Shortly after the clock ticks into the early morning hours of July 20 during a midnight movie premier at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, a mass murderer opens fire.  A dozen or more dead, dozens more wounded, and practically by the time responding officers arrive the anti-gunners are already at their keyboards choreographing their traditional dance in the blood of innocent victims. One, CNN’s resident Pommie priss – who has already long since proven himself totally clueless as to the real-world dynamics of violence – twitters that guns should be 100,000 times harder to access.

Maybe jobs as public-opinion-forming talking heads should be 100,000 times harder to get, as well.  By the way, the “Pommie” reference is nothing against the British in general. The pragmatic Brits I know are aware that they have living countrymen who remember when England begged American gun owners to ship them hunting rifles, shotguns, and handguns for their civilians to use as last ditch weapons against the expected Nazi land invasion.  It was the Brits themselves who coined POME (Prisoner Of Mother England) to define their brothers and sisters who evinced the mentality we see in the commentator in question.

Overlooked by most is a point discovered by famed Constitutional lawyer Don Kates: the theater in question forbade firearms inside.  They themselves made it impossible for even one good person in the theater to draw a lawfully-carried handgun and put a bullet through the monster’s brain, to stop the horror and shortstop the tragedy.

Once again, we see that “gun free zones” are hunting preserves for psychopaths who prey on humans.

1 COMMENT

  2. Please edit post with correct state of the incident in question. CO not CA.
    People would use this simple typo to say that you do not know what you are talking about. Which we all know is not the case.

    Thanks
    JC

  7. I often wonder how this stuff happens in states like Colorado and Arizona where I thought everyone carried. But as you pointed out in this case the theater in question was a “gun free” zone.

  8. To make matters worse, “No Guns” signs hold weight of law in Colorado, so it was not only against Theater policy, it was CRIMINAL to carry to protect yourself in that Theater. Worked out great for the victims, didn’t it?

  9. It was the fault of…The tea party…..Romney….the gun that if you looked at it you wouldn’t know it was legal….probably mine …maybe yours ….everybody’s but the perps. I’m sick of the libs blaming the good people and kissing the perps backside. Oh, what society must have done to him to make him do this.
    Pardon me lib ghouls, just maybe the perp had a hand in it…and the victim disarmament zone.
    My prayers for the victims, survivors and families.

  11. Mas, you are right on. I posted about this on my blog also and borrowed from what you taught me in the Mag-40 class, what I’ve learned from the Jeff Cooper books and lesson, and from David Grossman. Thank you for opening my eyes and keeping it all real.

  13. Very tragic event…my heart bleeds for the victims and families.

    For those of us who don’t live in a fantasy, make believe world…we need to continue to sharpen our skills and help those we care about understand that WE are in charge of our own safety and that we stand by our convictions to protect ourselves.

    I just got back from the range with my wife and 15 yo son… we put 300 rounds down range as we do every week or so. Hope fo the best but prepare for the worst.

  14. There Should be a Law saying: Danger_Danger , You are now in a Gun Free Zone, posted on signs at the doors.

  16. Even well-intentioned legislation does not control or prevent insane or criminal behavior; it can only try to punish it after the fact. Carefully vetted citizens with concealed carry permits could have changed this outcome. Prayers and condolences to the survivors of this tragedy.

  17. People will kill people. This has be happening since the begining of man. Gun free zones are nothing but proven killing zones!

  18. It’s all about the greater battle between good and evil. How many times over the years have we seen some similar event happen as some sort of gun control debate vote is about to happen? There is no way to link the person to a group or event, but a shooting by some “crazy” still seems to happen. The only real connection is best termed evil. While some may want to denie “good”, too many of us have stared straight into the, the eyes of what can only be called evil, to denie it exists.

    It is impossible to make laws that govern the actions of mad men or evil. Only the good or at least rational obey such laws. Anything else is an exercise in folly.

  19. All those firearms that were sent to England from the U.S. were confiscated and distroyed after the war was over.

  20. James Holmes was cover from head to toe in kevlar body armor. Was wearing Military Keval Helmet. Was better arm than police arrest him . With body armor on tear gas toss in movie threater be arm with shot gun Ar 15 I do not think matter if some was arm handgun with have had very hard time stop creep. I would real like seen him get in fire fight with swat team than learn he die.

