Slog Comments
Well Regulated Militia Leaves Loaded Handgun in Crowded Theater
1
The NRA promises this would not happen to teachers carrying around loaded guns in schools. It only happens never, and guns aren't dangerous.
3
I've always wondered what the framers meant by a "well regulated militia". Seems like we don't regulate ours at all. Perhaps we regulate them down to pitchforks until they can show some responsibility.
4
Fine Goldy we should arrest and charge morons like this. Even revoke the CCW. Just don't fool yourself into thinking that you will ever infringe on our right to carry or own a handgun if we so choose. You'll notice that anywhere you try this your homies get their ass handed to them in court. See Chicago, DC, Mike McTwit. By all means though keep pouring that whine.
6
@4: All gun owners are one easy mistake or one stroke of bad luck away from becoming "morons like this."
7
When leaving a loaded gun lying around in a theater is a outlawed only outlaws will leave loaded guns lying around in theaters.
8
Can we make it a law to charge any civilian who is found to be carrying a semi-automatic handgun with a round chambered and/or the safety off? And possibly even any civilian who carries a revolver with a round in the active chamber (whatever the correct term for that is)?
9
If this kind of thing happens at Disney World/Land (someone leaves a gun on the ride, etc) I hope that the person gets kicked out, never allowed to return, fined by city and disney, and whatever else I can't think of.
10
Guns don't kill people. Irresponsible, undersupervised five year olds who reach down to pick up something they find randomly lying on the floor of movie theaters kill people. The snotty little felons.
12
Clearly the answer is to arm the minimum-wage employees of movie theaters. More guns will make us all safer, obvs.
13
Of course the real crime is that somebody handled his gun without his permission. Throw the kids in jail. That'll teach 'em.
17
I'm sensing a possible new regular feature along the lines of "Youth Pastor Watch" and "Every child deserves a mother and a father". Make a post titled "The Well Regulated Militia does ______________" whenever a dumbass gun story happens.
18
@Warren: Anyone who carries WITHOUT a round in the chamber has judgment so poor they shouldn't be allowed to touch a weapon. In the event where you need to use your weapon, you won't have time to rack the slide (presuming you even have the use of both arms). In the time it takes an average person to draw a weapon from concealment, an attacker (with a knife, arms, or any other weapon) can move 7 yards.
19
@15: excellent. All the more likely then we can try the kid as an adult, if he should kick a gun lying on the floor, set it off, and kill someone.
21
@18
Is there any way we could arrange for you to become the NRA poster child? Could you go on TV?
It's just a very enlightening point of view and it would be a shame if more people couldn't hear you say it. A lot of Americans aren't so sure where they stand on gun control and I think you're just the guy to settle it for them.
Is there any way we could arrange for you to become the NRA poster child? Could you go on TV?
It's just a very enlightening point of view and it would be a shame if more people couldn't hear you say it. A lot of Americans aren't so sure where they stand on gun control and I think you're just the guy to settle it for them.
22
I'm sure that there were many successful movie visits where the CCW holder *didn't* lose his loaded, safety-off handgun, so that should counteract this moron's transgression.
That should make it all better.
That should make it all better.
24
#14 - if postings like this are going to be your regular thing from now on, you may be my new favorite.
25
Many handguns like Glocks, don't have safety. On purpose. Because when adrenaline hits - people forget to turn them off. Same reason for a round in a chamber. You need to be able to pull it out and pull the trigger, without any extra steps in between. Now, to prevent an accidental discharge - you carry one in a HOLSTER. Which covers the trigger, and prevents accidents. How is dumb ass managed to leave in in a theater - likely because he's a dumb ass.
26
If only the gun had gone off accidentally (what with the safety being off) in his pants while the eejit was concealed carrying it during the movie. People like that don't need to be breeding.
27
This FBI site with crosstab gives you some idea of the oddity of this crime, 19 year old attacking 6/7 year olds.
http://ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/asp/vic…
Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2010
Table: Year of incident by Age of victim for United States
Selecting:
Year of incident = 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Age of victim = 6 to 11
Sex of victim = Male, Female
Race of victim = White, Black, Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Nat. Hawaiian/Pac Isl
Victim-Offender relationship = Acquaintance, Stranger
Weapon used = Firearm
Number of offenders = One
Age of oldest offender = 18 to 24
Sex of oldest offender = Male, Female
Race of oldest offender = White, Black, Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Nat. Hawaiian/Pac Isl
Count 6 to 11 Total
2000 1 1
2001 2 2
2002 7 7
2003 0 0
2004 3 3
2005 4 4
2006 6 6
2007 2 2
2008 2 2
2009 0 0
2010 2 2
Total 31 31
http://ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/asp/vic…
Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2010
Table: Year of incident by Age of victim for United States
Selecting:
Year of incident = 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Age of victim = 6 to 11
Sex of victim = Male, Female
Race of victim = White, Black, Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Nat. Hawaiian/Pac Isl
Victim-Offender relationship = Acquaintance, Stranger
Weapon used = Firearm
Number of offenders = One
Age of oldest offender = 18 to 24
Sex of oldest offender = Male, Female
Race of oldest offender = White, Black, Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Nat. Hawaiian/Pac Isl
Count 6 to 11 Total
2000 1 1
2001 2 2
2002 7 7
2003 0 0
2004 3 3
2005 4 4
2006 6 6
2007 2 2
2008 2 2
2009 0 0
2010 2 2
Total 31 31
28
Strip him of his CPL and make him attend a mandatory safety class.
