Commentary: Gun control is not a political issue

Just one thing to remember when you vote in November - Anybody except Obama

Yes call me a racist - I'm for the American race. No citizen should have a hyphen in front of American. Your doctor is the only person that needs to know what nationality you are for medical reasons. An American owe's No Allegiance to another country. immegrants signed an oath of allegiance when they became citizens. It's automatic if you were born in the USA. There isn't any "Dual Citizenship American" yet Obama claims he is. That is yet another lie and something else to have sealed from public view.

Your asking a gun sportsman to use one gun on all targets - Now go tell a fisherman to use only one or two kinds of tools to catch fish.

What's with you right wing nuts! Can't we have an intelligent discussion about ANYTHING! I said hunters can have the ability to BUY four more guns. How many different kinds of guns does a hunter need!? I said EVERYONE can keep the guns they already HAVE! I'm sure you hunters and gun nuts ALREADY have a LOT of guns already. However sadly this conversation is going nowhere because the so called politicians in Washington are refusing to even address this issue which shows how useless our government is when it comes to solving our problems. The only question we got is who is going to be shot next!?

Right Now your freedom is being taken away from you by a socialist POTUS
Right Now your Government is forcing you to buy medical insurance. Next - The Government can force a tax on you for buying a gasoline powered vechicle for not buying an electric one. - The door is open don't let the horses out.

You're absolutely right. It had nothing to do with just anyone being a buy an unlimited number of guns at any gun store with a background check only taking THIRTY MINUTES.

The guy was covered in armor from head to toe. No amount of guns in the hands of the other patrons would have done a damn thing.

You are stating the facts as you would like them to be to suit your own beliefs.

Hi there! Thanks for replying.

Yes, you can buy a lot of guns, and if you do you will get flagged by the FBI. That i how they knew that people were buying a lot of guns during Fast and Furious. But that is not really what you're saying, is it?

No, I think what you're saying is that people have guns, and you don't like that. I wish I could say I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm not. You get the freedom in this nation to feel any way you please. You can feel any way you want, and do anything you want, and go anywhere you want to. I'm glad of that, I really am.

I would like to ask if you could respect my rights as well. but for some reason I doubt very much you will, manners are, well, some people just lack them.

But let me address your points.

I've seen a man shoot a weapon so fast that two rounds sounded like one. Nope, not a fancy newfangled slide action killing machine, but an old western style Cowboy Action gun that was older than you, me, and two of our grandpa's combined. Well, not quite that old, but it was up there. He was able to shoot it super fast, and reload super fast. I've seen modern weapons shoot fast enough manually to rival some machine guns. Now, given that there are about 750 million guns in the USA, enough for every man, woman and child to have two, you are not going to get rid of guns, ever.

But to address your issues.

I went to the movies and saw Batman. I was armed. I was not the only one that was, and the Sheriff's deputy that saw us nodded and then went back to his conversation. I looked at the theater and came to some conclusions.

First, let me tell you about my weapon. Now don't blush, it's a nice one. It's a SCCY 9mm. It;s very light weight, conceals well under my clothing, but leaves just enough bump to let people know I'm armed. I prefer people to know I'm armed. You might understand why, you might not, but you're young, you have time.

The weapon can be drawn in about three seconds if my shirt is in the way, two if it isn't. The rounds it fires carry 337 ft lbs of energy, and that means that it has enough force in the round to move a man who weighs 337 lbs one foot backward. It is about like getting hit in the chest with a 20 lb sledgehammer hard enough to lift you off your feet and back about a foot and a half if you are 250 lbs. The vest does distribute that force outward, but many of the people who get shot with a gun in a vest will tell you, it hurts, knocks the wind out of you, and can leave some nasty bruises. In some cases, it will also knock you out due to blood displacement when the sudden force hits the person in the chest. The vest does not protect you from the effects, it just keeps you alive.

Most theaters that seat the people written about are about 50 feet wide. They have a stadium profile which lets you see clearly to the front. The shooter was at the emergency exit at the front. He was shooting upwards into the crowd, with a goofy AR-15, standing in smoke, wearing a gas mask. He was ridiculous looking, and knew it. He was also clearly visible and an easy target. To make matters even better, he was standing with his back against a concrete wall.

Ranges generally have pistol targets. The 15 meter target is a little under 40 feet away. That is the target that even amateurs can hit near the bullseye. You've never shot a gun, so you don't know, but like I said, you're young, you'll learn.

The lights were bright enough to see the shooter. There was a clear line of sight if someone were willing to wait a few seconds after the panic started. The shooter was nearly blind, was shooting a rifle he could not even aim with the mask on, and was shooting through his own smoke. He was unskilled, and the only reason he hit people at all was that there were so many of them. ONE SHOT from an audience member. Just ONE SHOT could have stopped him. the defender didn't even need to worry about what was behind the gunman, because the blocks can stop the rounds.

So I'm glad you think I have no idea what I'm talking about, but trust me, I do.

Those people died because one man decided to kill a bunch of people, and because some theater and politician thought it was a good idea to disarm a bunch of people and leave them defenseless.

Do yourself a favor. Find a gun range somewhere and put on a pro-prez shirt and go there. Oh, don't worry, you'll meet a lot of good people who will look at you a little funny, then offer to let you shoot their weapons. I've seen it happen, even made a few friends like that. Anyway, go shoot a little, talk to some real people (and keep the attitude down, we're a it upset at being made targets lately) and educate yourself. If you lived close to me, I would let you shoot my black powder Penn Long Rifle, it's GREAT! (and makes a LOT of smoke, lol)

Best of luck to you, and remember, you are responsible for yourself, no one else is.

