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’llyou 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]
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Frank, just because you dont feel confident with a gun (and you probably shouldnt own one!) doesnt mean all gun owners do!
A 71 year old man in Ocala, FL shot a couple of gun toting criminals robbing an internet cafe. DO NOT lecture gun owners about not being able to use their guns!!!
You seem to think gun owners are stupid, so stupid they dont even know how many bullets are in their magazines. I guess you are just projecting your own stupidity onto people, typical of a liberal! Truth be told, you should give up your guns because apparently you are too stupid to own them!
BTW- you have 1000 rounds of experience in 31 years? I go through 1000 rounds in less than 3 months. I can bet I practice shooting more then police do and if I was in that theater that night, I would MUCH RATHER depend on my shooting ability then a cops!
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firstly, thousands of rounds. I have no idea how many thousands, but it starts when I was ten.
I’m very confident with my gun. I still don’t know what’s going to happen in a firefight because I’ve never been shot at. Is that lack of confidence or is it honesty?
I don’t think gun owners are stupid. I don’t think people who react with, “if I were there” are really considering if they’re prepared for every situation.
I know from time at the range that it wasn’t too hard track how many rounds I’ve fired before my last round in the chamber (and yes, I know it’s simple counting).
But, I don’t think most gun owners consider that in a real fire fight, you could easily lose track. Ever tried counting and holding a conversation at the same time? You mean to say that wouldn’t be a little harder with a gun pointed at you? My point is that a jammed gun under fire isn’t a jammed gun at the range. Neither is reloading.
I guess I’m the only guy in the world who doesn’t know how to deal with all these scenarios in a life and death situation.
Everyone else knows exactly what to do in a movie theater shooting and I’m the odd one out.
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All the talk about so-called “assault” rifles is nothing more than a red herring to facilitate more gun control. A semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot and an extended magazine has more potential for death and mayhem in close quarters than a semi-automatic rifle of any sort. “The highly-effective use of the shotgun by United States forces had a telling effect on the morale of front-line German troops. On 19 September 1918, the German government issued a diplomatic protest against the American use of shotguns, alleging that the shotgun was prohibited by the law of war.” So should we consider banning the shotgun?
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I agree with a lot of what you say but I am going to deviate with what you say as it applies to police officers. While what you say does apply to SWAT teams and other elite teams the average Police Officer, depending on the department, will have to qualify either every six months or every year. The qualification courses are not that difficult and for most an 80% is good enough. I was a cop for eleven years so I know what I’m talking about. Some cops are gun people and some are not. A large percentage shoot just enough to be proficient enough to qualify. Frequently, but not always, the people that hold concealed permits are better than the police. You made a blanket statement that cops train until they don’t make mistakes and that is patently FALSE. I can shoot with the top 20% of the cops in my county and I shoot probably 300 rounds a month and that is not really a lot. Had there been someone in that theater with a concealed carry permit, and was actually carrying, the death toll could have been much less. You notice I mentioned “actually carrying”. The majority of people that have a concealed carry license, unlike me, don’t actually carry, It’s kind of like “I can if I want to” but most never actually do. I never leave home without it in spite of the fact that in eleven years carrying a badge and another 13 years with a permit I have only pulled my gun twice. Both in the line of duty and never once as a civilian. It’s kind of like a fire extinguisher. You don’t wait till you have a fire to buy one. If you don’t always have your gun, the one time you don’t is when you will need it. Don’t put your faith in the PD. Protect yourself.
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The following is a quote from BanditLEO on the iCNN page. BanditLEO is a law enforcement officer:
Does anyone know what the one common denominator is in every massacre that has happened lately? Colorado, Sweden, Columbine, etc… The bad guys had guns and no one else did. The reason why 70 people were injured is because that city had an ordinance stating that it is a crime to carry a concealed weapon inside a business that has posted signs barring firearms. Did that stop the gunman? No it did not and thus left a room full of victims with no means to protect themselves and their loved ones. Does anyone know that in april of this last year there was another shooting in Aurora Co? No because it did not reach massacre status because an off-duty officer shot and killed the individual after he had killed his first victim. Had that off-duty officer not been there it would have been another massacre, yet one law abiding citizen with a firearm was able to end the threat quickly and with minimal lives lost.