Also it seems Goldy likes to confuse "what if" with "what is."
Also it seems Goldy likes to confuse "what if" with "what is."
29
@18: can we at agree that the safety should have been on? at least inside the theatre, and then he could take it off for the treacherous walk through the parking lot to his car?
31
@29
Most modern handguns have integral safety features, not a safety that can be turned on and off. Personally I external mechanical on/of safety can instill a false sense of security that keeps people from KEEPING THEIR GODDAM FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER.
Most modern handguns have integral safety features, not a safety that can be turned on and off. Personally I external mechanical on/of safety can instill a false sense of security that keeps people from KEEPING THEIR GODDAM FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER.
32
@31
Stick to bitching about dinner menus if you're not going to learn to communicate in English, please.
Stick to bitching about dinner menus if you're not going to learn to communicate in English, please.
33
@25: Sure, but when adrenaline is running high, people tend to fumble around with a holster, possibly even dropping the gun in the process. Also, keep in mind that your enemy will often have surprise and planning on his side. By the time you wrestle your glock out of that holster, he'll have pumped 10 rounds into you and begun raping your wife. Is that the last thing you want to see when you die?
Really, the only sure way to protect yourself is to buy an assault rifle, keep it fully loaded and drawn, and then preemptively shoot everyone you encounter.
Really, the only sure way to protect yourself is to buy an assault rifle, keep it fully loaded and drawn, and then preemptively shoot everyone you encounter.
34
@8
Like @31 said, many handguns have integrated safties. For example, I have shot a Glock with a trigger safety. You must put your finger on the trigger to disengage a lever that is part of the trigger but mechanically acts totally seperatly to release the safety. Otherwise the safety is always on.
The problem is not all pistols have integrated safeties and it sounds like this idot's did not. We could mandate that all handguns for use in concealed carry have such integral safety systems. That would probably work better than trying to enforce a fine on carrying with the safety off.
Like @31 said, many handguns have integrated safties. For example, I have shot a Glock with a trigger safety. You must put your finger on the trigger to disengage a lever that is part of the trigger but mechanically acts totally seperatly to release the safety. Otherwise the safety is always on.
The problem is not all pistols have integrated safeties and it sounds like this idot's did not. We could mandate that all handguns for use in concealed carry have such integral safety systems. That would probably work better than trying to enforce a fine on carrying with the safety off.
35
@18
Your statement leaves me feeling like handguns are not really an effective way to protect oneself. 7 yards? Sounds like most people would be dead before they had the gun out of their pants. And what about aiming? This whole personal protection thing seems under thought. Maybe you should start carrying a knife like the evil dentist in Marathon Man. Now that's probably a lot more effective.
Your statement leaves me feeling like handguns are not really an effective way to protect oneself. 7 yards? Sounds like most people would be dead before they had the gun out of their pants. And what about aiming? This whole personal protection thing seems under thought. Maybe you should start carrying a knife like the evil dentist in Marathon Man. Now that's probably a lot more effective.
36
@#29 you obviously missed the unregistered comment #25, saying that it's important to your self defense that your gun have a round chambered and its safety off - otherwise you might not manage to perforate your general environs rapidly enough when startled.
These sick, sick people obviously live in a fantasy world where they're performing quick-draws and firing with pinpoint accuracy in response to menacing assaults. I will admit that I have the good fortune never to have been mugged, but I'm pretty sure that the mugger doesn't typically issue demand from 20 feet away and unarmed, as in #18's comment - and I'm pretty sure that when the mugger does accost you from a couple of feet away you're not going to have time to reach your concealed holster and unfasten its flap; the sudden movement is likely to get you stabbed, or (since we live in the world the gun nuts desire) to get you shot, by a mugger who will have initiated the confrontation within range and prepared to act. Their weapon isn't going to be concealed and safed.
Obviously, the answer is for everyone to be not merely carrying concealed, but brandishing a weapon, popping off a couple of warning shots whenever someone comes too close, especially if they seem threatening - for example, if they're brandishing a weapon and popping off warning shots.
