Tragedy in Aurora
Twitter is afire with comments about the fact that nutjob was armed with an AR-15. Yes, America, this weapon is perfectly legal to get. No, it’s not a fully-automatic rifle like you’ve seen in war movies. But I don’t care if he was armed with a minigun or a derringer — put a gun in the hands of the deranged and things get cuckoo.
Brace yourself for another few weeks of endless debate over gun control, which in this particular case would’ve made absolutely no difference. There are FAR more powerful weapons available legally for hunting. That said, the gun industry needs to find a better way of controlling who buys and uses their products. I like trained people, personally. Preferably without mental health issues, but I can see how that would be difficult to spot.
After dealing with my fair share of gun-toters, I can honestly say that while I don’t agree with the necessity of owning a firearm, I’m willing to concede the fact that some people find them as necessary as having an alarm system. And all of the gun-toters I personally know have had extensive training in the use and care of their weapons. So while I find them unnecessary, it’s good to know that those who do are getting (and in some cases teaching) proper use.
But to step back for a moment, I want to address my fellow liberals out there in the expected backlash of “Oh sweet heavens, we need more gun control”! I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I think this overreaction to what is a fairly unique, albeit tragic, event is mislabeling the problem. Like I said before, you can ban anything short of rubberband guns and some yahoo out there will figure out a way to make such a weapon lethal and demonstrate it to the horrors of unsuspecting people. That’s human nature. People find ways of hurting one another. Individuals, which for the sake of this point I shall label as “total fucking whackjobs”, will use these weapons in horrific ways.
Or, to use a line most Batman fans will understand: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
On the flip side, conservative windbag Louis Gohmert, in the running for being the most personally reprehensible person in congress, heard of the shooting and publicly wondered aloud, “[Y]ou know with all those people in the theater, was there nobody that was carrying that could’ve stopped this guy more quickly?”
No, you ignorant piece of shit. I’m pretty sure people were more concerned about quickly getting out of the movie theater that was being attacked by a gas-canister-throwing, gas-mask-and-riot-gear-wearing, AR-15-weilding psychopath, along with a few hundred other terrified patrons. How about you take your fantasies of being the Lone Fucking Ranger back to that tiny little head of yours?
That said, I’d really like politics to stay out of this discussion. It’s gonna be a blamefest on the cable news networks. All of them will carefully glaze over the fact that this guy was nuts and it was an isolated incident that sucks hard. My heart goes out to the good people of Aurora, all of whom shared my love of the Dark Knight only to have such a wonderful thing turn so horrifying.
I will address what Mr Gohmert wondered out loud. He said “[Y]ou know with all those people in the theater, was there nobody that was carrying that could’ve stopped this guy more quickly?”. I know nothing about his stance on gun control, etc. But I understand what he’s saying…I think. Why does someone want to carry a gun? To protect themselves and loved ones from others that try to harm them. I guess part of me has the feeling that if you are going to go through the time and training of getting a concealed carry license and actually carry a gun, well then fucking use it when the time is right. And I’m sorry, but that time was right. You want to carry it? Use it for the reasons you stated you wanted to carry it. To protect yourself and your loved ones. I myself do not want to carry a weapon. I would be the one running with my tail tucked between my legs and kissing my ass goodbye. But if you want to carry a weapon, then put your money where your mouth is and man (or woman up) and make use of that special license you carry. Because if you just want a concealed carry license so you can look all badass in front of your friends and show off your gun, then you have no business possessing a weapon, let alone carrying it in public. And that, is my opinion.