Posted on 07/22/2012 7:04:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
I would venture to guess that the folks filing in to see the latest Batman installment in Aurora, Colorado last Thursday evening didn’t figure on over 70 of them getting shot before the credits rolled. The last count I received before filing this column was 12 dead and 59 wounded.
As the news starting pouring in about what happened in the theater this week when Satan’s spawn James Holmes donned Kevlar and a small battery of weapons and opened fire on an unsuspecting crowd, I kept thinking, “One fast-thinking and trained person who was armed/licensed with a concealed weapon could have stopped that SOB right in his tracks before the body count skyrocketed.”
Yep, the armed citizen could have either killed him, sent him running for cover, or at least diverted his fire away from the masses and toward their person. Some readers, no doubt, are saying, “Well that would be stupid. What if that citizen got shot trying to protect others?” To that I reply: Well, Dinky, if they would have been shot and killed at least they would have died a hero. Have you ever heard of the term “hero”?
The Aurora Dark Knight Massacre is exactly why I carry at least one gun everywhere I go—because crap always happens when you least expect it. That’s why, as responsible citizens and gun owners, we must always be ready and must always expect it because when it happens, it happens fast; if you’re not ready, you and others are screwed.
For instance, it’s a beautiful and quiet day on Miami Beach this morning. I’m drinking my coffee at an outdoor cafe, minding my own business while I work on this column and on my website. I don’t see any bath salt zombies on the prowl. There are no Trench Coat Mafia wannabes lurking around. There is no real foreseeable reason to carry a weapon. But I am. The reason? Well, I’m not omniscient. I’m just a dumb clunk living in a jacked-up world where med school students go bat crap crazy and shoot up normally peaceful places for inexplicable reasons. Therefore, I’m locked, cocked and ready to rock should some demented dill weed decide to strafe the local patrons sipping a cup of Joe.
For those who say, “Doug’s insane with all this concealed weapons crap. We should leave such affairs to the police,” allow me to point out that the theater was crawling with cops for the Batman opening to control the crowds. By the time the police got to the particular theater, it was all over. Blood was already running down the aisles and the gunman had already left the building. You, my friend, are your first responder … your first line of defense.
Look, stuff happens when and where you don’t think it’ll happen. My recommendation to you, the good citizen, is to get equipped with a gun—a fire-breathing dragon of a weapon. Get proficient with it. Make it like a cell phone: an additional appendage to your body. And then pray that you’ll never have to use it. However, should you be in line at the grocery store, or at Chili’s eating a burger, or at a park playing football with your homies, and some James Holmes wannabe shows up carting an arsenal and quoting Kafka as he shoots kids … you’ll be ready. Simply find cover if you can, draw your weapon, take a fine bead, and double tap the center mass of the murderous jackass. Should he or she have a bulletproof vest on then pull your sight picture up to the perp’s noggin and shoot him or her in the head; it’ll explode like a watermelon. You’ll feel bad for a nanosecond. But then the cops and families will show up and thank you for putting Jack the Ripper down. The end.
Size vs. capacity, always a dilemma.
Capacity vs stopping power.
I am actually thinking of the 5.7, 20 rounds.
Otherwise I may build my own stick mag for my .380.
Its a mental project to come up with a counter weapon against a person wearing body armor, with the right choice of ammo the 5.7 with steel cores can defeat some body armor.
I'm with you. I do not carry at all because of the state where I live, but I would not violate the theater owner's private property right to make the rules on his property. I simply do not patronize theaters and malls with that policy. They can accept the consequences of their bad decisions, but I won't.
Holmes may have considered an armed responder, but was he really prepared for a gun fight?
What many dont realize is that 400 foot pounds of energy (the energy of a typical 40S&W HG round) absorbed in a small area on the chest is gonna hurt. It will make you change what you are doing. A round in the unprotected hands or arms (they are holding the rifle in front) will put an end to the hostilities. Better yet a round to the head will eliminate any possible resumption, now or later.
Fair enough point.
Still, the only way I’ll shoot is if I have a 100% clear shot at the target.
That’s just the way my father trained me on firearms use; “You’d better make damned sure that you’re gonna hit what you’re aiming at and there ain’t nobody in the way.........once you squeeze that trigger, you can’t recall that bullet, and if you kill an innocent person, God help you, ‘cuz you’re gonna have to live with that for the rest of your life.”
He told that when I was about six years old, and those words stuck with me every since. He was an old WW2 US Navy vet and NRA Life-Member, and I proudly grew up with a veritable arsenal in the house. I remember his pride and joy: a .44 AutoMag! Looks bad-ass, but not exactly the best handgun ever made. He still liked it though. :)
How many of you CC guys train for THIS scenario?
Hand is raised...
I use a simple paper plate (10”) with balloons ringing the circumference of that plate...I practice the first shot exclusively in those types of drills...
Anyone can punch a lot of holes in a paper target...Making sure you can get off the first shot from a concealed, draw condition is more important than just hitting paper to see how many times you can hit it...
And most important...Knowing that every round that leaves your gun will have a lawyer attached to it, does tend to motivate the serious citizen to practice as often as you can with what you normally carry in public...
That is what is called being responsible, but more important, being prepared to be accountable for your actions regardless if you are justified or not when you clear leather and go to work...
