Says Jason Alexander:
Then there are the folks who write that if everyone in Colorado had a weapon, this maniac would have been stopped. Perhaps. But I do believe that the element of surprise, tear gas and head to toe kevlar protection might have given him a distinct edge. Not only that, but a crowd of people firing away in a chaotic arena without training or planning – I tend to think that scenario could produce even more victims.
The Democrats should allow the NRA to declare victory on gun control legislation on the national and state level, and simply give up. Then they should allow the NRA to self-regulate, and hang every gun death around their necks.
This guy LEGALLY bought his guns. The most maddening argument is a gun enthusiast hoping for a wild shootout between the audience members and the shooter. I fail to see how a dozen of people opening fire in a dark theater makes this situation any better. I also think this kid was hoping to be killed, so there’s the deterrent argument out the window. There are times and places that an armed citizenry makes sense. A dark theater, regardless as to the proficiency and amount of training, is a ridiculous argument, and you know it. This is why reasonable gun owners SHOULD take exception with that argument.
Gun control is a losing political argument. The NRA has insured you can’t have a reasonable discussion (such as making sure terrorist can buy high-powered sniper rifles) on the subject. The Democrats waste political capital on useless legislation (like the assault rifle ban, which only bans guns that look like assault rifles) and grandstanding) 56% of gun deaths are suicides, and that probably means the majority of gun deaths are from legally-owned firearms. I’d bet that half of homicides are from legally-owned guns too (domestic violence, probably). We just need to accept that incidents like the Dark Knight shooting are the cost of freedom and the Second Amendment.