  21. That’s why I stay away from such places…if I had to be there, I would remember what a trainer from Memphis told me he would do!

  22. Thank you Mas, an intelligent voice in this mess. I live in Denver and have been amazed at the amount of anti gun bullshit broadcast both locally and nationally in the last 48 hours. And yet, not one remark about the theater being a “gun safe zone”…

  23. Thank you Mas for the truth! I have read every article I could find about
    rhis horrible tragedy trying to figure out how, in a huge theater, there was not
    one single CCW’er present in that audience to put an end to this maniac’s rampage. Now I know — it is because of some short sighted anti-gunner who chose to prevent legal CCW card carrying citizens from carrying in their theater. Look at what your insolent attitudes have left the public. I just can’t stop thinking about how one CCW could have truncated this tragedy. Do I CCW at the theater? Darn straight. I am a LFI-1 and LCI-2 graduate. Could I have prevented this tragedy had I been there? I have no idea. But, just the thought that this tragedy could have possibly been averted sickens me. My prayers to those who have lost so much in this tragedy.

  24. Always carry a bright, high quality flashlight at all times. My current small combat light is a Surefire LED model which puts out 150 lumens, enough to blind an opponent momentarily and light him/her up for my sights. Tritium night sights are good too, but the flashlight is preferrable as it allows one to identify the target. A green laser may come in handy too
    especially in movie theaters that don’t allow firearms to be carried in.

    Since bad guys/gals can get body armor nowadays, maybe we should make KTW and other armor piercing ammunition legal to own again.

  25. I have not been following the exact details of this case and of course the news agencies have reported conflicting information. But one point. The early reports said he had complete body armor. If that is correct then a lone CCW holder might be up against more than he could effectively deter. You also have to account for the fleeing panicked crowd. Running through the possibilities and various scenarios through your head it doesn’t seem the odds were too good for the good guys coming out on top. Even with police officers this case would not have gone well. That is a hard fact to take but something we Americans need to come to understand.

  26. You knew this would happen. It’s also no surprise that our favorite gazillionair (and uber-liberal), Michael Bloomberg, was also spouting off almost before the dust had settled. He’s demanding that Obama and Romney state their positions on guns. It’s enough to make my head want to explode.

  27. My concern is such tragedies will lead the way for all law-abiding gun owners to not be able to carry based on new laws that are going to be implemented. I am afraid one day even a license to carry concelled will be useless since the holder may face more abused by law enforcment and the applied laws by the anti gun campaign. I am interested to see how many of you readers share such concerns?

  28. Funny how none of the news networks are mentioning the robbery that was stopped in Florida recently, by a conceal-carry citizen, which may or may not have resulted in the loss of lives, we’ll never know because one man stood up and STOPPED the robbery. Contrast that with a gathering of people, late at night, inside a dark theater playing a loud and violent movie (nothing against the movie, which I plan on seeing eventually) inside a no-gun theater…the guy willingly gave himself up when the cops (finally) arrived, how much worse could it have been, had he decided to take as many with him as possible? Read somewhere that there were 5 CCW permit holders in the audience. This tragedy could have been much, much less severe if they had been allowed to defend themselves and the rest of the audience.

  29. You’re right, Mas, in spite of all the bullcrap spouted by the elite media and their believers. If there had not been prohibition of lawful concealed carry, there would certainly been one or two people in the audience who were graduates of Front Sight, your school, or one of the others who teach good tactics, and who would have taken their time and sighted in on the muzzle flash with a controlled pair of shots, and the whole thing would have been over.

  30. “To make matters worse, “No Guns” signs hold weight of law in Colorado, so it was not only against Theater policy, it was CRIMINAL to carry to protect yourself in that Theater.”

    James, where are you getting that idea? It was not so when I acquired my CCW some years ago and I can find no new information to say say that it is now.

  31. Unfortunately for the victims, all the responsible concealed carry permit holders probably followed fellow Coloradoan (and full-time cop and firearms trainer) John Farnam’s rule about staying out late and were snug in their beds at the time of the massacre! Yep, we can post all we want about flashlights, sitting near exits, regular training and more, but that rule, staying home when the sun goes down, trumps ’em all! NOBODY had to be at a midnight showing of a violent movie in a notoriously dangerous Denver suburb, period.

