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Yes, you can shutup about Colorado and keep your opinions on gun control to yourself

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I moved to Colorado about ten months ago.And though I am a native Texan, Colorado is my adoptive state. In my 31 years, 18 were in Texas and 12 were in Illinois, so that should tell you something. I love this state and the people in it. Just as the people of Texas are my people, the people of Colorado are my adoptive people. Recently, my Colorado people have suffered through forest fires. And now they’ve suffered through an horrific tragedy. My upbringing has been between one of the most conservative states in the union and one of the most liberal, as far as gun laws go. So I have a lot of friends on both sides of the gun issue that want to share their thoughts. And you know what? You can shut up about gun control for a day or two.

[Edit: July 26]An introduction to what you’re about to read

I wrote this article around midnight last Saturday. I live 20 or 30 minutes from Aurora. I know the theater. What happened wasn’t a piece of news, it was an event where live.  By midnight, Saturday, my friends in Illinois and Texas had already decided the fate of gun control for this country. I was fed up.

I am a web developer by trade. My blog averages 30 or 40 hits a week and suddenly, I was getting hundreds of views on this article. Business Insider picked it up and wanted to interview me. Because I am weary of what the media will write, I wrote the follow up article “I’m a hypocrite…” where I explained the reason I own an AK-74  was for fun and proposed that mandatory training should be the only regulation we need.  Fox News emailed me this morning and posted my blog post on their site (with an incorrect title).  And now I’m averaging 150 hits a minute.

What I wrote was a reaction to both the arguments for gun control and for concealed weapons. Both arguments have flaws and I wanted to rationalize the issues with both. If you’re looking for my position, it’s  the one where I have a 9mm Sig on my hip and an AK-74  in my hands.

And yes, I know an AK isn’t an assault rifle. I’m not an expert. 

My wife served six years in the Air Force, including time in wartime Bosnia. I applied to three different branches; I am unable to serve due to a medical condition. Saying that I don’t love the country, 2nd amendment, or freedom isn’t nice and it isn’t true.  Now… please put yourself in the context of a Saturday night in a suburb of Denver and keep reading.

[end of edit]

You can shutup about gun regulations and gun bans

I own an assault rifle, two handguns, and a shotgun. And of course, I purchased them all legally. I have a college degree and I don’t have any criminal history beyond speeding tickets. If you’re looking at a background check, I’m no different than James Eagan Holmes. Compare resumes and you’ll pick him; he had a better GPA than I did and actually pursued a higher education than I have.

The difference between James Holmes and me is that one of us walked into a theater and murdered people. One of us wanted to make our home into a giant bomb to kill our neighbors. One of us values human life.  There’s no law on the planet that will change how a man values the life of another. Outlaw online sales, assault rifles, guns, liquids over 3 ounces, and he still would find a way to murder.

You can shutup about how concealed carry fixes everything

Colorado isn’t much different from Texas as far as gun laws are concerned. In fact, Texas is the only state in the union where open carry is illegal ( the ability to carry a gun in public for all to see). Concealed carry is legal and fairly easy to obtain in the state of Colorado. In fact, my wife and I went through the class. Our course was taught by a police officer and firearms instructor; he was rarely qualified to educated us on conceal carry rules and the actual gun laws in Colorado.

So here’s a few things you should know:

  • It is perfectly legal to conceal a firearm in a movie theater in Colorado if you have a license
  • Colorado concealed-carry classes aren’t required to be taught by law enforcement
  • Colorado concealed-carry classes don’t require that you demonstrate proficiency with a fire arm
  • Colorado concealed-carry classes don’t require that you even shoot a firearm

You can shutup about how things would have been different if someone had a gun

I’ve fired and used guns my whole life. I don’t claim to be an expert or even overly proficient. And though I have shot a few thousand rounds in my life, I don’t think that would matter for me or  others in this situation. So here’s what you soon-to-be heroes with conceal weapons permits should know:

  • You’re not Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer, or Bruce Wayne. Situational awareness takes training that you don’t get as a civilian. You won’t recognize a threat until it’s too late.
  • Unless you’ve trained with the exact weapons system you’re carrying, you’ll you could  miss. It takes hundreds of hours with a firearm to really be proficient. Do you know what you’d do if it jams?  Can you reload before the last round leaves your chamber? How many rounds in your magazine? Have you even practiced drawing your weapon if it’s concealed? Now think about doing this in a firefight. 
  • Proficiency deteriorates without practice. When was the last time you fired your gun? Police and military practice regularly for their jobs. You do it irregularly for fun.
  • A thousand hours on the range aren’t the same as a hundred seconds in a real shootout. Can you recognize the threat, obtain a site picture, and neutralize the target with a gun pointed at you?  Police and military don’t just learn how to do this once, they actually train in these situations.
  • There’s a solid chance you won’t even pull the trigger. There is huge psychological trauma associated with taking a life. Estimates are that between 1/3rd and 1/4th of guns on the battlefield in WWII were never shot. There are even police officers and soldiers who have been killed because they didn’t have what it took to kill.
  • Even if you train with your gun, you do it until you get it right. Police and military do it until they don’t get it wrong.  You’re just not ready like they are to use your gun. Your reaction may not be the same as someone who’s trained for this. 

I really don’t care what you think could have been different

Real people died. This isn’t the time to run your mouth about politics and gun control. And while my friends are alive and well, some of their friends and family aren’t so lucky.  This is real to me.

So yeah…I’m betting that 100% of people getting shot would like to have a way to protect themselves. Not one person there was thinking, “I wish it were harder to get an assault rifle…maybe we should repeal the 2nd amendment.” They were running for their lives and praying for deliverance. Every person there wanted a way to end the violence. This is about surviving a shootout, not repealing guns.

I don’t give two craps what you think you would have done if you were there. You weren’t. Hundreds of others were. They could have been armed, and maybe some were. Just a gun isn’t enough. Even if you’re police or military, there’s a difference between training for this and experiencing it. Unless you’ve experienced a fire-fight, shut up.

Just shutup about Colorado

I live in the Denver area, and not very far from Aurora. On July 20th I woke up with the news and was scared for the lives of my church family. I’m not affected nearly in the same way these victims are. But I may meet these victims and their families. My wife may go to work with people who were there.  Families of victims may visit my church. This isn’t something that happened on the news. This is something that happened where I live.

I could have been there. I could have had a gun. I could have done something.

But I wasn’t there.I wouldn’t have had a gun (because I don’t have my license yet), and I don’t have a clue what I would have done.

So all I can do is shutup and pray. So should you.

[July 24, 2012: UPDATE: I’m a hypocrite. Rob Wile from Business Insider had a 45-minute interview with me on the subject of gun control]

[July 24, 2012: UPDATE: here’s a follow up blog post I wrote which summarizes my interview with Rob: ]

[July 25, 2012: UPDATE: Here’s the article on Business Insider]

[July 26, 2012: UPDATE: Fox news asks permission to repost part of the blog, and subsequently the world hates me. ]

[July 25, 2012: UPDATE: On account of the factual issues and general thoughts of what’s been written, I’ve written a small summary of corrections for you  to review]

459 Comments


  1. Very well said my friend! I agree completely!


    1. Texas is not the only state in the union where carrying open is legal. Many states allow this, OHIO is one and the state of Washington is another.

      [CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, BUT I THOUGHT OPEN CARRY WAS ILLEGAL IN TEXAS]


      1. I think you are right, Wolf. We don’t cowboy in Texas and you wouldn’t get far with a pistol on the hip. Now I’ve seen hunters and ranch hands do so but not in town. I do remember reading about open carry (with permit of course)somewhere out west. Believe it was Califorina. Couldn’t figure the logic. Someone says draw dude and he’s crap in his pants


        1. Yep, I have a small, by Texas standards, ranch of 40 acres, and the only time I openly carry is if I’m hunting or otherwise engaged outdoors on my ranch or a consenting neighbors property. If someone in Dallas were to do it the police would arrest them like as not for there’s no need for the rifle there, and no right to be carrying it about scaring people.

          And Texas CHL’s DO require most of those things Colorado’s don’t, including qualification firing only slightly different from police qualification.

          I’m surprised to hear that the theater would have allowed concealed weapons in anyway, as most of them here are posted on the outside so as to allow owners of businesses to keep guns OUT if they want to.

          A Texas CHL may be harder to get, but in a way that makes me a bit happier for it.


        2. I believe that Arizona is the only state that you can open carry in, forget California.


          1. Open Carry is legal in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and many other states that know that guns don’t hurt people and whether a gun on the inside or outside of your clothes makes little difference to how you use it.


          2. Vermont anyone ?


          3. Open Carry is legal in Colorado except Denver but that ruling may be challenged in court. I open carry running errands,shopping,etc.Granted, I live in a mountain rural area. I wish that Open Carry were the rule and not the exception. Concealed Carry classes here are a joke. They ought to teach Urban Combat Tactics. I am a combat veteran, O-4 USNR.


          4. Open carry is completely legal in Va with some restrictions on where you can carry but they are few.


          5. I live in Georgia. Open carry is LEGAL and requires NO PERMIT. COncealed carry requires a permit.


          6. You all need to check your States official laws. Pennsylvania HAS open carry but not many citizens know it! If you don’t have a concealed permit however, and you open carry your gun into your car, that’s considered concealed and you can get in trouble!! Go figure.