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I have nothing against owning a hand gun or hunting rifle but I see no logical reason to own an assult rifle which is really a weapon of war and I didn’t see where you gave an reason for owning one either.
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Rae: “Assault” rifles are fully-automatic. What you are referring to are military-style SEMI-AUTOMATICS. The Second Amendment is about beating back a tyrannical government, not hunting, target-shooting, personnal protection or recreation. In order to have any chance against a tyrannical government, you need to have the same kind of firearms as they. What’re you gonna do, face their selective-fire assault weapons with revolutionary war-era flintlocks or bolt-action hunting rifles? Besides that, military-style semi-autos are the “sports cars” of firearms. They look cool and are a helluva lot of fun to shoot. I could say “why do you need that (Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.), you don’t need it to run errands or for commuting. But I bet they’re a blast to drive and they look cool.
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do you even know what an ‘assault rifle’ is?
PS: Please review the compelling testimony of Suzanna Gratia Hupp after she survived the Luby’s massacre in 1991 which took the life of 23 people, including her parents. this is really must see video for anyone throwing out any opinions (regardless of which side you are on):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1u0Byq5Qis
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The one person who says nothing and hangs back and watches the rest is the one person you better watch.I won’t tell you what training I have or what weapons I own. I will be the one hanging back watching !
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if we had taken the assault weapons out of both you and the Batman Killer’s hands, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Period. And you know it. Why do you have to have one more gun?
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th: You’re an imbecile.
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Yeah, he would have burned the place down and we would have 100s dead, no gun = not gonna do it ? Please wake up out of your stupor.
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Can you tell me the difference between his “assault” weapon and a semi auto hunting rifle ? I can, the hunting rifle would do a lot more damage, and it’s not black. We can’t buy “machine” guns as most of you liberal morons think.
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1. Mississippi is a conceal carry state. Open carry is illegal.
2. Colorado is a conceal carry state except in Aurora where handguns are illegal. This said,no one COULD carry in that theater. The man knew that he would face no opposition.
3. You never stated why you own an assault rifle.
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While you are correct in stating that one-third to one-quarter of all weapons in WWII were not fired, after the Korean War the emphasis in infantry training was to lay ‘down suppressive fire’ resulting in an almost 80% increase in returning fire at point of contact in the Vietnam War. The kill ratio also rose significantly. The point of suppressive fire is to pin down the enemy and therefore neutralize through maneuver and/or other means; such as artillery. The simple fact is that anyone, except highly trained law enforcement personnel or Military special operations units, will be hard pressed to accurately hit a target in the dark and confusion beyond twenty-five feet. However, the whole point is to shot back even if you miss as this will cause enough of a distraction on your enemies part to neutralize with extreme prejudice. The rest of your blog, is quite frankly not worth commenting on.
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You don’t own an assault weapon. You have a semi-automatic that looks like a military AK-47. Unless you can fire a 3-round burst or put it in fully automatic you do not own a military weapon.
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In the mid 70s I was a military police officer at a base in Texas. I was on the base pistol team and I taught small arms marksmanship and tactics. I spent a minimum of 30 hrs a week at the range or in comp. One night while on patrol we got a call to the base airline sales office. We posted on opposite sides of the building. The back door opened and the perp. started shooting. I returned fire. I thought I was prepared for this and I did what I was taught. when the shooting stopped I was empty and I thought I was Dead. He was empty to and ran. We caught him a few minutes later. 15 Shots were fired. The only hit found was in a tree behind me. Today I still shoot and compete and I support concealed carry, but this is not a guarantee that you will prevail. I do feel safer with guns than without and I don’t think repeal of the second amendment is the right answer. I do believe an armed society is a polite society,but don’t kid yourself into believing that its the answer to everything. You cannot stop a man who has nothing to lose.
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Frank, unless you have the proper FFL, you are a felon for owning an “assault rifle” (selective fire, by definition.
The media and politicians use these terms to pass “assault weapons” bans, so be careful with your terminology.
Yes, some soldiers did not fire their weapons. A lot did, otherwise, we would be speaking German (or, maybe Japanese).
Bill
Special Forces Veteran
Retired San Diego PD
NRA and CMP instructor
Gunsmith
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Thank you, officer. I’ve been corrected at least 30 times. Trust me, I’m no felon.