  32. Yes allowing guns in the theater would have been the right thing to do…at least people could have defended themselves a bit…unfortunately he was wearing body armor and a helmet…maybe if the whole theater rushed him at the same time the odds would have been better holding him down as well

  33. Tom606 is correct; always carry a strong flashlight. It can temporarily blind an assailant – and also let you find a way out of a dark room such as a theater or during a power outage..
    Something antigun types ignore: the death toll would have been as high had he put a match to anything to cause a little smoke – and yelled “Fire!” After all, a lot of people died in a stampede for seats at a rock concert in Ohio not many years ago – without guns.

  34. Since the theatre banned guns there, they assume responsibility to protect people with in the building. There fore the survivors and Families of victims will of sue the theatre for hundreds of millions of dollars, I hope !!!!

  35. The anti-gunners naturally are declaring that legally armed citizens fighting back would have just made the situation worse. After reading and hearing accounts of the survivors I have to disagree. Many of them said things like “I didn’t know what to do” or “I was like a deer in headlights”. Even one person with a defensive firearm and, more importantly, a good self-defense mindset could have taken this guy out.

    And yes, I am aware that the shooter had body armor. But many of the survivors were quite close to him. I think someone familiar with the Mozambique Drill could have prevailed.

  36. My wife and adult children would rag on me for always carrying a concealed weapon. I am a sworn LEO, and I tried to tell them that we live in strange times, and I felt that I needed to be able to respond with the necessary force should the situation arise.

    They understand now.

    And one more point about our “professional” media. Very early on in the reporting of this story, and ABC reporter made a “stunning” revelation. He had found a man “…by the same name as the shooter” with a page on the Colorado Tea Party Web Site.

    Now that means, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY, he did a search on the Tea Party web site, HOPING to find the shooter listed! Not the Occupy Wall Street web site, or the American Communist Party web site, or Move-on.Org. Oh, no! It had to be a conservative, who clings to their guns and bibles. Why check THOSE sites?

    It wasn’t the same guy, of course, and they issued a half-hearted apology.

    THAT is a prime example of just how adamant the MSM is in promoting their (and the democrat) agenda. They will lie, subvert, promote half truths hoping that they’re true, or that people won’t remember the retraction, just the initial story.

    I’m preaching to the choir, I know. But dammit, I’m pissed!

  37. ” the US is famous for their mass shootings because of guns” ~ local news here in Caiforniastan.

    And most of the “gun free” world is famous for the mass government sanctioned executions because of the lack of guns.”

    Not sure what’s worse, the shooting, the media frenzy or the keyboard rambo’s talking how they’d have shot him dead in half a second . . . none of it benefits any responsible gun owner. There are about 80 million legal gun owners in America with a combining total of 258 million guns . . . none of them shot anyone last night

  38. Great article! I to was very disturbed hearing AMC banning any lawful gun carrying in this Theater. I am 100% certain the monster did his homework and knew it as well.

    Shame on AMC Theaters for disarming lawful carry permit holders, I hope they pay for this in court.
    Here in central Florida we have local hospitals and malls that have done this as well and I wish it were illegal to ban guns from public places not Government buildings. I wish the NRA would get more involved in stopping this.

    My prayers go out to all the vitims and their familes.

  40. Thank you, Mr. Ayoob, for writing about this. You summed things up succinctly and factually, as always.

  41. I just bought myself some unnecessary aggravation by watching coverage of this shooting on Meet The Press. Ugh.

    Mr. Ayoob, I can sure understand why you’d probably rather get a root canal then ever appear on one of these “news” shows, but I sure wish that we could you (or somebody like you) participating in these public discussions on guns. The “panels” and “roundtables” are heavily weighted with gun control advocates, and even those that “balance” the debate with pro-gun voices tend to choose politicians. These politicians are often as ignorant as their anti-gun counterparts and generally make very poor arguments, and their primary motivation is covering their derrieres for the next election cycle. We need advocates who can make arguments that are informed and principled.