        3. Arizona allows open carry and I think Utah does also. California does not.


      2. you arent wrong, Arizona has open carry as well


      3. Open carry is not legal in TX.


      4. You read it wrong. He stated it is ILLEGAL for open carry in Texas.


        1. You are incorrect, what he
          actually said is that Texas
          is the only state where open
          carry of a gun is illegal. But
          this is not true either, it is
          now illegal in California to
          openly carry a handgun.


          1. A little clarification. Open carry of handguns is illegal in Texas unless you are on your own property or property under your control unless you’re hunting or engaging in a sporting activity involving handguns. Concealed carry of handguns is illegal without a Concealed Carry License unless you’re in your vehicle where the handgun must be out of “plain sight” (concealed). Long guns? open carry or concealed is Okay.
            [W3]


        2. Don’t fool yourself that we who have Conceal Carry can initiate and/or return fire. We can and have here in Texas. Crime rates have really dropped in Texas now that it is fairly easy to get a Conceal Carry permit. We do practive, we do stay aware of our circumstances and we do shoot back. Don’t think for a minute that if you pull something like Holms did in Texas that you will not be shot dead in a heartbeat!


          1. I agree with Jim E. Friends of mine and I have our CCW’s in Ohio and we regularly practice and do IDPA. Although noone really knows what they would do in that situation until they face it, I think we would stand a much better chance of surviving with a weapon than without. The author makes another mistatement regarding police officers’ training. The average police officer around here (not talking SWAT) takes a shooting test once a year, rarely practices and most have never had to shoot anyone in the line of duty.


          2. I have a Texas CHL, I practice, and I pray I never, ever have to so much as reach for my sidearm. That said – I agree with Jim in theory at least. While I sympathize with the bloggers’ statements, there are just too many instances of citizens (sometimes even children!) successfully defending themselves with firearms. My view is this – keep the good guys armed and they will generally win. The bad guys usually aren’t any more skilled and there’s something wrong with them to begin with.


      5. I am a Concealed Handgun License holder in Texas. I assure you it is NOT and Open Carry State at this time.


      6. Open carry is legal in Nevada. If you have a permit, you may carry anywhere on your person openly. If you do not have a permit, you must carry it to the rear of midline toward your back. (7 year old experience, as I have moved, but I don’t think that would have changed). Also, open carry is (was) legal even in casinos.


        1. Also an Nevadian. Legal to carry in casino unless a sign is posted outside. Pretty much the same everywhere else. We have a Boston Market that is posted. Make no sense, the bad guy don’t give a darn about that sign, only legal gun owners. I do not go to Boston Market any more. Just a side note, it is legal to carry in a post office in Nevada, but not in Utah. Go figure?


      7. Read the article, He said Open Carry Is Illegal in Texas!


      8. FYI: Open Carry of HANDGUNS is illegal in Texas. Open Carry of shotguns and rifles is perfectly legal, however, and I have seen it done in downtown Dallas and downtown Houston, although it may raise a few eyebrows. On the other hand, it is perfectly legal for females to walk around topless in Texas, just as it is for men, although that is not as common.


        1. GOD BLESS TEXAS!


      9. I live in TX. Open carry IS illegal in TX. This guy doesn’t know much about anything except his own opinion. Glad he lives in CO instead of TX.


      10. Open carry is illegal in Florida as well.

        Concealed Carry in Florida requires completing a class, demonstration shooting, background check with fingerprints.

        And approximately 1 in 20 adults in Florida have their CCW license. And yet, we don’t see them all going bonkers and shooting up the place.

        I’d recommend a read at gunfacts.info to read vetted, validated studies and a source of statistics from various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.

        Of course, if you are Liberal, then don’t bother. It is way beyond your ability to comprehend.
        (Poor libbies/lefties/proggies…bless their hearts.)

        As for the actual blog post, I’m mostly in agreement. It isn’t a time to be doing anything more than thinking about those who were lost and those that were left.


      11. Just to set your comment right about open carry, the “People’s Republic of Kalifornia” recently banned open carry.


      12. The blog states that it’s illegal in Texas.

        “In fact, Texas is the only state in the union where open carry is illegal ( the ability to carry a gun in public for all to see).”


      13. Oklahoma has carry conceal at present but, as of Nov. 1 of this year, we will be an open carry state!!!


      14. And Virginia is another. You can legal open carry in the state of Virginia. Concealed requires a permit.


      15. I live in Louisiana and it’s another open carry state. When you read that and know that he’s wrong, it’s hard to take anything else seriously. I’d heard, but not researched, that the theater was a no weapons zone. Could be wrong though.


      16. Frank, PA is an open carry state as well.


        1. NC is open carry as well.\


      17. I live in Washington State and have a concealed carry permit. Washington is not an open carry state. Concealed carry, yes.

        And Mr. Taylor, I greatly appreciate your words. I am one of the people coming over from Foxnews’ website after reading the excerpt to read the entire blog post, and … I do not hate you. You have posted a message that is clear. It cuts right through to the heart of the matter. Nicely done.


      18. Do any of you read? He said it was ILLEGAL in texas.. he didnt say it was legal…


      19. New Hampshire is also an open carry state, or was a year ago.


      20. It is illegal to open carry in Texas. Would love to see that change.


    2. Don’t fool yourself by generalizing that police and military personnel are proficient with guns and civilians are not.

      I know a lot of police that never touched a gun until they were in the academy and since then shoot about an hour per year at qualification time. I know a lot of military personnel that turned wrenches, peeled potatoes, and healed the sick and wounded. And, I know a lot of civilians that were shooting varmints at eight years old. putting deer on the table by ten, shoot hundreds of rounds per week, and have been trained at the Sig academy, Smith academy, Gunsite academy, etc. Also, formal situational awareness training will not do you any good if you are not paying attention in the field no matter how well trained you are.

      Yes, I do know some police and military that hunt and shoot competitively, as well as concealed carry holders that haven’t fired their gun in years, but the point is that crazy stuff happens and there is nothing you can do about it as an individual or through legislation. 2A says you have the right to bear arms. You do no not need to justify why or provide proof of training.


      1. I was in the U.S. Army within the past two years and I can tell you with great certainty that we fired exactly once a year to re-qualify and very little additional marksmanship. I am now a civilian again. I have a CCW. I go to the range weekly, as do many of my fellow CCW holders in Virginia. There is usually a wait for a lane. Please do not ASSUME that police/military are better trained or practice more. I assure you, many, many non LEO/MIL persons are vastly better trained than either and practice far more regularly. Do not tell me what I would or would not do in the event discussed. Many CCW carriers are very serious about training and have trained for just such scenarios. I know I have in the course of putting a somewhat conservatively estimated 10 thousand plus rounds downrange in the past several years. Primarily with my carry weapon. I assure you, I can hit what I’m aiming for.


        1. Amen Brother!! We military have a differant mind set! We will stand-up and stop a situation!!How about all the citizens who qualify “Distinguish Pistol Shot” at NRA National Matches? Like at Camp Perry, Ohio, right now!! People will stand up for others, just no one was in the theater that night! Remember no matter how you disarm legal CCW personal, bad guys always will have the gun!! Stop making this a political issue!! Pray for the Families loss!!


        2. I served for over 24 years and the author is right about some things. However those of us who were spec ops would have simply popped this guy in the forehand without a thought. CCW does matter and every state that has passed it has seen lower crime rates.


      2. I agree, I have actually been
        to a theater in which I saw
        someone go out the back door and
        I investigated because I am nosy. Part of situational awareness takes being nosy!


      3. Rob: EXACTLY! How many cops/military only shoot when they have to vs. how many civilians shoot every time they get the chance and can afford it? I get tired of the argument that only cops and the military are proficient enough to carry guns.


      4. Very well stated. You would probably be surprised that my now very ‘Blue’ state allows concealed carry with no permit and no proof of training required. Normally we’re ranked one of the top three safest states and people are generally polite. I’m proud we consistently score very low on the Brady scale.


      5. Rob, you’re completely right. This (am glad he moved to CO with all the libs)guy way, way over generalized on CCL holders. Does he realize that 1/3 of former Marines live in TX? What a moron…they are all now civilians, many with CCLs.


      6. Here, here!


      7. Excellent points! Generalizing about the abilities of groups or individuals is often incorrect. Also, the 2A does not grant us this right based on how good a shot or how thick one’s skin is, but rather gives us the freedom to choose to defend ourselves. It is up to the people to properly prepare for a bad situation.


    3. A bit on the arrogant side, I would say. While in general terms, it is true what he says about training, the stress of a violent situation, etc., history is replete with cases of ordinary people that do quite well in these situations. Case in point is the shoot out in the internet cafe about three weeks ago where an old guy with a concealed weapon performed like a combat vet against gun and bat wielding thugs. Maybe he was a combat vet once in his life, but from the looks of him, it would have to have been YEARS ago. In my days as a prosecuting attorney, I examined more than one incidence where ordinary, untrained people killed home invaders or armed robbers with well placed shots, so don’t give me that crap about not being up to the task if you aren’t on Seal Team Six. Some people do well under pressure, and some don’t. That applies to cops and soldiers too. We just don’t know who’s who until it hits the fan. I’d rather have the gun than not have the gun.


      1. Your comment is exactly right. This man is arrogant and clueless his education is not an asset in this debate. I have been in combat units in war and two line of duty shootings in my civilian career. Several times evert day an ordinary citizen stops a thug and crime with a fire arm. Thank you for your remarks.


      2. Right on brother, I could not have said it better. Individuals all act differently under pressure. I was a skydiving instructor and have put hundreds of people out of airplanes. They all act different when you get them out on that step, including cop and military. I have to say cops and military are easier to train, because they have been train to follow instruction (orders). In my life I have been put into many situations where I had seconds to act to save my life or someone else. I hope I never have to use my gun, but I know if someone was threatening the life of my son, I would act.


