(no subject)

[southwest]

  Apparently, there were many members of U.S. military personnel in the Colorado theater. I can understand that the majority of moviegoers did not bring any weapon of personal protection with them to the show. But I would expect that a serving member of a U.S. military forces is properly armed and is ready to defend his country and its citizens at any given moment, day or night. Something makes me think that an incident like that could never have happened in Israel, where soldiers carry guns both on duty and off duty, even to bars, night clubs, and other places of entertainment.

Comments

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Generally speaking only NCOs and Officers are allowed personal weapons. (General issue weapons are checked out from the unit armory and must be returned)

...And even then, the possesion and carrying of said weapons off-base or out of uniform would still be subject to local laws.

Finally there's the subculture, in my experiance the Marines are the only service that habitualy encourages it's members to carry their sidearms even out of uniform.

[southwest]

military personnel should probably be exempted from local laws

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

There is violence against civilians in civilian settings in Israel.

[southwest]

so is in the States, as we, unfortunately, see

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

I don't think this post is about civilian-on-civilian violence generally.

[foreverbeach.livejournal.com]

Like I said in a different post: dark theater, massive firefight breaks out -- what would the body count end up being?

[southwest]

so, you'd prefer there were no well-trained armed and ready-to-protect service member in the audience?

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Details are still sparse so I'm not gonna say how people should or shouldn't have reacted but darkness + crowd means it's gonna turninto a huge CF no-matter what you do.

Part of me kinda admires the shooter for choosing his ground so well.

The other part of course, wants to see him put down like a rabid dog.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

There was smoke everywhere.

[kawaiimamimi.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, I agree with you on something!

[caerbannogbunny.livejournal.com]

In this case?

Probably about the same. Mostly because I bet the shooter would have selected a theater with no firearms allowed.

No, wait. He did.

[caerbannogbunny.livejournal.com]

Would depend on the tactics employed, but it could have gone either way.

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

You are right about Israel in this regard.

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

I'm just waking up to this news.

I'm betting the theater and/or the mall have a "No Firearms Allowed" policy anyway, so that would not have helped.

Looks like theaters are going to be reviewing their "security policies" anyway, so 1) no more dressing up, and 2) anyone want to take bets on the installation of metal detectors? On topic, maybe they'll hire armed security guards at select locations.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

That would be the knee-jerk reaction.

It is a sad day, and I suspect that the loss of life is only the begining

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Um, do you actually watch the news about/in regard to Israel by any chance? Their society is continually wracked with Palestinian terrorism. All those additional firearms did jack and shit to stop any of that.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

I don't think hazy-eyed fantasies about the Old West and adages like 'An armed society is a civil society' actually pan out very well. Sure, every once in a while, some lunatic opening fire in a Luby's is gunned down by a civilian but mostly guns are used to initiate violence, not stop it.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Yeah but wouldn't you turn a blind eye to a million accidents to stop one crazy person? :P

[3fgburner.livejournal.com]

Colorado is a right-to-carry state, so some of the audience probably had gun permits. However, that Mall and Theater both have "No weapons" policies, meaning anyone who carries in the theater is trespassing.

Military servicemembers probably have fewer guns per capita than civilians, simply because if you live on base, it's a pain in the ass to deal with the bureaucracy of owning one.

I have a concealed-carry permit for Virginia. I practice, and shoot, more in a month now than I did in the 4 years of my Army hitch.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

It also depends on the Service and base in question.

For instance I know that the Marines actively encourages NCOs and up to carry in areas that permit them to do so but I don't see the Navy or Air Force adopting such a policy even in a right-to-carry states.

I wont comment on the Army's policies.

[ja-va.livejournal.com]

Thank God there were no other movie goers with guns. Body count would have been in the hundreds. I can only imagine how someone from the crowd opens fire to take down the crazy guy, accidentally shoots a civilian who happened to be in a line of fire, is confused by another armed person to be a second shooter in the crowd, is shot at, return the fire, and then both guys are shot at by the other armed men. And then you'd have several people shooting at each other at criss- cross angle in a dark crowded theater... Thank God it was not the case...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

I seriously doubt that the material Creator of the flat and immobile Earth had anything to do with it.

[curseangel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because more confused people shooting in a dark theater full of tear gas and who knows what, that would have solved the problem.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

When the professionals do it it seems to work well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis)

(frozen) (no subject)

[koken23.livejournal.com]

You TOOL.You stupid fucking tool.

Dark, crowded theatre, full of a couple of hundred panicky people. Tear gas, further reducing visibility. What are the odds that someone could hit the shooter without hitting some innocent bystander near him, or ricocheting bullets off walls and seats into the crowd?

Even if they DID shoot, the dude had body armour. It probably wouldn't have done much, and every shot after the first one still risks going wrong. After your initial attempt didn't work, who's to say that he wouldn't turn his attention to you specifically and mow you down with that AR-15 he was carrying?

On top of THAT, if you start shooting...how do first responders know you're not an accomplice? How do people in the theatre know you're not an accomplice? Of course, you're NOT an accomplice, but at the moment the only person who knows that for certain is you, and you can't blame police for treating you as such.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

But I would expect that a serving member of a U.S. military forces is properly armed and is ready to defend his country and its citizens at any given moment, day or night.

Seems like you're glorifying our military into something it's not. People don't come back from Afghanistan and expect to become emergency backup cops, ready to go in guns blazing. In fact, if they suffered any emotional trauma then this delusion would be dangerous. Being in the military is a job just like any other, and if they want to be cops then they should apply to be cops. To expect them to be your personal saviors in a time of crisis is wholly selfish and disrespectful.

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

You would be wrong. Military veterans, when caught unprepared for a gun fight, hit the goddamn deck and find some goddamn cover.

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

As a military veteran, the only people who I'd bother protecting are 1)myself 2)my family 3)my horse and 4)my dog. Everyone else has to duck and cover. lololololol "Protect people..." hahahahahahaa... God you're hilarious... it's like when my partner came back from leave 2 days late:

He was in a gas station bathroom. As he came out, he saw a man robbing the place with a gun. So he closed the door and waited for the man with the gun to leave. Then he came out and called the police, who then arrested him for robbing the store because he was a black man at a crime scene.

Hahahahaha.... "help others".... the shit people come up with these days... lololololololol

[paft.livejournal.com]

What an absolutely awful idea. Let's have several people shooting in a dark, tear-gas-filled room crowded with people.

[caerbannogbunny.livejournal.com]

Especially after the shooter specifically selected a theater with a no-firearms policy, walked through the lobby and could see whether police were on duty there, and went through the effort to acquire and wear ballistic protection as well as irritants (tear gas) to limit the ability for anyone to respond before he was done and ready to surrender.

I mean, otherwise, he might have had to use IED's to kill people instead of shooting them himself and the body count might be higher.

Just saying...

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

Why can't we just morn the people lost their lives?

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Rationalization is part of the grieving process.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]