  42. They were like the ducks in a shooting gallery. Think about it. What could be better from the point of view of an evil entity than a dark room filled with people in stadium style seating? And no one firing back.

    I have a CCW. And I always carry. Always. The only exception to this in my personal code of conduct is when I have to go where I know there will be full screening (airports and some courthouses, etc.). I know Mas won’t agree with all that I am going to write this time, but it needs to be said.

    I’ll never forget what Dr. Suzanne Gratia, a survivor of the Luby’s Cafeteria Massacre, who lost both her parents there, because she had chosen to obey a “bad law” and left her handgun in her car, had to say:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AvBliA3q4E

    In the video, she states that in retrospect she would much rather have a felony on her record and both her parents still alive.

    I’m sure many of you out there, like me, are thinking and praying, “Why couldn’t I have been there to do something?! Why couldn’t someone like me have been there?” I am not fearless. I know I would have been terrified. I probably would have pissed my pants and I would most likely suffer from PTSD for the rest of my life. And most likely, innocents still would have been hurt and maybe killed. But there would NOT have been 70 wounded and 12 killed!

    I carry a .45 1911 with Novak Tritium Sights and a Crimson Trace Lasergrip. And I practice. If I or someone like me had been there, a little 6 year old most likely would be celebrating her 7th birthday in the future. Why couldn’t one of us have been there? Why couldn’t SEVERAL armed citizens been there? Imagine a different scenario: All the same, except as the shooter starts his rampage there in front of the theater in plain sight of several hundred people, 3, or 4, or 40 CCW holders stand up, draw and fire at the Crétin’s face, over and over. That’s how it should have been. That’s how it should be.

    But of course, as several have already mentioned, our type generally does not frequent midnight showings of movies on weeknights. And we certainly wouldn’t bring our 4 month old baby and 4 year old daughter with to see such a movie (and even if we did, we wouldn’t leave them behind as we make a cowardly dash for safety). I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that. The man was a victim and he’ll have to live with his own cowardice for the rest of this life and that is more than enough. Of course, on the other hand, his girlfriend is now going to be his wife, as she accepted his marriage proposal that very night AFTER he ran away to leave her and her children to fend for themselves. Sorry. I’m venting.

    Back to the subject:

    Practice. And carry. Always. Things are not going to get better out there.

    Most sincerely,

    .45StayAlive

  43. Speaking of bright tactical lights and how useful they’d have been in such a situation, Surefire’s got a new model the same size as their 6P model (2 CR123 cells), but it puts out 500 LUMENS!!!

    http://www.surefire.com/illumination/flashlights/p2x-fury-defender.html

    That said, if one shined such a light on the shooter, yes, he’d be blinded, but you can be assured he would point his gun in the direction the light came from an would fire away at you until he ran out of bullets.

  44. After reading through several articles from various sources covering this terrible event I learn here for the first time that the movie theater in question is indeed a so called “gun free” zone. Sadly, I’m not suprised; both that the theater is “gun free” and that I’m learning about it here.

    Thanks, Mas.

    Some posters have suggested that concealed weapons carriers in the audience would have made little, if any, difference because of body armor, etc. Perhaps. From what I have read the perp surrendered meekly when confronted by armed resistance. Would a couple of rounds to his vest have been enough for him to surrender inside? We will never know.

    I’m sure we can agree that at best, the “gun free” zone had absolutely no positive effect, and possibly a severe negative effect, on the outcome.

  45. I am all for carrying concealed(I will be carrying soon), but as many friends who do carry have pointed out, it would have difficult to possibly get a clear shot. It was a dark theater, he used gas, and then you have a ton of bystanders, in this case how can you be totally sure your hitting the right target? I say if you can clearly see him take him out, but a room full of panicked people just made it twice as hard. Just something to think about.

  46. It would be a much better world if guns didn’t exist. Just look how peaceful life is in Great Britain. Guns are illegal to own there and even their police used to be known for not carrying weapons. Yet, in a country devoid of guns gun violence rises each and every year.

    Here in Chicago it is much the same way. Guns are hated more than pedophiles. Yet last year there was a call to put the National Guard on the streets because of the violence. This year is no different.
    A gun is but a tool that would be replaced with a different tool if it did not exist.

