A young man walked into a movie theater last night wearing a “ballistic helmet, a tactical ballistic vest and a gas mask”. He threw a tear gas canister into the room, then opened fire with what the police have just described as a 12 gauge shot gun and two Glock hand guns. Twelve people are dead, fifty nine are wounded and hundreds are traumatized.
One victim is three months old. One is six years old. Babies were shot!
Today politicians all over the country are falling over themselves to express just how “shocked” they are that this has happened.
Where the hell have they been?
We live in a country where pretty much anyone is allowed to buy a ballistic helmet, a tactical ballistic vest, a gas mask, a tear gas canister, a 12 gauge shot gun and two Glock hand guns. Our laws allow this to happen without anyone asking any questions or raising any alarms. In Colorado you can carry a gun in a “dwelling, place of business or vehicle”. Not only is it easy to get a permit to carry, the state actually prohibits the registration of these guns.
How on earth can anyone seriously be “shocked” when those items are used to engage in acts of violence? Why would the guy have bought all that stuff if he WASN’T planning to massacre someone?
I understand the whole second amendment argument, I really do. I thoroughly and completely believe that the men who wrote that amendment put it in there because they wanted to stop the federal government from preventing local militias from arming themselves. They wrote it at a time when there really was no central federal army, and every town and state was expected to maintain a militia which could be called up to defend the country.
But some people want to believe that the second amendment means that we are all allowed to own guns. We need to be allowed to hunt, to shoot for fun, to defend ourselves, the argument goes.
OK.
So given the fact that we have the “freedom” to buy riot gear, pepper spray, tear gas, semi-automatic weapons, shotguns, handguns, Uzi’s, Glocks and all the rest of this crap, how can we be “shocked” when it all gets used for its intended purpose?
I ask this question in all seriousness, out of my sadness, my fear and my disgust with yet another mass shooting in my country:
Why do people buy Glock handguns if not to kill people? Why do they buy semi-automatic weapons if not to kill other humans?
And why do we outlaw marijuana, but not these terrible weapons of mass destruction?
I am just not shocked.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
Sadly, the NRA and right-wing talking heads will be allover the place for the next few news cycles telling us exactly why.
No, I am not a member of the NRA. Yes, I have enjoyed firing handguns and semi automatic weapons recreationaly.
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And I have friends to enjoy shooting, I do understand! But given the number of times that someone goes nuts and shoots up a bunch of kids…..maybe it would be OK to take this particular pleasure away from people! At least, I think so. I just can’t swallow the whole “I am shocked!” thing.
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I don’t live in America but I always find it shocking that it is legal for just anyone to own and carry a gun – your reasons are a very good description of why it shouldn’t be allowed – of why it isn’t allowed in most countries. I am so sad for all those people though.
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I am so incredibly sad, and I am equally angry. There isn’t even a discussion about sensible gun law over here any more. We have let the National Rifle Association and the extreme conservatives control the entire debate. As if denying us the right to fire Uzi’s for fun somehow takes away our “freedom”.
Thank you for your comment; I find it helpful to know that my reactions are not unreasonable.
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Yesterday morning on Facebook, a “friend” posted that if people had been allowed to carry their weapons into the theater, they could have prevented so many people from people shot. Numerous people replied – on both sides of the issue…the thought that people could use this incident to justify less gun control absolutely amazed me.
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The NRA is a very dangerous organization, in my opinion. They lie (“Obama is trying to take away our guns”), they mislead (“If you were all armed, you could have killed the shooter.”) I absolutely cannot understand how anyone with a single brain cell could buy into the theory that having multiple shooters firing away in a dark, smoke filled, panic filled theatre could have ever been a good thing. It simply makes no sense.
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Dreadful tragedy. Find the whole pro-gun thing very bizzare.
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Bizarre, maddening, frustrating and tragic. All at once.
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Remember what PT Barnum said: “No one ever went broke underestimating public taste.” That applies to our ability to fool ourselves as well. People are going to go nuts and hurt each other. About the best we can do is hold our loved ones close and be thankful that (a) we’re all still here, and (b) we weren’t the ones causing the damage.
Hang in there. Hug ’em if you got ’em…
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I just want someone in authority to be out there screaming about protecting MY freedoms! I want the freedom to go to the mall, see a movie, walk down my street without the threat that someone has legally purchased multiple assault weapons and wants to use them to express his frustrations.
And I’m hugging them, believe me…..
Thanks for the support!
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Such an awful thing to happen. Things need to change big time.
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If only they would! Our political leaders live in fear of our gun rights lobby, the NRA. Its insane.
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