And I am grateful that we don’t speak German or Japanese. They were very hard for me to learn for fun.
As a firearms instructor, I’d love for you to weigh in on the psychology of shooting in a combat situation.
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Another person with a few guns and a good handle on the English language and he becomes and expert. Why not check the crime stats in states that allow concealed carry and write another blog about how guns do deter crime. We have know since the mid 1700s that a assailant is much less likely to attack an armed person than unarmed person. Secondly, you should understand firearms training for police officers. Usually two weeks at the academy and then qualifying once a year. The qualification involves firing 60 rounds, and by the way if they fail they can still carry a gun for a year while they practice to re-qualify. Thank the unions for that one. I shoot an average of twice a month for several hours with all of the guns I own. I am proficient with all of them and if you think I would most likely miss. Don’t think about pulling something like this if I’m in the theatre. I doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize a threat. A person, costume or not, who starts letting rounds off from a Mossberg shotgun is a threat. With one or multiple CCW owners in the theatre, that would have been a great distraction to the shooter and probably would have saved a tremendous amount of lives.
Do we want to continue to enjoy the freedoms of self preservation and determination, then we need to take the initiative to protect ourselves and our freedoms. Get a pistol permit, find a gun for yourself, practice practice practice, and let no man or government infringe on your freedoms.
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The caption on the photograph for your article negates all of frank M Taylor’s credibility: He obviously doesn’t know the difference between a box of AK-47 magazines, and a box of cartridges!
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not my picture, Duane. provided by Fox news.
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Well this certainly is a testament to the human connection we all feel towards the victims. I am a businessman and a Reserve Deputy Sheriff for 20 years now. I’ve seen my share of violence both in the Military and as an LEO. One statement rings true about this vicious act, and that is: when seconds count, the Police will be there in minutes. I understand the Police arrived within 90 seconds to the scene and nationally, we are all trained to immediately engage and “active shooter”. Unfortunately, the suspect had already inflicted mass casualties. Direct or in-direct fire towards the suspect would have had an affect. If you have ever been shot at, you know this to be true. The fact the the theater was a “gun-free” zone (as reported here)simply communicated to the suspect that he would not have to worry about return fire. I carry everywhere although my badge covers me in areas where others may not carry. If I was a civilian, I would carry no matter the case. Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. God Bless Aurora.
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Still don’t know why the author owns an “assault” rifle… I do know that the 2nd amendment in the Constitution protects every Americans right to keep and bear arms. It actually doesn’t specify which ones you can and can’t bear, so wouldn’t that mean that any definition of that sort by law is unconstitutional? It’s a bad thing when individual citizens stop working to enforce the Constitution, and start thinking it’s a good idea to allow government to strip things away from it to accomodate themselves. The US Constitution is not out-dated. It is true that is was written by a bunch of old dead guys, but those old dead guys had been there and done that (remember that silly Revolutionary war – if not get off the internet and read a freeking book). If you allow yourself to think that more anti-gun laws would have stopped what happened in Colorado then please leave my country. Don’t be a U.N citizen! Defend your Constitution!
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Its always better to have a gun and not need it then to need a gun and not have it. I like the option of having it with me in this situation. I can decide to use it or not. At least you have the option of defending yourself and others more easily against an armed nutcase if you are armed yourself.
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Add Mississippi to the list of those states where open carry is not legal. Recent ruling by state AG makes it so.
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Lots of errors in your initial post, many of which have been pointed out already. However, as a Marine Corps veteran and a former police officer, we never fired our weapons except during our annual qualification at the firing range. So assuming military and/or law enforcement personnel somehow are extremely “skilled” with their assigned duty weapon doesn’t pass muster. Now, those in a combat zone, yes. But most police officers during their entire career will never experience a shooting incident requiring them to return fire. Regarding the comment about WWII, the Chief Psychologist of the US Army did a later study regarding this same issue during the Vietnam War, the biggest problem during that conflict was “re-supply” of ammo due to the practice of soldiers firing so many rounds at the enemy (of course the demographic make up of the group of soldiers in the Vietnam War was substantially different than during WWII (WWII – average age was 24, mostly rural background, married, vs. average age under 20, single, and urban ). And for once and for all – AR 15s and AK47s use magazines not clips. And the media’s erroneous use of the term, “Assault Rifle” (based on the achronym “AR 15”) is also wrong. The “AR” in AR15 came from the Armalite company who initially developed this modern weapon, thus Armalite Rifle (or “AR” for short). And any weapon used to “assault” someone is an “assault weapon” (to include a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun, a bat, a fork, a car, etc.)