      3. Well said…very well said. OP gives police and military WAY too much credit and not enough credit to civilians (many whom are former military/LE) who do more training in a year than the majority of police officers do in their entire careers. Please do not misunderstand me, I am thankful for police and military and all they do but that does not change the facts.


        1. Completely agree. And in actuality, I am MORE concerned about LEO’s a lot of the time when it comes to gun use. Not trying to over-generalize as I understand there are good and well-trained LEO’s out there; however MANY are young, have been improperly trained due to Federal involvement (DHS/SPLC – If vehicle has “Don’t Tread on ME” bumper sticker…probably a dangerous extremist, so be prepared to shoot..), got into the career for “authoritative” reasons, and more than anything feel they have the right to shoot & kill ANYTIME they feel a hint of threat (Kind of a “Stand Your Ground” Law raised to the 10th power). Seriously, in one instance where a the cops got a wrong address and busted down a door of an innocent person, who thought it was a home invasion which led to a fire-fight, that luckily resulted in no deaths, the freaking cops were given awards for “Standing their ground” in the face of a danger. Could you imagine a police dept. knocking your door down in the middle on the night and getting into a fire-fight with you(again because you thought someone was simply breaking in), shooting bullet holes in your house, scaring your children to death, and then they get an award??? Seriously? Or how about Jose Guerena; a 2-time Iraq war vet who was shot 60 times by police performing a no-knock warrant. Jose (as a well-trained soldier would do until such point that he was ready and KNEW what/who he was to fire upon) never even flipped the safety off his AR, before being gunned downed by the Pima County Sheriffs dept. And what punishment doled out for this? Nothing! We should NEVER have to fear death from those that are supposed to protect us and yet I actually feel more likely to be shot and killed by a LEO, Sheriff, DEA, ATF, DHS, etc. than by a thug criminal on the street..

          Also, what this blogger fails to bring attention to (suppose he only watches national news) is Guns are used in self-defense eight (8) times more than for criminal activity and there have been MANY situations where a gunman has strolled into a church; intent on malice and has been taken down by CC holders without even one loss of innocent life. Of course the National Media doesn’t even mention these events; which become back page fodder and barely mentioned on even the local news station, much less talked about and hammered for weeks on end.
          The blogger has a right to his opinion; but I will say this is one Concealed Carry holder that would have taken action, ran toward the fire..not away, and would have did everything including giving his own life in defense of others. But of course, I’m a 12 year veteran and a southern conservative that doesn’t believe in Govt./LEO instruction of running like a scared little B*tch/liberal when danger appears and praying the Govt. arrives in time to save my sorry a$$.


    4. Google “Samuel Williams Internet Cafe Robbery” and then tell us to “shutup about how things would have been different if someone had a gun”.


      1. Ah you are totally right. The robbers at the internet cafe had full body armor, a helmet, tear gas/smoke grenades, the same firepower, a dart lit location, his back against the wall with actual victims as well as potential victims all infront of him so as there was no threat behind them. NOT. Completely different scenarios all around. In the cafe case yes it went that way because it was not a well organized attack, it was supported with a pistol and a baseball bat. They wore hoodie and sunglasses. It was completely different. So yes in this blog, he is correct when saying things wouldn’t have been different.


        1. It is desirable, but not necessary, to have tactical training if you have to confront a situation like the one in Aurora. Even without hitting the perp, simply shooting at him will probably take away his ability to continue shooting effectively. Back in ’65 when Whitman was shooting folks from the tower on the UT campus, he never again hit another person, once some college kids starting returning his fire with hunting rifles from their trucks. The two people who went up into the tower to take him down consisted of an off duty cop (now a retired TX Ranger) and a civilian bystander (who had to borrow a shotgun, but apparently came already equipped with the cojones). This has been seen repeatedly in our society. How many times is a shooting stopped, in which shots were fired, but missed? Many.. read the “Armed Citizen” blogs and magazine columns. As for the body armor, I can only assume you have never been shot while wearing it. A couple of .45 rounds in the armored chest will put the wearer out of action immediately (unless he is high on drugs or adrenaline) and leave him with some beautiful and very painful bruises for days aferwards. You don’t have to hit him between the eyes or even seriously injure him, you just have to keep him from firing effectively, and that’s not all that hard to do. On the other hand, it does take the right attitude. The problem in Aurora was that the sheepdogs in the mix had been defanged by the door signs banning guns inside. Anyone brave enough to lay over others and take a bullet for them (there were several such reported in that shooting) is certainly brave enough to return fire, if only he were armed and able to do it. Perhaps your emotional involvement in this case is clouding your judgment (and your facts need checking, too). FYI – there are currently 6 states that ban open carry of handguns, and yes, TX is one of them.


          1. You’re exactly right about what happens when hit in your armor – big ouch. Personally, I don’t patronize businesses that put up no carry signs to take away my carry rights on their premises, like this theater.


          2. I agree 100% with your arguement. Everyone who insists that a CWP holder could not have stopped him because the shooter had body armour has no understanding of what it means to be hit by a ultrashock round. I shoot once a week with the express thought that I will put the bad guy down. I know for a fact that I am more proficient with my weapon that 95% of the police in the city and shoot far more often. If he was in an Arizona theater there would have been 5-10 people returning fire. It is unfortunate that the theater in Colorado posted no weapons. I will not go into an establiment here in Arizona that posts such signs. No interest in being a sheep.


        2. And how many people were standing when the bad guy was shooting? Do you think a vest is like being in a tank? Try getting shot wearing one. Did he have a bullet “proof” visor on?
          This comes down to ‘you can sit there and take whatever the bad people want to do or you can stand up and resist’. I bet more of us will resist more effectively if we have the choice of drawing a sidearm.


        3. That’s bovine scatology! Things might not have been different if you were in the crowd and carrying, I suppose. But no, things would certainly have been different if there was an active shooter in that theater…remember, who’s the coward here? I’d put smart money that if Holmes had one round bounce off his “armor” he would have run out the door with pee on his leg, the coward was/is Jim Holmes, let’s remember that…


      2. Ash, kudos to you for that comment. I agree completely.


    5. No I won’t shut up about gun control.

      No matter how much you whine about it.

      You own an automatic weapon, you have the means to a crime but no motive. The moment a motive shows up like your wife cheating on you or road rage, you are more likely to use that weapon.

      This is how some people solve their conflicts. May be this is how you solve your conflicts.

      You seem the kind that wants to blow away any one that you perceive is a threat. Can you be wrong about who is a threat? Zimmerman was.

      Furthermore, if some one approaches you with a gun, having a gun is more of an incentive to shoot you. What? You’re not confident you can B.S your way out of a difficult situation. Then carry a gun for self defense, not an automatic weapon.

      Gun freak.


      1. Zimmerman was wrong? So Martin DIDN’T bash Zimmermans head into the sidewalk? Martin DIDN’T punch Zimmerman in the face repeatedly and threaten to kill Zimmerman? Odd, I thought that was what the evidence was pointing to. Hmm.

        Zimmerman’s error was in tailing the ‘kid’ in the first place, and perhaps should be charged with something along the lines on ‘playing cop when it isn’t really necessary’, but once he was attacked, the situation reversed. Nice try though.


      2. The man in colorado did not have an automatic weapon you tool it was a simi auto.


      3. How do you know Zimmerman was? Were you there? People (liek you)who think they know everything because they watched CNN are retarded. If someone were bashing my head into the pavement (which was shown to have actually been the case) I’d have shot him too. I carry my weapons responsibly, whether its my pistol or my FS2000 assault rifle. Would I use this handgun if needed to defend myself? Heck yeah. Would I use it to defend you? If you’re lucky.

        Pansy.


      4. lando, thank you for your unbiased, non-judgemental, and obvious expertise in the conflict solving methods of those folks that may own a firearm. Especially your knowledge regarding a “gun” and “automatic weapon”. By the way, have you developed a course to B.S. your way out of someone approaching you with a “gun”? I personnaly do not want my freedom of choice to own a firearm or not taken away, limited or encroached upon any further. Perhaps you do not enjoy independence, I do.


      5. LOL, Freak is right, dumb as a brick as well, get a life you spineless moron


      6. if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.


      7. Lando- put down the Kool-Aid, and back away slowly.


      8. Your problem is, you judge others by yourself.
        You might consider gun play as a result of road rage, or your cheating wife but the majority of us would not.

        please do not own-carry or use a firearm-ever.


        1. That is a very good point. You see, evidently some folks mistakenly judge that others who carry concealed weapons are going to be rock steady in their thinking when bad things happen. I don’t share that view. Some of the most aggressive people I know are also gun worshippers. I’m not exagerrating either. it’s not wise to let people carry weapons, concealed or otherwise, just because they can. And nobody can read minds. I wish that I could name and introduce you to the ones that I know who are totally for carrying guns who are also whacko, even though they don’t have criminal records. To allow averyone to freely carry weapons in public is an error, and history will probably repeat itself…The wild west can happen all over America.It’s human nature, not laws, that will decide the outcome.


          1. Doyle – who are you to judge someone to be “wacko”? I bet many folks think you are. As for increased gun control all it will do is give the criminals a better advantage. you can get any kind of gun, ammunition, kevlar, maps, gps, camo you want under the radar. gun control only hurts the respectable citizen who has the right to bear arms.


