Gunman Opens Fire During "The Dark Knight Rises"

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by tcsparky

Holy Overraction! Calm down a bit. The sarcasm fallback might have sounded OK in your head, but it came across as bitter. No one said anything about allowing "armed to the teeth terrorists" on planes. No one said anything about scrapping the metal detectors, or not pulling out the ID for ten whole seconds.

Yes.. DGTess did. She said:

It just amuses me that after an atrocious crime, the rules and regulations change to punish those who didn't do it.

If we removed all security measures that are a result of an awful crime (or attempted crime), there would be no security at all. I doubt very much that many people would approve of that.

What a lot of people have problems with is TSA sticking their fingers in female children's vaginas, forcing nursing mothers to drink their own breast milk and painfully squeezing men's privates to prove they aren't terrorists. And let's not forget about the body scanner naked pictures that were saved, passed around and laughed at by TSA agents. These are the things that make people get fed up with flying.

DGTess said nothing about any of this. She reacted to this statement of mine:

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but we already live in this world. Why do you think we can't take liquids through airport security, and have to remove our shoes? Why do you think there's heightened security in offices and government buildings? Why do we have to have our bags checked before entering a concert or sporting event? Because there are evil people in this world who have killed innocent people, and have inconvenienced the rest of us.

.. And she added nothing else to it.

Besides, strip searches and drinking your own breastmilk are not part of the rules and regulations. This an abuse of power which should be handled by these employees' superiors. Two totally different issues.

chill and allow discourse.

I'll react however I want, thanks.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

For what it's worth, I have Nationals season tickets and the only searching they do is a cursory look inside any bag. If you're not carrying a bag, there's no search at all.

Truth. I always thought those bag checks at ball games were to make sure you didn't bring in contraband food or ways to record the game.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by tcsparky

What a lot of people have problems with is TSA sticking their fingers in female children's vaginas, forcing nursing mothers to drink their own breast milk and painfully squeezing men's privates to prove they aren't terrorists. And let's not forget about the body scanner naked pictures that were saved, passed around and laughed at by TSA agents. These are the things that make people get fed up with flying.

These are also things that are not proper procedure and are not supposed to be happening. They're not about security measures imposed by TSA, they're about abuses of power. If you're going to accuse others of over-reacting, you might want to avoid the over-reaction yourself.

Originally Posted by excelblue

Going thru excessive security to do the things you like is like getting hazed to join a GLO: shouldn't be happening and ruins the experience.

. . . It's hard to be happy when your freedoms are violated excessively.

I guess this must be a matter of perspective. I've been through airport security many times, and I have never felt that my freedoms were violated in the least. I

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I have my CPL, and from what info. has been made public, I doubt I would have drawn my weapon and fired in this situation. That is, if I was carrying at the time. Dark theatre, assailant dressed in black and SWAT gear, hundreds of people running through the rows and aisles, and tear gas that made it even harder to see and breathe. And my Ruger would have been no match for an AR-15 with expanded capacity magazine. The risk would have been too great that I may hit an innocent person running for their life, and then I would be on trial for homicide.

Someone mentioned that a flashlight could have blinded him. Maybe, but the thing is, with an AR-15 he didn't even need to see...he just sprayed the room with bullets.

I'm with the poster (I think it was SydneyK) who speculated that there probably was someone in the theatre who was packing. But if so, I don't blame them for not drawing on this guy. Not only was it likely very difficult to draw a weapon in that situation (realizing what was going on, from a sitting position, hitting the deck or running for the exit), but it carried a high likelihood of causing collateral damage (and drawing the gunman's attention in a negative way).

I think you and Sydney may well be right. and I read in one place that he was standing in front of the screen, which I would think would have made him harder to see/distinguish.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Oh, and the banning of guns will never happen in this country. For several reasons, but one is that I believe it would basically plunge our country into civil war. Yes, really. Martial Law would need to be declared, and by the time the military was done forcefully disarming the American public, the country would be devastated.

Not to mention that super-majorities of Congress and of state legislatures would have to approve an amendment to the Constitution.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by sigmagirl2000

Interesting chart:



Interesting to see how this translates to red and blue states. I also had to idea that Michigan was so populated..... (or if it isn't, there are just a lot of gun and motor vehicle deaths there).


ETA: Since I'm a number/ math nerd, this was interesting to me. DC is high up there with the guns, as are the Virgin Islands (whoa!)

This makes me think that being in Massachusetts I have a good chance of not being killed by vehicle or gun. Now I just need to avoid the coyotes that hang out by my car early in the morning when I'm going to work....

Originally Posted by AnotherKD

Yeah, DC has guns everywhere. And, even though it is technically legal to own one after the Heller ruling, it is logistically impossible due to restrictions that can't be met.

