12 Killed in Colorado During The Dark Knight Screening

What is going on with society, and what is going on with Colorado too...

http://gma.yahoo.com/mass-shooting-colo-movie-theater-14-people-dead-085940786--abc-news-topstories.html

In a surreal twist one of the victims who died was also present in Toronto's Eaton Centre when a gunman opened fire in a food court in gang related violence earlier this year. She blogged about it here:

http://jessicaredfield.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/late-night-thoughts-on-the-eaton-center-shooting/

This is a seriously f***ed up world

Before anybody starts wondering...

[QUOTE]Colorado allows a person to carry a firearm in a vehicle, loaded or unloaded, if its use is for lawful protection of such person or another's person or property. [C.R.S. 18-12-105(2)] Colorado law also allows a person to possess a handgun in a dwelling, place of business, or automobile. However, you cannot carry the weapon concealed on or about your person while transporting it into your home, business, hotel room, etc. Local jurisdictions may not enact laws that restrict a person's ability to travel with a weapon. [C.R.S. 18-12-105.6] The Act permits the nationwide carrying of concealed handguns by qualified current and retired law enforcement officers and amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 (Pub. L. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1213) to exempt qualified current and retired law enforcement officers from state and local laws prohibiting the carry of concealed firearms.[/QUOTE]

Of course, if this would have happened in Texas, the guy would not have gotten as many rounds off and would be dead.

An old friend of mine got a Colorado CCW in 2006. All he had to do was take a class and not be criminally insane. He carried concealed virtually everywhere and all the time in his suburb near Denver, and throughout the state. Unless something has changed since 2006, it's not that hard to have a gun on your person in Colorado. The surprise factor, the darkness, the delayed reaction in realizing it was a real attack, and a large panicked crowd were surely far greater factors in the fatalities than the fact that there were potentially fewer heroes to attempt a surgical takeout in a packed, frantic theatre in the dark.

No, you probably couldn't have saved too many fatalities, but we wouldn't have to see (and pay for) this guy geting released after 7 years of "therapy"... which is bound to happen.

Better yet, maybe we can get Amenesty International to do a profile about his rehabilitation in a couple of years and how he was unfairly treated by the justice system.

Unless this man had a genuine psychotic break, which is typically not a factor in these kinds of attacks, I don't think Colorado is the state you want to be in if you're hoping for delicate treatment for the mass murder of innocents by firearm.

[QUOTE] [b]Micrówave wrote:[/b]
No, you probably couldn't have saved too many fatalities, but we wouldn't have to see (and pay for) this guy geting released after 7 years of "therapy"... which is bound to happen.Better yet, maybe we can get Amenesty International to do a profile about his rehabilitation in a couple of years and how he was unfairly treated by the justice system.[/QUOTE]


Don't think i've heard of many situations like this where someone only got 7 years. And surely if there is genuine mental illness causing it, then therapy/medication/treatment is the right option? What good would just prison do if the person is ill? I don't know the US legislation around criminal insanity, but here it's fairly tough to get through the criteria to get a not guilty on the basis of insanity verdict.

[QUOTE] [b]Micrówave wrote:[/b]
Of course, if this would have happened in Texas, the guy would not have gotten as many rounds off and would be dead.[/QUOTE]

Let's think about this for a moment...

There are hundreds of people in a dark movie theatre, and suddenly somebody throws a smoke grenade and starts shooting around at everybody.

What happens when a few dozen random members of the audience stand up and start wawing their guns around? Who knows who's an attacker, and and who's acting in self defense? How many more innocent people will end up in the crossfire, and how many people acting in self defense would be shot at?

If you're being fired at and the guy next to gets his gun out, how do you know who he's going to target? How does the police know it?

Oh that's right... Since I said Texas, that meant a bunch of people pulling out pistols? You guys are precious!

Need I mention Colorado's lax guns laws as posted above? Just as easy to get one there as Texas.

This isn't about shooting back. This is really about preventing this kind of crap from happening in the future. Not the proper treatment of the poor, mentally disturbed (or not) shooter.

Lots of eye-witness acounts of the shooting but none of the witnesses bothered to say if the film was any good or not. Talk about inconsiderate.

I guess the shooter was one of those fans who were threatening to kill the critics who don't like the movie?

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 made me laugh:[/b]
Lots of eye-witness acounts of the shooting but none of the witnesses bothered to say if the film was any good or not. Talk about inconsiderate.[/QUOTE]
I know! I bet the poor victim who reviewed the Eaton Centre shooting would have mentioned it for sure.

Microwave - what are your suggestions to help preventing such incidents in the future?
Certainly we will disagree about how the justice system should deal with criminals but I did not understand your posting concerning gun laws etc. Do you think that stricter gun laws could prevent such shootings?

I actually don't have a logical reason for this (and I wasn't that excited about the movie to begin with) but I'm not even sure I'd want to watch it now. *shrug*

I was already ambivalent about it anyway. I figure I'd wait until someone releases a version that's just Anne Hathaway's scenes. So I can beat off.