      9. Lando: What an ignorant idiot you are. Comparatively few people have “automatic” firearms, as you call them. You need approval from the BATFE and you must pay a specific tax and get a “stamp” in order to possess an automatic firearm, and then it cannot have been manufactured after 1986. Get educated, you pro-communist imbecile.


      10. Do you know one of the barrel from the other? The weapon was a semi not full auto. You anti gun sheep are amazing. Sorry I refuse to be a sheep and let a lone wolf gun me or my family down. The tragedy was it was a gun free zone and we see how well that works. As for body armor it does not cover the genitals, the knees, the forehead. A kevlar will not stop anything above 9mm. So a 40S&w, 357, or 45 would have taken him out with one shot. Count your blessing s the moron used a drum magazine that was cheap and unreliable. Had he used 30 round clips more would be dead.


      11. I don’t understand people like you who comment on things you totally don’t understand.

        The use of the word “automatic weapon” is axiomatic of the problem. It’s particularly troubling to hear it repeatedly in the MSM.

        An assault rifle is defined as an intermediate caliber weapon capable of single or fully automatic fire which can successfully engage a man sized target at the typical combat ranges of 0-500 meters. In modern rifles these usually have optics and an attached grenade launcher is not atypical.

        Sub machine guns are rarely issued even by military forces except for special operations or REMF’s that might find themselves in the thick but whose primary mission is NOT combat. Too complicated to go into detail (like most of this).

        Combat shotguns are usually carried by guards at guard posts and are issued for that and riot control purposes, other than that typically only special forces use shotguns in combat. Too complicated to go into detail

        Battle Rifles are FULL powered rifles firing projectiles effective out to 1 kilometer and usually are semi automatic only, and in some cases have light machine gun versions that are select fire. These are almost exclusive to combat formations and in modern combat are usually equipped with optics. Many designated sniper rifles are derived from battle rifle designs. Too complicated to go into detail.

        Anti-Materials rifles have a range of over 2 kilometers and use a an extremely large rifle or small cannon projectile to destroy sensitive equipment selectively. Sometimes they are also used as sniper rifles. Needless to say something designed to destroy a radar emitter or jet fighter sitting on the ground is just as effective against people. Too complicated to go into detail.

        The rifle used in this crime was not an “assault rifle”, further this originating posters weapon in not an “assault rifle” unless he’s one of the few on the books lucky enough to have gotten a hold of an AK-74 before 1986 when further registrations of MG receivers were banned to civilians.

        A firearm is not an assault rifle merely because it is black, can attach a large magazine, or looks like something out of a movie.

        There are VERY few legal fully automatic weapons in this country as owning one means going through a background check that’s a FINAL stage that begins with a law enforcement officer attesting to your character. Then the weapon is transferred to you from which time you have to care for it like a child. Know always where it is, and keep it securely locked down when you’re not around it. You can’t lend it to someone, and can only allow someone else to fire it if in your immediate presence.

        PLEASE, stop calling these civilian look-alike works semi-alike rifles “assault rifles” because they are NOT. Blaming assault rifles on crime is an insult to the thousands of legal owners of fully automatic weapons, the number of which that have been used in crimes by their legal owners could be counted without taking off your shoes. In fact the FBI loses more weapons than civilian owners who have automatic weapons on ATF Form 4’s.

        And yes, Military weapons require training to use effectively, and that training has to be sustained.

        The CIVILIAN weapons used in this attack, though they may have LOOKED like military weapons, were not, unless by some weird chance he had the military tactical version of the Glock (no magazine safety).

        So, Gun Control isn’t even an issue here because what you THINK the guy had, isn’t what he was really carrying. In fact his deliberate over the top GI Joe outfitting totally failed to take into account correct seating of the rounds in the drum magazine, failed to insure the magazine and rifle worked well together, no adequate lubrication (most troopers carry WD-40 everywhere), he didn’t know emergency clearance procedure or the jam would have merely been inconvenient instead of disabled his primary weapon . . . I could go on awhile but why help train the next nut.

        In short, he was more off his rocker and wanting to “look good” and never thought, I suspect, of the horror and pain he was unleashing until he was in the parking lot after it was all over. I hope he relives the moment of his arrest of what little bit of eternity is left for him. Fortunately, like most nutters who get their information about the from Hollywood films, he was still deadly, but incompetent. When trained people who think they’re on a mission go postal is when we’re going to start seeing body counts in the triple digits.

        Oops, Timothy McVeigh, and he didn’t even have to use a gun.

        Believe me, if someone, or worse a small team, ever goes postal with military weapons it’ll be worldwide news . . .

        Oops, Mumbai, and they weren’t even military personnel just half trained terrorists and still they shut the the heart of one of the worlds largest cities down for about two days plus cleanup.

        That’s the difference between a nutter and a trained fanatic. The nutters focus is on himself, the fanatics focus is on the target.

        Let’s hope we start to pay attention to each other again and find and help those who are losing it before they decide to take others with them. As for trained attacks, those are what I fear, and why I’ve kept my skills, what remain, honed since I left the service, and why I consider an accurate BATTLE rifle to be a must in any gun safe. They also work as darn fine deer rifles.


        1. Nutter, fanatic, postal guy, etc. They can all kill just as surely. You don’t quite know everything that you need to know about human nature.We all have the capacity to kill, and none of us are above suspicion…not even you!


        2. This blogger may have posted some inaccurate information but he got a lot more right than he got wrong. Instead why don’t the naysayers take the politicians and various news medias to task. They report/post information that is a great deal more inaccurate than accurate any time they cover a contentious issue like this. To make things worse they have have a world wide audience to misinform. Let’s lay the “you’re full of crap” deal at their doorsteps, not his.


      12. Lando,
        Please refrain from your liberal idiocy. First off, you need to go through a lot of paperwork/checks/fees to legally obtain an automatic weapon (so do some research PLEASE!). Secondly, most legal gun owners don’t break laws, you’re “facts” are way off. No one carries automatic weapons, so go spew your libtard rhetoric elsewhere.


      13. Zimmerman was an idiot for getting out of his vehicle. You do not have the authority to pursue once a criminal retreats. However since the criminal assaulted him directly the stand your ground law is in effect. I know for a fact many 911 operators have encouraged civilians to follow criminals. This one did not. As for the wackjob Holmes he is a domestic terrorist and should be tried at the federal level and put to death by hanging. I blame the President for not seizing the moment on discourtaging violence like OWS types like this one and make an example of him. The Oklahoma city bomber got that response.


      14. More gun control will not solve anything. There are too many available sources to get a any kind of gun you want. With gun control all you do is screw the average citizen. Hunters, sportsman, target shooter………. come on..our government has impeded on our liberties far too much!


        1. And don’t forget our Government has been arming groups that are essentially enemies of us citizens….(fast and furious, the Taliban were once the muhajadeen).


      15. lando,
        Your ingorance is apparent. James Holmes did not use an automatic weapon. He used a semi-automatic weapon.I own a fully automatic rifle(perfectly legal). I have the permit from the BATF(now BATFE) to own it. Before you let your mouth fly open like an outhouse door; check your facts next time. Why does a box of rocks come to mind?


      16. You are free to complain about my guns once you are educated on them.

        An Automatic gun needs a class 3 federal license and let’s just say they are extremely tough to get during the last 3 years. What you call automatic is actually a Semi-automatic.

        Please feel comfortable knowing that Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, Chavez, name any dictator, they all agree with strict control! Nice friends you have.


      17. You have a pc and internet connection, but that doesn’t stop you from being such a moron. You’re a sheep waiting to meet a wolf. Get out of the way.


      18. Lando, you are the one whining. Most people suffer personal setbacks like divorce, loss of love, fortune and homes without killing anyone over it. I have many guns, knives, swords, and even though I have suffered all of the misfortune mentioned above,I have never shot, stabbed, or chopped anyone, either by accident or on purpose. However, when one of these tragic incidents have been perpetrated in the past, I have noticed an emergent pattern. It’s like this, madman kills, news reporters say it’s a right-winger gone mad with a gun, people die while news reporters have to eat their words as madman is found to be a sick liberal.(Redundancy). Upon such disclosure, a subsequent cry is raised by those same liberals to outlaw all guns. Bashir Assad is very glad that the populace was largely unprepared for the crushing tyranny he has leveled against his own citizenry.


      19. More bovine scatology,get a clue…by a vowel.


      20. Zimmerman was wrong? Could you please link the court finding? I must have missed that news flash. If you don’t think bashing your head off the ground can kill you, please, let’s make an appointment and I’ll prove you wrong.Just be sure that you are unarmed since you are of that belief system.


    6. Read your emotional rant. I have no plans to shut up. You know, despite the fact that Colorado doesn’t require any hands on demonstration our country (all 50 states) is full of people like myself who have extensive training. And by the way, there are people who have no training who actually react surprisingly well in the heat of an armed attack. Do you remember the young mother who was attacked in her home and shot and killed her attacker? She was too young to have had military or police training. Maybe you should give a little thought to what you say before you tell others to shut up. Fortunately, you have no authority to back up your words, either morally, legally, or otherwise. No one knows (not even you, you self righteous nobody) whether things would have turned out differently if someone had a weapon in that theater. We do know that some acted heroically despite not being armed. I always carry. And I always have a voice whether you like it or not.