Actually, they might have. Do you know what ballistic rating his body armor was? There is no such thing as a bullet proof vest.

Maybe if the whole Colorado National Guard had been in there.

Honestly, I could not care less whether or you own a gun or what kind of gun you own. You are clearly an expert on guns, their arsenals, and their firing ranges. But that is not the issue. The issue is that there is something horribly with the system when a civilian can purchase that kind of military grade rifle with very little questions asked.

Oh, not an expert, just shoot on occasion and have a CCW license. The license training covers a lot, and I like to study and learn.

A civilian did not purchase a military grade rifle. He had a civilian AR-15 which is a fancy plinking rifle.

Best of luck to you.

Little off topic aren't you?

this may not be a gun topic either but it could control Government. turn government back to the people using the internet and elect web moderators - let everyone use their own voice to run the country by consent of the people - Why settle for 543 voices when you can have 400 million voting on a servey with one click

I like your idea! We need to explore and implement other ways on how we are governed, especially with the technology we now possess! But good luck getting rid of the politicians receiving huge corporate $'s. They would impede every attempt to change our currently broken, antiquated, and inefficient way of governing.

Editing and proofreading is such a lost art …...

"if we outlaw guns, only criminals will have guns." I've heard that ridiculous slogan for 40 years.

1. Reasonable people are not asking that guns be outlawed, just regulated and limited.

2. Yes, criminals will still have illegal guns. Does the fact that some drivers exceed the speed limit make speed laws pointless?

You are naive if you believe that the shooter was the only one in that theater with a gun.

You are even more naive if you think someone shooting back would've solved anything.

As soon as they had in hand, The nearest light pole and some rope would have served justice, Without taxpayer funds and political posturing.

That is complete exaggeration and you know it. The shooting in Colorado was another example of something horribly wrong with existing gun laws, or lack thereof. There are no permit laws and no limits on the number of guns an individual can purchase. Pointing that out is nowhere to "shouting that no one should have a gun."
And by your logic, criminals are just going break the law anyway, so why even differentiating what's legal and illegal?

What part of leave my guns alone do you not understand - 2 amendment - Crime = Commit a crime and be punished approprately. It's the Law not a political view.

What part of pointing out how lax Colorado's gun laws are is nowhere near the same as "shouting that no one should have a gun" do YOU not understand?

What do you mean that there are no limits on permits? You obviously don't know about the expensive classes and lengthy background checks required to get a permit. People are arrested for carrying firearms where it is illegal.

Obviously, son, that is not the case in Aurora, Colorado. The background check at the store where the shooter purchased the rifle has only a thirty minute background check and no limits on how many can be purchased. Of course, there are plenty of ways to purchase a gun without a background check.

http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/videos/how-to-buy-an-ar-15-without-a-ba...

Ignoring the completely bigoted and moronic implications of calling me son; who is talking about buying guns? We're talking about permits, remember? You said, and I quote: "There are no permit laws" You are wrong. There are. Concealed Carry permits are expensive and time consuming to get, and the classes required to receive them teach not only where it is legally acceptable to carry, but also shooting courses to teach when and where it is safe and appropriate to shoot.

I meant in the municipality the shooter IN THE MOVIE THEATER bought the gun. I admit I was negligent in not making that clear, but I would think in this particular context it would be obvious I was referring to where the perp bought the gun. I am well aware there are gun permit laws, but that does not mean they are all the same.

Actually, ratings go up when someone says that guns kill people... Or when people say they don't support gay rights, but that's a completely different topic.

I HONESTLY do not care why the NRA advocates for my Second Amendment rights so long as they do so!

My point is the NRA is just another corporate-fed PAC. When they decide it's more profitable to change their position, all your 2nd Amendment rights will be tossed aside just like sensible gun control.

The NRA is a non-profit organization who's sole purpose is to advocate for gun rights and safety. Sure, they're sponsored by gun companies, that's just good business on both sides. They were founded a century and a half ago not to make money, but to defend our rights.

Was that a "cut and paste" off their web site or copied from the back of your NRA membership card? You have not been paying attention the last 20 years or so. Unfortunately, a radical fringe element has taken over - spouting their paranoia, fear, and conspiracy theories. They do not care about your "gun rights" and little about safety. The only "gun right" the NRA cares about is your right to buy as many guns as you want! If they are so concerned with safety, how come they don't support even low-tech gun locks? How come they don't support even common sense regulation? The only legislation they have proposed, passed, or allowed to expire is for the easier sale of guns - not one bit for safety or common sense. The words NRA and non-profit in the same sentence? That is comical. The NRA is smiling right now - business has been good lately ……

I don't live in the United Nations, I live in the United States. I would appreciate it is foreign powers would stop trying to dictate to me how I should live my life. I don't understand what is meant by controlling the human population. How is empowering people by extending their rights controlling them? Does limiting their rights free them?

Practice does not necessarily make perfect, but it does normally make permanent. This is why I target shoot at least 8 hours a month at least 2 of those are Tactical Shooting. I am, not going to say that a "TRAINED" shooter is always going to save the day, but there are MANY times when we will.

How would you know? Have you ever even fired a firearm? You should go skeet shooting. I think you are drastically underestimating the skills of trained shooters.

You are not the only one. I actually know people that practice six to eight hours a week. That's not unusual either.