    Mas, maybe you can answer this question: What is the #2 object used to commit murder in this country? When the dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in the academy we were taught it was a screwdriver. Is this still true?

  47. I would hope that everyone can pray for the victims and the family members first and foremost. I know that even if I, or anyone else was in the theater with a firearm we could not know the outcome.

    I am a recent graduate of MAG 40 and I know that trying to shoot this madman in the theater would be very difficult at best. Would I have tried to take this man out if I was there ?

    Well that is a hard one to answer, with people in panic mode, the sound of the movie, and smoke present I would have been very likely to have shot an innocent person. I would have needed to be very close to him in that situation and had a clear shot to end it. I would have also needed to know what my backstop was, as we all know that his bullets went into the other theater.

    I will attending a low light gun fighting training course this fall, because I know how hard it is to put shots on target under stress during perfect conditions let alone in that dark theater. To everyone who thinks it would have ended any better if someone would of had a firearm in the movie are just kidding yourself. Said person would of needed to be very highly trained, and in the perfect spot to have stopped this animal.

    I think more people need to arm themselves in this crazy world we live in, however more people need to get trained to a very high level to have a chance to stop a person such as James Holmes.

  48. I’ve checked the Colorado statutes, and perhaps I missed it, but I could find nothing that would make it a crime to carry into a private business, even one that doesn’t want firearms there. Usually in those situation, no gun law is being violated, but the establishment can ask someone with a weapon to leave, and if he or she doesn’t, then he or she would be guilty of trespass. Here’s the main part of the Colorado statues concerning carrying restrictions for permit holders:

    C.R.S. 18-12-214 (2011)

    18-12-214. Authority granted by permit – carrying restrictions

    (1) (a) A permit to carry a concealed handgun authorizes the permittee to carry a concealed handgun in all areas of the state, except as specifically limited in this section. A permit does not authorize the permittee to use a handgun in a manner that would violate a provision of state law. A local government does not have authority to adopt or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would conflict with any provision of this part 2.

    (b) A peace officer may temporarily disarm a permittee, incident to a lawful stop of the permittee. The peace officer shall return the handgun to the permittee prior to discharging the permittee from the scene.

    (2) A permit issued pursuant to this part 2 does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun into a place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

    (3) A permit issued pursuant to this part 2 does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun onto the real property, or into any improvements erected thereon, of a public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school; except that:

    (a) A permittee may have a handgun on the real property of the public school so long as the handgun remains in his or her vehicle and, if the permittee is not in the vehicle, the handgun is in a compartment within the vehicle and the vehicle is locked;

    (b) A permittee who is employed or retained by contract by a school district as a school security officer may carry a concealed handgun onto the real property, or into any improvement erected thereon, of a public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school while the permittee is on duty;

    (c) A permittee may carry a concealed handgun on undeveloped real property owned by a school district that is used for hunting or other shooting sports.

    (4) A permit issued pursuant to this part 2 does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun into a public building at which:

    (a) Security personnel and electronic weapons screening devices are permanently in place at each entrance to the building;

    (b) Security personnel electronically screen each person who enters the building to determine whether the person is carrying a weapon of any kind; and

    (c) Security personnel require each person who is carrying a weapon of any kind to leave the weapon in possession of security personnel while the person is in the building.

    (5) Nothing in this part 2 shall be construed to limit, restrict, or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of a private property owner, private tenant, private employer, or private business entity.

    (6) The provisions of this section apply to temporary emergency permits issued pursuant to section 18-12-209.

  49. i agree that gun free zones have no place in free society. patrons of such estaqblishments knowingly risk their lives. like any issue, we must vote with our dollars. to me, gun free zone equals no thank you, i’ll take my business elsewhere. my prayers go to all the victims and their families.

  50. The big push is going to be on for the high cap mags, and internet purchases of ammo/accessories. I suspect that the RINOs America has elected to the Congress will be more than willing to toss a bone to the Dems like Carolyn McCarthy to ban ammo purchases online. Soooo…kiss that one goodbye. I would bet a steak dinner over that. And don’t expect the Mittster to stand up for your rights. That one is a done deal. Again we are going to potentially elect an intellectual coward to the highest office in the land.

Newer Comments »