    7. Frank, please turn in your guns, because according to your logic you don’t have the military or police training to use them effectively… No thank you. I’m a combat veteran and Colorado CCW permit holder. I have owned and used guns my entire life, and thank your wife, but I’m sure that an Air Force tour to wartorn Bosnia doesn’t count as combat experience in the same way that a 12-month tour to one of the most dangerous provinces in Afghanistan. But, I have just as much faith in my shooting buddies with ZERO military or LE experience to adequately utilize their weapon in a given situation that requires it as my military brothers and sisters. You presume too much, so I suggest you heed your own advice and shut up, you don’t know how capable Colorado CCW permit holders are, so don’t assume that we all lack the skill set, training, and mind state.


    8. This man has it right! Just because some dillweed goes off the reservation and uses guns to hurt people. Why punish all people? Drunk drivers kill people everyday and we don’t ban cars!!! Same logic!! People Kill People!! President Reagan was shot with a .22caliber weapon and our goverment attacked very other gun. I just don’t get it! Hold that sicko in Aurora, CO responcibly for his actions and don’t drag everyone with a gun into the mix! Bad people are bad people!! And their is no was to predict the future!! Turn your anger on his actions!!! Not the majority of law abiding citizens!!!


    9. What seems to be missed in all this is that the theater in quest was a no gun zone. They didn’t allow guns even if you had a CCW permit. That’s why the coward picked that place. He has even admitted it. No one who could fight back. Typical coward.


      1. The only safe “Gun-Free” zone is one staffed by armed police officers. All others are fertile fields for thug shootings.


    10. I’m a hunter. Bow for deer and a shotgun for birds. The only thing I have to say is that if someone had a gun to defend themselves, this tragedy would of taken less lives. Once the shooter experiences lead coming back, he would of dropped his gun and ran. No need for additional gun laws. let’s keep our freedoms.


    11. This guy doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about. Recently a 72 year old man armed with a legal concealed revolver stopped two punks committing an armed robbery at a coffee shop – it was on the news along with video. Concealed carry holders are more than willing to risk their own lives to protect other innocent strangers and are at the location. And, BTW, typically police qualify once or twice a year and many don’t shoot recreationally. Most concealed carry holders are enthusiasts and except for our troops that just came back from combat zones are more accurate than the police.


    12. More gun control will not solve anything. There are too many available sources to get a any kind of gun you want. With gun control all you do is screw the average citizen. Hunters, sportsman, target shooter………. come on..our government has impeded on our liberties far too much!


    13. 0 Thank you! But please don’t fall into the media trap about “assault rifles”.
      0 They are NOT semi-automatics. Per the Federal laws, they ARE FULLY automatic, military grade. You cannot buy or hold one without a Federal permit, which is vetted by both the FBI and ATF. If caught with it without that permit on your person, you go to Federal prison. Hence, few people have any interest in owning one.

      Use one and it is a SERIOUS FELONY!

      The “assault weapon” tag is a media invention only meant to grab headlines, to characterize them as more deadly, to mislead citizens.


    14. Thanks, John. Just so the misinformed anti-2nd Amendment people aren’t given more information to use, let’s deal in facts about “ASSAULT weapons”. They are NOT semi-automatics. Per the Federal laws, they ARE FULLY automatic, military grade. You cannot buy or hold one without a Federal permit, which is vetted by both the FBI and ATF. If caught with it without that permit on your person, you go to Federal prison. Hence, few people have any interest in owning one.

      Use one and it is a SERIOUS FELONY!

      The “assault weapon” tag is a media invention only meant to grab headlines, to characterize them as more deadly, to mislead citizens.


    15. I am going to have to disagree with you on how people handle things. You might freeze up, but there are people out there that wouldn’t. There are stories in the news weekly about a CCW holder, or home owner who reacts when their life is threatened and takes action immediately. The one on the top of my mind happened on April 20th in Aurora earlier this year when another psycho entered a church and tried to kill many people like this Holmes guy did. The difference is, there was a guy carrying, and this guy took action and shot and killed the psycho. You should only speak for yourself when talking about the outcome of a situation. In Colorado, anyone who can legally buy a pistol, can carry it on their hip in plain view (except in parts of Denver). If someone so chooses to do this, I hope they are trained so they are not more of a threat with their firearm. That being said, I hope you learn to talk only about how you would fail, how only you would react, because you don’t represent anyone else.

      I guess this 89 year old lady who defended herself against two burglar’s must have fought in WW1 or 2 or something……
      http://www.wistv.com/story/19112018/…cares-burglars

      Aurora shooting that took place in April where the shooter was killed by a person with a CCW.
      http://freedomoutpost.com/2012/07/the-aurora-shooting-you-didnt-hear-about-in-the-media/

      You need to get your head on straight. If you carry, you better be able and willing to use your weapon in a time of need. If you can’t, don’t carry.


    16. You agree completely with what? The guy left me totally confused. The only clear thing is that he thinks everyone should just shut up.


    17. Except you forgot 1 thing: guns don’t kill people…people with guns kill people!


      1. People with cars kill more people than people with guns,do you understand you’re own nonsensical logic? I guess not, moron.


    18. I LOL at your “article”. I come from a family of police officers, I shoot with police officers, I compete against police officers. To say they are proficient is a joke! I can honestly and faithfully say that I could shoot better @ age 13 than 80% of police officers. Some are great, the majority aren’t. They don’t train until they fail… they shoot at 10 yards to hit a life size target once a year. I train to hit a head size target at 25 yards. The facts are this, if someone had a gun they would have had a chance to stop him, a chance. Obviously no one did and had NO chance. I’ll take a chance, even a small one over none…


    19. He (the author, Frank M. Taylor) can shut up about how other people having guns (concealed or not) wouldn’t make a difference.

      He speaks as if he, you or I would be the only ones with a gun and, we could never possibly become qualified to use it properly. I find fault in his analysis.

      1. If gun ownership and usage weren’t so demonized and, constantly under attack with restrictive laws, it would be more prevelant amongst the populatin. More folks would be owning guns, practicing gun usage and, carrying guns.

      2. A higher percentage of folks would actually develop a high level of skill and competency with gun usage.

      3. Imagine how many ex-military will continue the advanced instuction they recieved in the military to gun usage and ownership in their private lives.

      This means folks with the inclination to do bad things will see a higher risk to themselves. The odds would be against them. Therefore many of them, most of them, will not carry out their plans to do bad things. It seems to me this will reduce the crime rate.

      If the majority of people in the theather were armed, the chances of someone being in a better position to take him (the shooter) out would be pretty good. In fact, I don’t think it would even need to be a majority of movie goers. I bet 25% or even 10% would be enough. Nobody would need to be Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer, or Bruce Wayne.

      I *do* agree with the author’s statement …

      “There’s no law on the planet that will change how a man values the life of another. Outlaw online sales, assault rifles, guns, liquids over 3 ounces, and he still would find a way to murder.”

      So, even though, I agree with his statement, we have different reasons for believing it.

      I’d rather have the increased chance of deterance, by having a more prevelant gun ownwership amongst our citizens and, an increased chance of squelching and surviving an incident like that, than to just be a helpless blob hoping for the best.


    20. The 750,000 plus (a conservative estimate) citizens that successfully use concealed weapons to stop violent crimes in the US each year would disagree with you about “not realizing something is wrong until it’s too late”

      Also, a very many police officers use their weapons once a year to qualify with 10 rounds after having received less than 100 hours firearms training in POST. Stop spouting that BS about how they are the only ones who can successfully use firearms.


    21. We must stop using the words, “assault rifle”. When you can find a manufacturer that makes a gun with “assault rifle” actually stamped on it, then we can talk. “AR” means Armalite Rifle. I own an AK47 and a DPMS 223 caliber rifle. I don’t go around “assaulting people with these guns. GUNS DON’T ASSAULT PEOPLE. We are just feeding the fire to the liberals who want to take away our so called “assault guns”.My wife and I also have concealed carry permits and we practice regularly with training scenarios in an attempt to better train ourselves on ways to handle the use of our weapon.I have never killed anyone, but I am an avid hunter and I thank God every time for the animal I am about to take, before I pull the trigger. I hope I never have to take a human life but I WILL NOT HESITATE TO PROTECT MYSELF AND MY FAMILY BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY.


    22. Frank, you are a fool. Jason Bourne is an amateur. I have competed in IDPA, SASS, NSSA, and ATA. In Texas, no matter where I go, I carry. I could have dropped this fool in seconds as could anyone I compete with. I am a NY native and work in Juarez Mexico. God bless Texas.


    23. Frank, This is the stupidest comments on guns and firing back I’ve ever heard. There are thousands of documented cases of ordinary people (even 80 year old + grannies)who have NEVER or seldom shot their weapons but have successfully stopped a criminal with a gun DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS. Don’t believe it?? ASK the NRA.Like ’em or hate ’em, They will show you the law enforcement records proving it! Your arrogant superior rant simply does not match the FACTS. It’s you that needs to shut up!! Get your facts straight and leave off your stealth anti-gun bias.


    24. what i don’t understand is why do you want to own an assault rifle? What does that do for you?


    25. I don’t agree completely, but no matter which side you come down on, we should all stop flaming Frank for his opinions. He’s not some national newscaster or politician trying to inflame the populace; he is a private citizen expressing his views on his own blog. I was one of the first to flame him – my comments were personal and inappropriate. I realize now that I should have stuck to the issues and avoided personalizing my comments.

      Thanks you Frank for providing a forum for us all to express our opinions.