On a side note, I believe it is very damning of the community that there was NOT one law-abiding citizen in there carrying in that theater...We may never know the truth, and if there was, that person will never say anything about it to anyone...Cinemarks corporate policy be damned!!!
It is hard to know what would have prevented this mass murder incident.
But I’d say the lessons learned are:
1) Make sure your CC (concealed carry) weapons have a well adjusted laser.
2) Target practice like crazy, practicing shooting while diving, running, jumping out of helicopters and repelling down walls if possible
3) save lives first then worry about CC restriction laws later
I am not saying however 1 and 2 would have worked. If everyone had done these things, it would have evened the odds a bit I think.
On the other hand, people I know who carry, myself included, are constantly aware of their environment - BECAUSE - they are carrying.
This ahole was completely armored but he walked up the aisle leaving 1/4 to 1/2 the theater audience at his back as he shot people heading for the exits.
An armed American might have been able to follow him and shoot him in the back - is most body armor 360 degrees?
If nothing else - from the rear, knock him down, stuff your pistol between gut and crotch (between armor), press hard and shoot - until he stops moving.
This will slow him down.
When you carry concealed, ignore the "no guns" signs at malls, stores, etc. EXCEPT as provided by state or federal law.
If the establishment is using frisk and metal detectors to prevent anyone from getting in with a weapon then fine - lock it in the vehicle, if not, do not disarm yourself for your family or others.
Trust me. ;-)
Has that been reported by a reliable source?
Or does he think the $107 Blackhawk Urban Assault Vest is Kevlar?
When there is an event like this, it is important to not let the liberals completely control the debate, by turning it into a gun control argument. While it is certainly important to argue for gun civil rights, liberals need to be counterattacked as well.
The way to do this is to demand that congress limit the power of federal judges to intervene in state executions over nit picking and trivial things, all too often not because of the law, but because the judge himself is personally opposed to the death penalty.
Which is why many vicious murderers sit on death row for 20+ years before justice can be done.
Demand that congress:
1) Set a maximum time limit to appeals. This is done by moving all death penalty appeals to the head of the judicial docket, restricting how long appeals can be delayed, and requiring appeals to be consolidated. After five years, the only appeals left are for complete exoneration from the crime, based on new evidence, as determined by the trial judge.
2) Restrict federal judges to hearing only trial error and unconstitutionality within the trial, *not* method or means of execution by individual states, *or* by involving information extraneous to that particular trial. That is, even though a condemned man is black, a federal judge may not set aside his death penalty because he feels that the state is executing too many black murderers.
If the federal judge does find for trial error or unconstitutionality, the vast majority of the time the case should be returned to the trial court for rehearing, not overturned and sentence set aside.
The bottom line to this is to turn it from a gun control debate, with conservatives playing defense, to a death penalty debate, putting liberals on the defense, trying to justify their opposition to executing horrific murderers.
Some of us do practice and train for senarios like this...The conclusion would be that a lot of things work against you in this specific case...
Even with the protective gear the shooter had on, getting hit by even a 9mm might very well take a lot of the fight out of a person like that, thus the advantage “may” begin to shift to the citizen who is carrying a firearm for lawful self-defensive purposes...
I would point out that I do not carry a firearm under the provisions of state law to be a hero if the situation dictates...I do it for ALL the most selfish of reasons...
Self-preservation...
Real life is never like the movies...That almost goes unsaid...
THis theater chain does not allow CCW permit holders to carry in their theaters.
As a concealed carry holder one must be aware of their surroundings. It is always on my mind that my bullet is my responsibility until it comes to a stop. If it hits the target and goes through him and kills someone else you have a serious problem. Crowded areas can create heroes but it can also create felons.
“Look, stuff happens when and where you don’t think it’ll happen. My recommendation to you, the good citizen, is to get equipped with a gun—a fire-breathing dragon of a weapon. Get proficient with it. Make it like a cell phone: an additional appendage to your body. And then pray that you’ll never have to use it.”
I think this is very good advice to the type of person that has the ability to do so. The key though is to never stop thinking of yourself as “prey” and not a “hunter.” Additionally, IF you going to “carry”, learn to be the most polite person on the planet and civically minded.
At the very least, get a S&W .380 Bodyguard. It has a integrated laser in it. It may be a sacrifice as far as real stopping power goes but it is better than nothing at all. Plus with the right ammo, it can be a nasty little mother.
Or if you want more pop...get the S&W .38 Special Bodyguard revolver. It also has a integral Crimson Trace laser. My wife carries that one. Nice little piece.
I feel safer wearing my seat belt when I am driving my car or sit in the passenger seat
I don't think you'll find anyone here on FR who carries with that type of attitude.
That description is exactly the Liberal type of mindset you find in people who are anti-gun.
It could be very well true, since the movie theater has about 8 screens and I heard that the theater was packet
packed, not packet
Get your family safe and keep them safe - that's the main reason I carry. Very few nuts will charge the person shooting at them from a shielded position.
From my oft considered scenarios - get you and yours safe as quickly as possible, shooting may make you a target so wait until you have to or have a good opportunity to do so.
Indiscriminate shooting of civvies demands your best efforts if you're armed - this is America. Act accordingly.
;-)
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