This data is from 2009, the most recent available, before the overturn of the DC gun ban. Now, I suspect that we will see their numbers rise in the coming years.

As to the supposition that you cannot decrease gun deaths, that is ridiculous. Common sense regulations, better education...the same things we did with car safety will decrease the gun death rate. The number of deaths are #1 not all intentional #2 preventable. If gun enthusiasts look at these stats and can't see ANYTHING wrong, that is a problem. There is a solution to every problem, but the solution to this one is not more guns.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

RE: Auto/gun deaths - does any place break it down per capita? That would be a better way to evaluate the data than just the raw numbers. I'd also be interested in knowing the number of registered vehicles vs. the number of guns before I decided how important/unimportant the information is.

Per capita doesn't really matter when there are MORE gun deaths than auto deaths. I guess if you haven't been trained in a medical field and know this backwards and forwards that's not as shocking, but it is ridiculous. Motor vehicle crashes are the undisputed king of killers in 40 states in the union and always has been. This is unprecedented. I did trauma surgery for two years and this was drilled into our heads.

[Kevin]

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Per capita doesn't really matter when there are MORE gun deaths than auto deaths. I guess if you haven't been trained in a medical field and know this backwards and forwards that's not as shocking, but it is ridiculous. Motor vehicle crashes are the undisputed king of killers in 40 states in the union and always has been. This is unprecedented. I did trauma surgery for two years and this was drilled into our heads.

I guess it depends on how you define "doesn't really matter". I'd also want to know how many deaths were suicides, accidents, police shooting suspects, etc.

Anyone have the stats on Switzerland?

[WCsweet<3]

Saw the movie last night with a group of people. The theater was maybe half to two thirds full. After the movie finished we went out and talked. All of us said that whenever anyone stood up and walked out of the theater we noticed. It wasn't just us either. We were sitting near the back and could see almost everyone else watching the person leaving/returning.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I guess it depends on how you define "doesn't really matter". I'd also want to know how many deaths were suicides, accidents, police shooting suspects, etc.

Anyone have the stats on Switzerland?

According the the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:

In 2009 (latest available data), there were 36,909 reported suicide deaths.

Firearms and Suicide

Although most gun owners reportedly keep a firearm in their home for "protection" or "self defense," 83 percent of gun-related deaths in these homes are the result of a suicide, often by someone other than the gun owner.

Firearms are used in more suicides than homicides.

Death by firearms is the fastest growing method of suicide.

Firearms account for 50 percent of all suicides.

If what they say is true, 18,455 gun deaths in 2009 were by suicide, not homicide. Of course, this doesn't even take into account police shootings or accidents.


http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseac...135c3a70de1fda

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by Kevin

[aephi alum]

Setting the gun control debate aside for the moment...

Guess what?

Those attention whores at the Westboro Baptist Church are at it again. They are planning to "super picket" a prayer vigil for the shooting victims. They are tweeting away about it, with such lovely hashtags as "#ThankGodForTheShooter".

Story from Huffington Post

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by sigmagirl2000

Interesting chart:



Interesting to see how this translates to red and blue states. I also had to idea that Michigan was so populated..... (or if it isn't, there are just a lot of gun and motor vehicle deaths there).


ETA: Since I'm a number/ math nerd, this was interesting to me. DC is high up there with the guns, as are the Virgin Islands (whoa!)

This makes me think that being in Massachusetts I have a good chance of not being killed by vehicle or gun. Now I just need to avoid the coyotes that hang out by my car early in the morning when I'm going to work....

Michigan is the 8th largest state in terms of population. It was higher before the "depression" here. We've lost almost about a half million people since 2005.

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

Setting the gun control debate aside for the moment...

Guess what?

Those attention whores at the Westboro Baptist Church are at it again. They are planning to "super picket" a prayer vigil for the shooting victims. They are tweeting away about it, with such lovely hashtags as "#ThankGodForTheShooter".

Story from Huffington Post

Not laughing at the horribleness if the tradegy but LOL at "super picket". WTF does that mean?

"Let's put 'super' in front of it...that'll show everyone we REALLY mean it!"

ETA: Also, I love buzzfeed.com: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-3...urch-protest-s

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by WCsweet<3

Saw the movie last night with a group of people. The theater was maybe half to two thirds full. After the movie finished we went out and talked. All of us said that whenever anyone stood up and walked out of the theater we noticed. It wasn't just us either. We were sitting near the back and could see almost everyone else watching the person leaving/returning.

Me too. Saw it today, and couldn't help scanning for the exit doors as I sat down.

[sarajean94]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I love this. Very true!