    26. Wow, you must be my twin! Im totally the same person and believe the same thing as you. I own an AK47, I believe you should have to have training to own one of these rifles. I practice with mine about every two weeks. I know how to handle them because i was in the military. And Im also a web programmer. I especially agree with what you said about how people think they could have made a difference if they had a gun on them. Fat chance. I know when i first heard about the situation and how the shooter had body armor on, I thought to myself, “Damn, even if i was there with my handgun, I would not have been able to do much.” People are idiots if they think elsewise.


    27. Interesting blog item, but a question that begs for an answer is ” if you are so sure and convinced that you and everyone else will screw up and not perform adequately under pressure why are so many criminals stopped in their tracks by citizens with guns?”


    28. You sound really sure about what you “think” other people will do in an intense life and death situation however speaking from my own experience I think you’re just using generalities to make your point. The fact is people respond to trauma, whether physical or mental, in different ways and not everyone goes into a state of shock that prohibits a response. Just to qualify I have personally been; shot twice, stabbed, believe it or not in a midair incident as well as treating injured people during a horrific car accident. I was not trained to handle any of those situations but still I remained calm and did what needed doing. Here is my point concerning concealed carry and the possibility of an incident similar to that of the theater, if you don’t have a gun you have far less of a chance to stop the manic killer in front of you. And by the way just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you have to use it but the point is it’s there for you if you need it. Most of the things you bring up as “problems” in gun use you are again assuming “shock” or incompetence prevents the correct or corrective action needed but as previously stated effects of stress is different for all people. Overall Frank I think I like my odds of survival better than a person without a gun and I don’t think I’m alone in my apparent supper human ability to deal with the stress of a potentially deadly situation. I read your blog and what I hear is you’re afraid, afraid to do something and afraid to do nothing. At some point you just have to realize that this world isn’t always a nice place and bad things happen to good people. My father taught me that as a young man that you need to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves and maybe this is what you need to address before you address whether or not someone can carry and responsibly use a gun.


  2. I agree with a lot of what you’ve said. However, instances like this are focus moments for the nation to review how it feels about current law, the cultural climate that appears to be multiplying events like this, and (one would hope) inspire rational discussion about all of the conditions that created the people who have committed this kind of crime.

    Reagan’s minor wounds and Jim Brady’s paralysis inspired the Brady Law which was a brief moment of sanity in modern US gun control. With most commentators screaming for capital punishment for this perpetrator, it appears that institutionalized murder will be justified by individual murder. The fact that capital punishment states have higher murder rates than non-capital punishment states will go unnoticed, by and large.


    1. Part of the reason I originally wrote the post was that I didn’t think it was nice to debate gun control when folks are still in the hospital. Alas, that’s the exact opposite of what’s happened when a reporter wants me to comment on the subject. This is an issue that requires discussion, but I just wanted to wait a few days before it happened.

      You’re right; we need rational discussions. We need to stop debating gun bans and the 2nd amendment for a minute or two and actually ask why we want guns. We need to ask how effective concealed-carry really is in the hands of someone who isn’t trained and how we can really identify the dangerous people in our populous.

      I don’t know where you’re going with capital punishment but I’d like to stay on topic. Let’s save capital punishment for another day.


      1. YOU NEED TO ASK ALSO, “HOW EFFECTIVE IS CONCEALED CARRY IN THE HANDS OF SOMEONE TRAINED?”
        MANY PEOPLE I KNOW, WHO HAVE CCW ARE WELL TRAINED AND TAKE CARRYING VERY SERIOUSLY. ALL THE ABOVE, THAT I KNOW, ALSO HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR LIFE.


    2. Tom, what planet did you come from? Capitol punishment states have higher murder rates? Were do you get that? That is not right. Capitol punishment definitely squashes repeat offenders.
      What about Chicago ? I know its not a state but their murder rates have skyrocketed since all “illegal” guns have been turned in.
      There’s proof that people turned in crap guns and admittedly gone out of the state to buy better.
      Totally bogus argument. The liberal courts have contributed to the problem.
      The basis of it all it is separation from the true living God. Period!


      1. Totally agree Tom!! That fool is repeating the liberal mantra. The fact is that crime rates (including murder) drop considerably in CCW states. This has been the result in study after study. Funny, the liberals have torn God from our schools, and the metal detectors and therapists have been sent in to deal with the aftermath.


  3. Owning guns is like having children – just because you can have them (Second Amendment and biology, respectively), doesn’t mean you should. And if you choose to have them (guns, children, or both), you better have a good “why.”

    Training is key; if people have to take classes to drive a car (because a car can be used as a weapon), I don’t understand how/why people can own guns without a similar requirement.


    1. What about physological training? No ammount of “training” on the face of the Earth can stop humans from occasionally acting like wild animals. You and I might believe we are the most intellegent, level-headed and always-calm saints in the world. It can happen to ANYONE at ANY time…… including you and me. It’s complete arrogance to think otherwise.


    2. Classes required to actually own and operate a firearm actually sounds like a good idea


      1. The problem is that many of us no longer trust the government to even know we have guns let alone manage training us! I was taught by my father then later by exmilitary friends. The state sanctioned CCW course was mostly a waste of my time. my wife on the other hand got a lot out of it. Yes I can hit what I aim at no I don’t go to the range often (I shoot rats and coons in the hen house regularly).


    3. My right as a citizen of these United States to keep and bear firearms is constitutonally guaranteed. I own all of the weapons this idiot used and am proficient, meaning I hit what I aim at,I have been in altercations where it would have been easy to whip the piece out and hammer down


  4. If you have any questions regarding the CWP law or training contact [REMOVED] and the Instructors at [REMOVED] will be happy to help you.

    [SORRY JACK, THERE’S NO ADVERTISING ON MY SITE (INCLUDING IN THE COMMENTS)]


  5. You didn’t say why you own an assault rifle.


    1. He doesn’t own an assault rifle. He owns a semi-automatic rifle. By definition an assault rifle has automatic capability.


  6. Shut up and take the shot! If I am in a situation where 1 person is shot already and the shooter intends to empty his gun, and you are armed….FOR GOD’S SAKE…TAKE THE SHOT!!! I don’t care how efficient or inefficient you are with your gun..give me and others a chance to live. TAKE THE SHOT!


    1. One of the first rules of shooting is “Know your target, what it is, what is in front of it, what is behind it, what are the chances of hitting someone or something you didn’t intend to hit.” This makes drawing and firing a concealed weapon impossible to do in a crowded place with a panic-stricken crowd


      1. Not impossible.
        Very difficult – yes, and you have to keep that rule of line-of-sight foremost in your mind.


      2. Bullcrap. Firing accurately perhaps, but firing into teh cieling even might distract the gunman long enough to get your family out or down on the floor. I personally wouldn’t hesitate for a second to by my wife and kids a moment to hide / escape if it were my only option. And you bet your lilly livered a** I’d give my life for them.


    2. Right on Greg. Maybe Frank has no sitaution awareness be many other do. I may have waited for him to fire the first shot but it would be on very shortly after that. It could have made a difference. Just the way the April Church shooting that was stopped by an ARMED off duty cop. The results would have been similar if not for the quick reaction of this officer. So Frank, Just Shut UP!


      1. Dude situational awareness (SA)drops off dramtically as a skill. If you don’t train or operate in an environment that requires it it dies. With out SA you simply do not recognize whats happening in front of you.

        Your off duty cop example proves the point the off duty cop you site trains at this constantly, works in envirnments that require Situational Awareness daily. Most civlians do not work in such envirnoments and have little to no training is SA. They hesitate, they are often in a state of disbelief, and simply do not react become easy meat.

        former cav scout


        1. You do realize of course that criminals are shot more frequently by civilians than by cops, yes? And that cops, even though the shoot less criminals, mistakenly shoot the wrong guy more often? Seems to me the civilians do pretty good SA wise.

          Former MP


          1. There is a very solid reason for this. The citizen defending themselves knows who the attacker is almost 100% of the time. The police on the other hand, arrive on a scene, and may have to sort it out and thus mistake parties or bystanders.


        2. Due,SA is a skill I practice every day of my life. It commences as soon as get dressed in the morning, putting on my licensed concealed firearm. And if you don’t think many of us drill 3-5 times a week on safe draw and accurate fire techniques think again. And if you think we’re unaware of tunnel vision, auditory exclusion phenomena and the impact of generalized body alarm reaction to a life threatening situation, think again. Bottom line: stuff happens. If it happens to you or your family do you want SOME chance (even if small) or NO chance to survive. You pick.


  7. Look Obama started the question, “Why you need…”. Well actually that is a very smart question if want to persuade people to your agenda. Knowing that car fatalities far out number gun deaths and car fatalities are on the rise while gun deaths are down. Why do you need a v8 engine and big truck or SUV? Why cant we all have small cars that can’t go no faster then 65? Because you believe that is ridiculous! Well same with guns. Cars don’t kill people, bad drivers do. Guns don’t kill people, bad people do. If you keep giving a little by little your rights, then soon you will have no rights.


    1. Actually, accidental gun deaths outnumbered vehicle deaths in Colorado last year.


      1. “Actually, accidental gun deaths outnumbered vehicle deaths in Colorado last year.”

        Maybe, but not overall nationally.


      2. Bullcrap. Maybe vehicle deaths were smaller than total gun deaths, but not just accidental. Accidental gun deaths were around 2000 nationally. Quote a source or shut up.


      3. where are you getting your facts about accidental gun deaths outnumbered vehicle deaths in Colorado last year.
        also you said you have fired a couple thousand rounds in your life time there are a lot of us that do that in a weekend.
        yes people should have training but that should fall under personal responsibility
        not under some government mandate which there is to much anymore.
        one last thing there are over 20000 gun laws now how much good have any of them done compared to how many laws are there about committing murder??


