By now the whole world has heard of the horrific shooting last month in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, at the Century 16 Theater during the showing of the new Batman movie.
There have been, and will continue to be, many observations made about the shooting, the shooter, guns, and gun control laws. Not in any particular order, here are mine.
1. Liberals have always believed in gun prohibition. They can openly talk about it now because of the shooting, just like they could openly talk about it after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others that we never hear about any more were shot in Tucson, Arizona, and after the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School. But make no mistake; there are many members of Congress who would like to limit gun ownership to the military and the police. It is just not politically expedient for them to try to bring about until they are able to exploit a tragedy like the shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
2. You never know when your number is up. One day it is a headache; the next day it is an inoperable brain tumor with six months to live. One minute it is a trip to the movies; the next minute it is bullets flying. We should be prepared for the inevitable, spiritually and financially.
3. The suspect in the shooting, James Holmes, purchased all of his guns and ammunition legally, including passing a background check.
4. Guns didn’t kill those twelve people at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado, the alleged shooter did.
5. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Old, trite, and overused – but still true. No one who is willing to commit murder cares a whit about obeying gun control laws. The federal government making something illegal doesn’t mean that suddenly no one has access to it. How many thousands or million of Americans smoked pot last year?
6. The suspect will have a trial. As he should. Just like Timothy McVeigh, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Adolf Eichmann, and the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg had a trial. Unlike those – including Americans – that are targeted for extra-judicial murder by President Obama.
7. The insanity defense is insane. The suspect in the shooting doesn’t need to have a psychiatric evaluation. He doesn’t need to be locked away in a mental hospital for the rest of his life to be studied and treated. He was mentally competent to purchase his Smith & Wesson M&P15 .223 semi-automatic rifle, his 12-gauge Remington 870 pump-action shotgun, and his Glock .40-caliber handgun. He was mentally competent to purchase his ammunition. He was mentally competent to plan his assault at the midnight Batman movie premier.
8. Everyone would be better off if the suspect killed himself like Columbine high school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did after their horrendous deed.
9. There was no security at the Century 16 Theater in the Aurora, Colorado. The Cinemark theater in Aurora, like its other theaters, prohibits guns in the theater. And the theater complex didn’t have any uniformed security guards on duty the night of the shooting.
10. The war on drugs is targeting the wrong drugs. If James Holmes had been using marijuana and cocaine instead of being medicated by a psychiatrist, he probably wouldn’t have committed the despicable deed he is alleged to have committed.
11. The culture of violence that we hear so much about after shootings like the one that just occurred in Colorado is exacerbated by the government’s endless military interventions and glorification of the military.
12. There is a double standard in America when it comes to murderers. I don’t know if there are theaters in Afghanistan, but if U.S. soldiers enter a building in Afghanistan and kill twelve and wound fifty-eight – like James Holmes allegedly did in Colorado – they are lauded as heroes.
13. The chances of an American being killed by another American on American soil – by a gun, a knife, a car, or in a fight – are much greater than the chances of being killed by a terrorist. So why are U.S. troops in Afghanistan instead of in American movie theaters?
14. The federal government can do whatever it wants when it comes to gun control. Not because it should do something, and not because it has the authority under the Constitution to do anything, but because it has the raw power and the guns to do whatever it wants. The federal government is infinitely more dangerous than a deranged man with a gun.
15. Second Amendment or no Second Amendment, the federal government has no authority to regulate or ban guns of any kind.
16. Many conservatives – including those in the NRA – don’t believe the Second Amendment actually means what it says and says what it means.
There are many unanswered questions about the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, and especially regarding the shooter. Most of these observations will remain unchanged no matter what else comes to light.