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open carry is now illegal in California too. and most can’t get permits either.
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In order to prevent tyranny you are allowed the same weapons a militia would use hence why the assault weapons ban of 94 was unconstitutional. It is not for hunting which socialist liberals love to reference. I do agree with my state requiring that CCW holders demonstrate by firing they are capable of actually hitting a target to a preset standard. I do not want incompetent shooters around me when the crap hits the fan. I had my permit 2 weeks when I was approached by a car jacker. Although I am a war veteran of several conflicts I am over 50 so I am not in the condition I once was. The pistol deterred the criminal and made him run for his life. He knew a 38+P and the body language on my face was enough to make him leave. I have killed plenty of people in my time and there are many who while serving have never fired a shot.
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Interesting read Frank. I used to live about 5 minutes from Aurora Town Center when I was going to graduate school at UCHSC,so this hits a bit close to home for me.
While I agree with you on the point that gun bans do nothing, I disagree with you on the issues with CCW and your assertion that a carrying CCW holder would not have changed a thing. While target shooting does not totally prepare you for a combat situation, having a gun and the ability to defend yourself is better than not. Yes some folks would not pull the trigger in that situation. Some folks would totally miss their target. But that is totally missing the point. With a gun, you have a fighting chance, without one, you are at the non-existent mercy of your attacker. Yes, many folk would have intially froze at the first sound of gunfire. But I don’t believe in your assertion that everyone would have been non-functional in that situation.
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What Drivel. So you are saying that just because I can’t compete on a NASCAR level that am unqualified to drive my hometown roads? Because I can’t cook like the Iron Chef I should just settle for dining at Mickie D’s? I’m not Norm Abraham so I should not pick up a screwdriver?
Your answer is to leave the solemn duty of self defense to a group of paid professionals who are only minutes away?
I suggest you cease writing until you are Ernest Hemingway.
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One of the best response on here bud.
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Frank, the problem with the premise of your article is the first rule of politics: Never let a crisis go to waste.
Also, I heard that while it might be legal to CC in theaters in CO, wasn’t this one posted as a gun free zone?
Further, whether anyone was armed or not… he dumped tear gas in first. See the SOB in the fog of that with the crush of people would have limited any response.
I have been for CC since the day a man tried bashing into my home in the middle of the night and two PD’s 9-1-1 operators couldn’t decide which jurisdiction I was in… on the 6th volley to the first operator I armed myself. I now live elsewhere.
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So what about those of us that have been in a fire-fight? That are as (and often MORE) proficient than police. They usually only have to qualify once a year. Same with military (that aren’t in combat). I agree with you that it shouldn’t be politicized… but then again, it’s not gun owners that typically politicize such tragedies. It’s gun-grabers, to which we must respond. You don’t have to be political to simply state: “I wish more law-abiding citizens with guns were around, maybe people would re-think their evil plans, or if nothing else, they could be taken out early.”
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You are a blowhard … get a life.
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Frank, Thank you for a well written expression of your thoughts.
You seem to have attracted a tribe of trolls from both sides of the issue, mostly misinformed and reacting emotionally.
Personally, I don’t approve of totally gun free zones for theaters and other venues which concentrate hundreds of potential victims into free-fire kill zones for the crazy. Letting trained employees and off duty police officers carry concealed, and advertizing same, certainly would give a shooter pause. That the shooter might face a bullet themselves should be a deterrent whether an audience member is carrying or not. Concealed is important as a single obviously armed officer just becomes the first victim.
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You don’t know what your talking about, which is probably why you were run out of Texas. You need to try and carry a gun in Aurora, and they will make you wish you where still in Texas. Aurora has the most incompetent cops in Colorado, and few could hit anything if they had too.
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Part of this is on the fox new website with the title “Why I own an assault rifle.” I don’t believe you explained why you own an assault rifle and I don’t understand why anyone would need to own an assault rifle. I also realize you didn’t create the fox news title, but it’s misleading.