      4. I do not believe that. that cannot be true


      5. I don’t believe that for a second. Source please. For one, nationally, traffic deaths range about 40,000 per year to about 3,000 accidental gun deaths. So, yeah…


  8. I agree with you except on one comment. The comment about not being able to react properly. All of the CC permit holders that I know of and have trained with, take some sort of weapons and combat course training with their firearm. Of course this does not prepare you for taking a life…nothing will. This comment about doing nothing in this situation and saying to shut up I am a bit taken back that you would say that. It almost sounds like you are indirectly advocating gun control in respect to C.C. are not capable of responsibly defending themselves. I agree with you that unless were there you will never really know how you would react. I have worked with Law Enforcement and Special Forces and they are the Heroes of our society. And after talking with them and training with them they too do not know how they would have reacted. I believe that if a person is faced with defending their family and life , preservation takes over, not for all, but I believe for most. So I respectfully ask that you do not discount us that would have acted. I believe now more than ever than ever is time to take that training and get to the range as often as you can. This training can be expensive and in this economy that might be feasible but there are great videos on the internet that are available for free but it is up to you to learn to see threats and protect yourself. Take this quote with you in your thoughts, “When seconds count the Police are minutes away.”

    Be safe.


    1. Dale, that’s a legitimate point. Notallof my friends with CCW have had training. And though I have taken the ccw course, I haven’t gotten additional training, either…but I will be taking one in about a month.

      my issue about, “shutting” up was because this blog post was written on a Saturday night (when the shootings happened Friday morning) and I live 20 minutes or so from Aurora. It’s not nice to know that there are people in the hospital and others are already making up their minds on gun control. Ironically, my decision to share that point of view turned me into a gun rights/control advocate.


  9. Bravo, Frank. Well thought and well versed. I teach Concealed Carry in Louisiana and I pound this into all my students. Practice, read, learn, do it again and never stop. Be aware of your surroundings and always have a plan. Don’t go looking for trouble, no one is John Wayne. Be a good witness. If trouble comes to you or your loved ones, de-escalate or be prepared use your firearm. If that gun clears leather, be prepared to pull the trigger to stop the threat. If you cannot prepare yourself, then you should not be be carrying a firearm.


  10. First, he didn’t have an “assualt” rifle, he had a semi-automatic rifle that is built on the same platform as the Army M-16 family, and the actual assault rifle definition is one capable of fully automatic fire.

    As for whether an armed citizen could have helped the situation and saved lives, we will never know. We don’t know if the citizen would have wounded or killed the shooter or what the shooter would have done when confronted with being fired upon. He certainly did not resist the police…just a few thoughts on this. You are correct when you say he would have found a way to kill, firearm, bomb, car, truck, steel pipe….

    [ADMIN: I’VE BEEN CORRECTED ON THE MISUSE OF THE TERM “ASSAULT RIFLE” ENOUGH IN THE LAST TWO DAYS THAT ALL I CAN DO IS REITERATE WHAT I’VE ALREADY SAID: I’M NOT AN EXPERT]


    1. maybe you should have done a little research before talking about so called assault rifles. the theater did have a no gun allowed signs. i guess the gunman did see them i am sure they would have stopped him. the same as all the other gun free zones have in the past.you can stop people that want to hurt some one.


  11. Narrow-minded and selfish. You are really grasping at straws. Alas we can not expect more from you, as that you are convinced that you have all the answers. Egocentric is a big word, but you should look it up.


  12. I served, I fought and watched men die, some from my hand. No regrets, just bad memories. I own but do not carry or practice or hunt. Today every living creature has a right to live. It’s not the citizen nor the James Holmes’ I fear but the men who want to take my gun and they are the reason we stash rifles from before the days of required registration. It’s all about the constitution and a registered rifle belongs to the government already.


  13. one item: the theater in Colorado is posted as off limits to concealed carry.


    1. True, but it’s not a violation of state law to Conceal Carry. If private property posts that weapons aren’t allowed, it’s there decision to ask me to leave if they see me with it. But, I’m not in violation of a law by carrying.


      1. Not true in CO, see statute 18-12-214(5). Illegal to carry in posted private property.


        1. It is not illegal to carry on private property marked “No Firearms”. You are only violating the law after the property owner asks you to leave the premises and you refuse. At that point you are trespassing. Nothing more. If you are carrying concealed, nobody should know anyhow. Ignore the signs but leave if you are asked to is my best advice. Keep in mind that this does not apply to K-12 schools, post offices, court houses, and other government buildings…where carry is premitted by a government entity. It only applys to privately owned businesses and property.


          1. going to have to look up the statute. I’m going on what I was taught in my CCL class. What you’re saying CMS is what I was told.


  14. You sir are and idiot,

    Just because you fire thousands of rounds of ammo and are still incompitent with your firearm does not mean that everyone is. Maybe you should move to san francisco were you can live with other cowards and socialist who feel that the government should provide for and protect them from the dangers of society. All the government does is paperwork after the fact and have no ability to actively protect anyone in real time. You insult all of the men and women who have died for our freedom to have the items neccessary to protect our families and I will use you as an example to my children of the type of person not to be, and of what is broken in this country. Maybe you should trade the guns you claim to have for a good pair of running shoes since you feel that there is nothing anyone can do to stand up and stop these actions and protect the ones they love except flee or cower in the corner and hope that the assailant passes you by and chooses your neighbor instead.


    1. 1. Name calling isn’t nice. Be respectful, or find another place to troll

      2. Thousands of rounds of ammo fired doesn’t make me combat ready. Combat training makes me combat ready. Every friend who served in Afghanistan or Iraq told me that.

      3. My wife served 6 years in the Air Force. Every male in my family served except me (I can’t due to a medical condition). I wanted, and still want, to protect freedoms. You’ve grossly misunderstood what I’ve written if you think I don’t care about our freedoms.

      4. Why would I trade in my guns? They shoot the bad people?

      5. Why would I move to San Francisco? There’s hippies there. Hippies don’t like red meat, guns, or big trucks.


      1. If you ever gave your reason for owning an assault rifle, I guess I’ve overlooked it.


  15. I agree with most of your points, but I still don’t think it is necessary to have semi automatics for fun. What’s next, small ICB’s for fun?


    1. I dont think it is necessary for you to have free speech what next you’ll want to make comments on a blog or something get a life maybe read the constitution


    2. “Necessary” is not the issue. Freedom is. Who is to decide what is necessary?


    3. Maam I have a simi auto handgun that is almost a hundred years old. The technologhy has been there for years and the ICBM comment makes no sense not even comparable


    4. Then you have never hunted or target practiced with a semi auto. They are a blast. I hunt in close brush with either a sks or an ar 15. In open terrain, a 30-06 browning auto. All three are hard to beat in their fields.


  16. You did not say why you own an assault rifle. Also, your blog is rather pointless and meandering. I have no idea what you’re advocating for or condemning. There’s two minutes of my life I won’t get back.


  17. Before everyone jumps on me for my last sentence, that’s simply a way of saying that reading the blog was a waste of time. It wasn’t until I read it after posting that I considered how it my be viewed by some given the tragedy.


  18. I can appreciate the content of what you wrote, but spending one year in Colorado does not make us your “adopted people”. Rather, natives like myself attribute the degradation of our Colorado values and culture to out of state Texans like yourself. I can appreciate your opinions, but please don’t consider yourself the adopted ‘father of Colorado’. Only a Texan would make such a comment, not a Coloradan.


    1. I didn’t claim that I was the “father of Colorado”. As you know, most Texans take great pride in their state. I meant it as a compliment to the state and the people of Colorado that I love living here as much as I did in Texas. Sorry the “adoptive” metaphor wasn’t appropriate.

      I spent 10 years in Illinois. Illinois doesn’t even make my top 40 of preferred states to live in. I love Colorado and didn’t mean anything else.


    2. The Colorado culture and values is already lower than TX, so I don’t see how you can call us the ones that degrade CO? Just step off and stay up there.


  19. Generalizations are just that.

    I teach both hunter safety and combat handgun and while many might not get the job done when confronting a criminal I would prefer to have the option of shooting back.

    I tell every one that I teach that you must always win and there is no such thing as cheating .

    If a guy is shooting up the business where you are and his back is to you , shoot him and keep shooting him until the threat is gone.

    IF Colorado is a CCW state where were the CCW folks and why were their pistols at home?

    Where is your handgun right now,mine is within reach !


    1. Mine is right here.

      And the theater was posted no firearms, and CCW people, probably thinking “OK, it is just a movie” left them in their cars.

      But that restriction has no force of law in Florida, so there would be at least one firearm in any theater I’m watching a movie.
      Sure, if the theater people see That I have one, then they could ask me to leave. But Concealed means Concealed, right?

      And I carry, not so much as for during the movie, but for the trek to my car afterwards in the dark.


  20. Frank; For as much as you exspell on this issue and related issues you still have no freaking idea what kind of rifle you have. It would be an assault rifle if the selector switch had a full auto function, which yours doesn’t! Therefore you don’t have anything but a semi-auto rifle. As for your idea about repeling the 2nd Amendment, you apparently don’t understand why it is there. My conclusion is that you have NO FREAKING IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!


    1. Tim, I’ve been corrected on the term “assault rifle” so many times its ridiculous. Not once have I claimed to be an expert and you certainly have elucidated that point. You’re right.

