurora theater shooting and their families.

Warner Bros. initially declined to release dollar figures for TDKR's opening weekend out of respect for the victims, but it was eventually revealed that the film had grossed a record-setting $160.9 million.

[Angel617]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

There's a good article in the Disgusting thread that points out that, unfortunately, stricter gun laws are unlikely to prevent mass shootings like this one.

Maybe not prevent, but how about reducing the probability of such an event?

[Jeannieco]

^^^ya, anything is better than what we have now!!! Today on the radio I heard some numbskull call in to Stephanie Miller's show and say that he couldn't understand how or why no one stopped the guy once he started shooting and that everyone in there should have had a gun, much like that numbskull GOP Congressman from Texas; Gohmert .... said "Aurora shooting ‘terrorist act,’ questions why no one else in theater had a gun" Seriously. Don't people understand how ridiculous that is? Not only would more people have died, but the chaos and panic would have just multiplied. Violence begets violence and I firmly believe that just owning a gun ( IMO) brings the negative energy of violence/fear in to your home and it will manifest in your life eventually.
Yes, I know people protect themselves and homes from intruders, but...I think it's because ( yes I know..this is out there but there is something to this) it's drawn to them by the energy they focus on.
Quick story... when I lived in Panama in Central America, a 3rd world country ( no I was not military, we were civilians) every house on our street got burglarized at one time or another. In the 25 years we lived there, nothing ever happened to us. I think it was the loving energy my parents put out, plus not turning away the beggars that would come to our door... my mother fed them and gave them clothes. It's that loving energy that protected us I am convinced. Yes, I know that is way out there for some of you, but I am just sharing .... food for thought. No rotten tomatoes please.

[Moonlit_Angel]

Originally Posted by Jeannieco

Violence begets violence and I firmly believe that just owning a gun ( IMO) brings the negative energy of violence/fear in to your home and it will manifest in your life eventually.

Indeed. I've noticed when I see true crime shows on TV that most intentional/unintentional murders and robberies that happen in the home are often done by people they know instead of some random stranger. The guns that they get to protect themselves usually wind up being used against them.

Your story about looking after the beggars is interesting. I do agree that not brushing off people who aren't in your "class", trusting them and such definitely helps, and if you grow up in a confrontational home, it's more likely to rub off on you. It often seems to me that people who own guns already tend to have aggressive personalities as it is.

[LemonMelon]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

gawker.com

Warner Bros. Will Donate Portion of Dark Knight Rises Proceeds to Aurora Shooting Victims

Though it would not say exactly how much it planned to donate, Warner Bros. is expected to contribute a "substantial" sum, according to sources.

The Hollywood Reporter says the studio will contribute to a Giving First fund that will distribute the money among several charities providing support for victims of the Aurora theater shooting and their families.

Warner Bros. initially declined to release dollar figures for TDKR's opening weekend out of respect for the victims, but it was eventually revealed that the film had grossed a record-setting $160.9 million.

Smooth. That's one way to counteract the bad publicity the film faced.

[cobl04]

Gun sales soar after Colorado shooting | Herald Sun

[LemonMelon]

No surprise. People are scared and the laws are still intact--->more guns

That specific figure is pretty alarming though.

[TheEdge U2JT]

Not sure if this is the place to share this but our singer for Joshua Tree lost a friend in the shooting in Colorado. This is from this past Saturday night when he dedicated an emotional performance of One Tree Hill to her.

U2JT performing One Tree Hill at the 2012 OC Fair - YouTube

[the iron horse]

Originally Posted by cobl04

Can someone here who is pro-guns explain to me in what kind of fucking situation would an ordinary citizen need an assault rifle?

The term "assault rifle" is a military term. The civilian version AR-15 is a semi-automatic weapon. It does not fire full auto as the military version.

There are many traditonal looking unscary looking semi-automatic hunting
rifles that can fire at the same rate as the AR-15.

It seems the term "assault" and (in some people's mind) the evil
appearance of the AR-15 raises a red flag.
The AR-15 is a very popular rifle among hunters because it is a great rifle and offers hunters dozens of different options and gear.

That is my answer to your question.


Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

~ James Madison


-Only three people were killed in the gun fight at the OK Corral in Tombstone Az in 1881, yet it was frontpage news in New York City.

-According to recent FBI statistics, violent crime in America has been going down.

-52 million American households own a firearm.

-3.5 million Americans now have concealed weapon permits and despite warnings from anti-gun groups this has not resulted in more murders or violent crime. In fact, the crime rate has gone down in states that allow CWP.

-U.S. cities that have the strictest gun laws have the highest murder rates.
There have been about 260 murders in Chicago since January. (Most of these have been gang and drug related)

-Four of the top five most recent mass shootings did not occur in America.




A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.

~Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c. 4BC - 65AD.


It's easy to blame guns. It's a lot more difficult to ask why a person would go into a movie theater and kill.

Where does this evil come from?

What cultural or societal issues should we discuss?

[Liesje]

I come from somewhat of a "gun culture" family but the guys' guns are all hunting rifles, useless for any sort of defense mostly because when they are not actually hunting the guns are kept locked up and sometimes disassembled. Often their guns are not even in their own homes (for example my cousin kept his hunting rifles at my parents house in college and several family members use my grandpa's guns instead of their own). I've never, ever felt any reason to carry a gun since I have zero interest in sitting in the cold all day praying a deer walks by. If Phil wanted a hunting rifle I'd be OK with that but he would have to have a locked gun safe and I'd probably ask him to keep that with my dad since we'll probably have kiddos soon and my parents are empty-nesters now. I do not feel that I have any inherent "right" to walk around with loaded weapons. It does help that I have these to always back me up though!

Pan SDA 2 26 2012 - YouTube

Nikon Barn Protection 3 11 2012 - YouTube

[U2DMfan]

If you need a semi-automatic rifle for hunting, you aren't doing it right.