It's hard to believe I know but listen:
"Conservative commentator Bill Kristol today on Fox News Sunday said that Democrats are “being foolish” by not proposing sensible gun regulations. “People have a right to handguns and hunting rifles,” Kristol said, “I don’t think they have a right to semi-automatic, quazi-machine guns that can shoot hundred bullets at a time. And I actually think the Democrats are being foolish as they are being cowardly. I think there is support for some moderate forms of gun control if they separate clearly from a desire to take away everyone’s handguns or hunting rifles. …President Obama on this one is just unwilling to take a strong stance.”
http://thinkprogress.org/?mobile=nc
Geez, I couldn't have said it better myself.
However, many are arguing that we should "consider everything" except gun control. Like John McCain:
"We had a ban on assault weapons, it didn’t change the situation at all in my view…. Look, I think that the strongest second amendment rights people would be glad to have a conversation. But to somehow leap to the conclusion that this was somehow caused by the fact that we don’t have more gun control legislation I don’t think has been proved."
Kristol may even have a point about the President and the Democrats but no doubt it's also a testimony to the power of the NRA. I mean we just saw the Attorney General held in Contempt for the first time in U.S. history based on the conspiracies of the NRA. Not surprising if no one wants to take them on right now.
You get a lot of people right now claiming that there is some kind of "rush to judgment" that guns are the problem as McCain says. But, the rush to judgment are those like the Senator who rule out even considering the question.
I mean judging by what I've heard.the only answer that those who rule out gun control out of hand have is that somehow we all need to become trained mental health experts who report when they see anyone acting weird before the said weird person kills lots of people. Sure, what could be more scientific than that? Meanwhile, the Batman Killer seemed outwardly to be very well adjusted. He was very bright and was an advanced science student.
However, reading about the careful, intricate planning he put into this attack, authorities say he planned this for months, begs Kristol's point-why should private civilians be free to buy assault weapons, so-called cop killer bullets, much less arm themselves to the teeth with explosives?
"The shooting suspect accused in a deadly rampage inside a Colorado theater planned the attack with "calculation and deliberation", police said on Saturday, receiving deliveries by mail that authorities believe armed him for battle and were used to rig his apartment with dozens of bombs."
"Meanwhile, new details about James Holmes emerged, including summer jobs the suspect held in Southern California as a camp counselor and as an intern at a prominent research institute."
"In Aurora, investigators spent hours on Saturday removing explosive materials from inside Holmes' suburban Denver apartment a day after police said he opened fire and set off gas canisters in a theater minutes into a premiere of the Batman film 'The Dark Knight Rises' . The attack left 12 people dead and 58 injured. His apartment was rigged with jars of liquids, explosives and chemicals that were booby trapped to kill "whoever entered it" , Aurora police chief Dan Oates said, noting it would have likely been one of his officers."
"Holmes received several mail deliveries over four months to his home and school and bought thousands rounds of ammunition on the internet. "He had a high volume of deliveries," Oates said. "We think this explains how he got his hands on the magazine, ammunition," he said. "What we're seeing here is evidence of some calculation and deliberation."
"Inside the apartment, FBI special agent James Yacone said bomb technicians neutralized what he called a "hyperbolic mixture" and an improvised explosive device containing an unknown substance . There also were multiple containers of accelerants."
"It was an extremely dangerous environment," Yacone said, noting that anyone who walked in would have sustained "significant injuries" or been killed. By afternoon, all hazards have been removed from Holmes' apartment and residents in surrounding buildings were allowed to return home, police said. Inside the flat, authorities began covering the windows with black plastic. About 8 pm, police left the building.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Colorado-killer-planned-attack-for-months/articleshow/15099999.cms
As bad as it was-Holmes was a must successful mass murderer, killing at least 12 while injuring 58-it could have been worse. What saved a lot of lives was that his semiautomatic rifle jammed:
"The semiautomatic assault rifle used by the gunman, James Holmes, in a mass shooting at a midnight showing of the latest Batman movie jammed during the attack, a federal law enforcement official said, which forced the shooter to switch to another gun with less fire power. The official said that the disabled weapon had a high-capacity ammunition magazine."
Remember how hard the NRA fought a simple safety lock? So Holmes was able to arm himself enough for a small war zone. But there's nothing to do about it. We should just call the police if we think somebody "looks weird." I mean only people who look weird end up being mass murderers. What a simple job law enforcement is.
That will stop the next Columbine-this being the second for Colorado.
Something like Colorado is very disappointing in some ways, obviously. I mean what could possible have been in Mr. Holmes' heart that would make him want to hurt so many of his fellow humans? Not people who had ever done anything to him either. It's hard to understand what kind of hurt and emptiness can lead someone to feel like this is the only thing that will make themselves feel better.
I don't discout that there is something like "evil." However, we can't legislate that there will be no "evil" people or even less that there will be no unbalanced people. What we can do is think about how it was that all these explosives was available to someone like this.
If this was a bad day for humanity, it was also uplfiting in some ways as well. It's so easy to lose sight of the good that people do. Even in this tragedy there was a lot to uplift us and makes give us hope for the human condition.
Those three guys who literally gave their lives to save their girlfriends sure are inspiring. I mean it's heartbreaking that they couldn't make it too, but is there a more honorable way to die?
There are many vicitims that we have been deprived the opportunity to ever know, thanks to Mr. Holmes' actions.
Like 6 year old Veronica Monica-Sullivan who was so excited to get to see the movie. Her mother is still in intensive care but has been told of her daughter's death.
Or the aspiring sportscaster and hockey blogger Jessica Ghawi.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/21/12858258-6-year-old-girl-sailor-aspiring-broadcaster-among-colorado-shooting-victims?lite
There was an interivew of her male friend on MSNBC. He said she had wanted him to go with her but he begged off. He actaully received her last tweet 10 minutes before the movie started, chiding him that there was still time.
Here is her twitter page.
https://twitter.com/JessicaRedfield
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