      I never ONCE suggested repealing the 2nd amendment. ONCE. That would be the absolute WORST thing that could happen to this country. In fact, the whole reason I’ve suggested that people should get training before getting their guns because it would be the least prohibitive barrier to guns.


      1. Thank you for your reply. I would like to pass on some wisdom from Oregon. In my research of Colorado gun laws, those laws are defined by each county and CHL requirements are different in several counties. In Oregon only the state legislature can regulate possession and ownership of firearms, this creates one set of rules. As for no firearm posted establishments, if its concealed, and if they did know you were carrying all they can ask of you is to leave or be cited for trespassing (in Oregon). We should all be supporting a National Conceal Carry law.


        1. You are mainly correct. CCW licenses are issued at the county level, and some Sherriff’s offices are more likely to process your paperwork than others.

          We’re the same as Oregon regarding establishments. Unless it’s a violation of federal law, I can carry. And if a place kicks me out b/c I’m carrying, I don’t want to be there, anyway.


  21. I agree completely that this is not the time for either side of the issue to try to take advantage of the situation. It dishonors the memories of those that died, and turns their loved ones’ grief into nothing more than a political issue. That said, the Founding Fathers created the 2nd Amendment for a reason, which was that no society can be truly free if it has been disarmed by its government, and thus made subject to tyranny. I choose to carry a gun so that my life or the lives of my family are never at the mercy of the whims of another. Rarely can the police protect you, and rarely can a tragedy be prevented. More typically, they’re there to pick up the pieces and arrest the offender later. Justice after the fact is great, but I’d rather get home alive, and have my wife and children unharmed. To that end, I have received extensive training at my own expense, way beyond anything I ever received in the military. There is a very large large selection of extremely competent training available today, if you take the time to look for it. Carrying a firearm and training for an eventuality I pray never comes is my choice. If you choose to do otherwise, that’s your decision, but do not have the presumption to decide for me what I should do.


  22. Frank, I couldn’t disagree more. It has nothing to do with being a hero. It has everything to do with taking responsibility to protect themselves and the ones they love. Go ahead and leave your gun home Frank. As for me, I like the option of having one a whole lot better.


  23. You are correct that most CCW permit holkders dont train enough but,and this is a big BUT!!! Without a firearm the crowd in that theater had no chance at all. If even one individual had a CCW as was able to return fire even if he did not hit his target ( and the well trained police miss far more than they hit as well)the gunmans attention would be diverted from the unarmed innocent to the person trying to stop the assault. CCW can abd does help stop/deter armed criminals from perpatrating thier intended crime. It happens every day far more than the liberal media will report. In the last 2 weeks alone there have been at least 3 instances where a CCW holder has stopped armed criminals. NO, you are wrong in your assumptions. CCW holders in that theater could have and probably would have saved lives, possibly at the expense of their own. But at least if you are armed you have a chance in a situation like that, unarmed you have no chance. I prefer to have a chance. BY the way the theater (regardless of the Colorado law) had a no weapons sign posted. This effectivly turned the theater into a killing field with unarmed victims as we all know that most all CCW holders follow the law so their weapons were not on them, the criminals on the other hand do not. As such we see the result.
    Mayor Bloomberg recently made the statement that he hopes all the police go on strike until guns are outlawed. Me too, why? Because in a year at most there would be far fewer criminals roamming the streets or being let out of jails early to commit more crimes. The Police have a tough and thankless job most of the time but in almost all instances they are not there to protect you (they cant be as they have no idea when or where a crime will occur), even the Supreme court has said that the police have no responsibility to protect you. That leaves who? Us, the citizens of this country, the ones who are in fact the victims of crime. We are the ones that are present at every crime, we the would be victims. Give us the means and ability to fight back and we can and will protect ourselves and other innocents. As Romney stated, no law will stop a criminal but an armed citizen will.


  24. With a PhD in Neuroscience, I understand the rationale behind training. There are 2 pathways for fear, reaction, and emotional response. The “short” pathway, which bypasses your higher thought processes and engages the fight or flight response, and the “long” pathway that takes information right up to your highest thought processes and consciousness. Most people react from the “short” pathway and do what is instinctive. The entire goal of law enforcement/military training is to suppress REACTION to the SHORT pathway, and instead use it to IDENTIFY danger. The next step is to train the LONG pathway to become faster, and be your PRIMARY REACTION and assessment. The Navy SEALs actually hired cognitive psychologists and psychiatrists to design training regimens that are specifically targeted to do what I described above. Through thousands of repetitions, the SEALs learn how to use biology to their advantage. Think “drown-proofing” as an example. That is exactly designed to do what I have described.

    Military/special forces can’t say what they would have done for a reason. That’s because their reactions are now modified and conditioned. Their pathways have been meticulously altered so that executive processes don’t slow them down. And unless the average concealed carry person INTENTIONALLY conditions themselves, 99% of their reactions they will have no initial control over, but for the WRONG reasons.


  25. This guy got his facts messed up. Texas is not the only sate that allows open carry… has he heard of state called Arizona?


    1. We open carry in Virginia every day. Sometimes it just too hot to carry IWB.


  26. All that blather and you never said why you own a assault rifle. To go assaulting?


    1. Fox news chose the title of the main article. You’ll need to see “I’m a hypocrite…” for the actual reason. Hint: guns are fun to shoot.


  27. Pretty broad brush you’re painting with there, and it borders on idiocy.

    To begin, the overwhelming majority of police officers rarely fire their weapons, and have almost no tactical training. Their primary function is to act AFTER a crime has been committed. That’s not to say that they don’t have a difficult and dangerous job; it’s simply the nature of law enforcement. We don’t arrest people before they’ve committed a crime.

    Under our legal system, if you are an adult of sound mind and body, in a public place or on your own property, NOBODY has a legal obligation to protect you from harm. NOBODY. Not even the police. Criminals don’t become criminals until after they have broken the law, and if the crime they commit is murder and you are the victim, it does you little good.

    It is the duty of every citizen to take responsibility for their own safety. If they choose to do so by arming themselves, it is their responsibility to ensure that they are proficient with their weapon, know the law, and have seriously contemplated what actions they will take and under what circumstances, up to and including the act of killing another person if necessary. If they choose to protect themselves by cowering in fear and begging for their lives, that too is their choice.

    That said, those of us who choose to take responsibility for our own safety and that of our loved-ones, do not need or want you to tell us to “shut up”. I don’t care if you “don’t think that would matter” whether we were there, or armed, or proficient, or psychologically prepared. That is not for you, the State, or anyone else to determine.

    You don’t know me. I could be your neighbor, your friend, or your co-worker. I’ve fired hundreds-of-thousands of rounds, some of them on the two-way ranges of Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of my older Brothers did the same in places like Belgium, Iwo Jima, Vietnam, Korea, and a hundred other battlefields. We’ve fought for our own lives, and those of our comrades, and we’ve killed when necessary. Some of us make Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer, or Bruce Wayne look like pussies. While many of us are far-removed from the past necessity of violence, and may no longer be as proficient as we once were, we have no doubt as to how we would respond to a threat against innocent victims. We are not “soon-to-be heroes with conceal weapons permits”. We are responsible citizens.


  28. I was originally going to admonish the continued use of “assault” weapon. Assault is an action, a verb, a weapon does not “assault” anyone on it’s own. Are rioters using “Assault Rocks and Assault Bottles” against police and government forces? That is just ignorance of the platform.

    To indicate that based on your experience means that you are not ready to counteract a serious threat with the use of your chosen weapon is far removed from the ability of other people to do so.

    You state that many soldiers and officers were killed because they were not prepared to use their weapons. In truth those people could have died for hundreds of reasons beyond simply not being ready to pull the trigger. Do you have concrete proof of such a statement?

    You state that your friends who saw combat were the only ones that were “combat ready”. Aren’t you just playing word games now? Do you genuinely believe that only people who saw combat are combat ready?

    90% of the Law Enforcement units in the country haven’t been exposed to a live fire fight, with loss of life, so are they unprepared to do so? Ridiculous.

    While it is nice to see someone stand up and tell everyone to shut up about Colorado and the tragedy, you might want to consider your opinion as merely your opinion and shut up when it comes to telling anyone else what they can and can not do with their weapon. Some of them just MIGHT be more highly trained & better prepared than you and your “friends” might consider.

    JD


    1. Since you didn’t keep your comments to youself I felt the need to respond. If there had been someone there with a gun it could have made difference. A person does not have to be shot to be detered. There are numerous accounts of the perpetrators fleeing when they hear gun shots. One recent example was in Florida just a little more than a week ago. A 60 some year old man chased out two men carrying a bat and a gun. You only gave statistics of how poorly untrained shooters performed. No statistics on how gun fire could deter a criminal. If someone had a gun they may have stunned Holmes by the very fact that he was getting shot at. And he may have gotten lucky and hit him with a shot in the dark.
      Real life situations can have far different results than statistics on a shooting range.


    2. Hello JD and good rightup me friend


  29. Excellent observation Mr. Taylor, I to have family and friends in the Aurora area and of course my first thought was to call all of them. IT WAS NOT..Holy cow, we need to ban weapons.
    It’s a funny thing, growing up in the midwest everyone had at least one firearm in the house and usually several. And yet, we didn’t have these mass shootings.
    I do not believe more laws will fix this (we have far too many now). Perhaps it’s more important to address a permissive society with a “me first” mentality and all it engenders.
    For the record, I am a Vietnam veteran, hold two degrees and own several guns. I’m also certain that thanks to my upbringing and my personal values you will not ever see me looking for 15 minutes of fame or infamy.


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