Aurora Theatre Gun-Free ZoneI and several others brought up the observation that the tragedy would have been greatly reduced if someone there had been carrying. Ebert should stick with his core competency and skip the pontification. Posted by DaveH at July 22, 2012 7:23 PM
In the wake of over a dozen murders at a movie theater in Colorado, film critic Roger Ebert rushed to decry America's "insane" gun laws in a New York Times op-ed. Within the piece, he pooh-poohed concealed carry laws by noting that no one in the theater shot back at the gunman. But Ebert misses an important point. The Cinemark theater chain has a "gun-free zone" policy.
In the NYT, Ebert chided America for allowing gun ownership for the common man.Of course, if Ebert had bothered to check before trying to use this murderous crime for his own anti-Second Amendment purposes, he may have found that no one could have shot back, because the theater chain does not allow its customers to carry guns in its theaters.That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection. The United States is one of few developed nations that accepts the notion of firearms in public hands. In theory, the citizenry needs to defend itself. Not a single person at the Aurora, Colo., theater shot back, but the theory will still be defended.
As someone who concealed carries daily, I've thought long and hard about the scenario that transpired in Aurora. First of all, I routinely ignore the "This is a gun-free zone" signs because I don't believe bad guys can read or if they can, would be stalled by a sign. I'm unwilling to go into a place where a bad guy expects everyone to be unarmed and simply make it easier for him.
That said, I don't think an armed citizen could have been very effective in this movie theater. SInce the theater was already dark and the jackass was dressed in black, it would have been very difficult to obtain a proper view of him justifying shooting at him. Also, since he was (apparently) wearing body armor, most concealed carry hangun rounds would have been ineffective in stopping the attack. He might have been slowed but probably not stopped by any handgun that a citizen could have brought to bear.
I remain most amazed that this jackass didn't commit suicide or engage the first cops on scene and die by "suicide by cop."
Posted by: Nate from Ogden at July 23, 2012 1:26 PM