These sick, sick people obviously live in a fantasy world where they're performing quick-draws and firing with pinpoint accuracy in response to menacing assaults. I will admit that I have the good fortune never to have been mugged, but I'm pretty sure that the mugger doesn't typically issue demand from 20 feet away and unarmed, as in #18's comment - and I'm pretty sure that when the mugger does accost you from a couple of feet away you're not going to have time to reach your concealed holster and unfasten its flap; the sudden movement is likely to get you stabbed, or (since we live in the world the gun nuts desire) to get you shot, by a mugger who will have initiated the confrontation within range and prepared to act. Their weapon isn't going to be concealed and safed.
Obviously, the answer is for everyone to be not merely carrying concealed, but brandishing a weapon, popping off a couple of warning shots whenever someone comes too close, especially if they seem threatening - for example, if they're brandishing a weapon and popping off warning shots.
37
Everything turned out alright because there were probably enough men in the theater to handle the situation...too many women, and who knows what mayhem would've ensued.
38
Everything turned out alright because someone thought to teach kids what to do if you find a gun. Which is still a good idea no matter your stance on gun control.
39
@29 - Don't you mean "the treacherous walk through the parking lot to his SUV that he bought because there might be a puddle he'd have to drive through on the way home"?
40
Are gun nuts a close evolutionary cousin of Star Trek nerds? Both are always launching into discussions on semantic minutiae and technical details nobody gives a flying flopping fuck about as if it's actual useful knowledge.
41
@29
"can we at agree that the safety should have been on?"
I'd agree first off that the guy is an idiot.
Secondly that he should lose his concealed carry permit.
Thirdly that anyone who brings a gun to a movie theater also falls within the above two items.
Finally, yes, the safety should have been on.
"can we at agree that the safety should have been on?"
I'd agree first off that the guy is an idiot.
Secondly that he should lose his concealed carry permit.
Thirdly that anyone who brings a gun to a movie theater also falls within the above two items.
Finally, yes, the safety should have been on.
43
I think we're all missing the most important point, how did the theatre staff not clean the place well enough to notice a fucking gun between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning? Somebody need to be fired for that for sure.
44
@36 Having been mugged, here's how it goes. They walk up to you asking for a cigarette. A few yards before they reach you there's a tingling of feeling in your bones that you should run away - but you're not sure yet if you're just being paranoid. I suppose this is where you start to pull your gun out on what could be harmless strangers. But more likely they've punched you on the side of the head before you've had a chance to do anything.
46
@45: precisely. This is what cracks me up about all the macho posturing that the gun freaks engage in...in real life, they've been mugged and deprived of their wallet and gun before they have a chance to use it. Or else they go all George Zimmerman and preemptively kill.
49
@45, and now you get to be proud knowing your gun just got sold to some gang member in a distant state who's going to kill someone with it and then throw it in the Tennessee River. And in the meantime you go to the gun store and buy another one so you can repeat the charade again. Brave patriot that you are. Close follower of Jeeesus.
50
When I used to live in a shitty neighborhood, the kind where all of my roommates got mugged. I had the most amazing giant dog. I think he was a newfy-pit mix. 140 pounds of gigantic shag. Walking around with him was awesome. Never got missed with. Plus, he was totally safe with kids. Bottom line: If you're scared get a huge dog. RIP Freddy. You were dope.
51
@43: In the full story, the kid sits down and hears a clunk, so the gun must have been trapped in the folded-up seat or along the side until additional movement let it drop to the floor.
52
@51 I'm hoping he was being sarcastic. Movie workers are teenagers thus you should expect the bare minimum to be begrudgingly done with as many eyerolls and 'I could run this place's as a youth could muster.
53
Good thing it was a 14 year old who found it and that person had the wherewithal to not shoot themselves in the head. Cause that can happen with guns, unfortunately.
54
Conceal carry permits are about signing up with enough money on the right day to the right person. There's nothing that makes a conceal carry permit person any less dangerous with a gun. This is fucking stupid. This makes every conceal carry permit utterly fucking useless. It means nothing. It needs to be removed from the system as it currently stands. Make someone take a class. Make sure someone won't leave their gun where children are. For fucks sake, we're talking about a weapon that was designed to kill humans efficiently, CAN WE PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN STOP GIVING THEM THIS MUCH ACCESS TO THIS MUCH FIREPOWER. For fucks sake, I get that adults can have a second amendment rights but fucking children? This isn't Iran assholes.
55
@28, you keep throwing off shit like this but you have no intention of following up on it. "Strip him of his CPL" -- how, exactly? This is how you lie. This is how you fake it. You have made it plain as day that you think current gun law is perfectly adequate. You're a liar in your heart.
58
Tell you what, guys. Now that gay equality will soon be over the hump, let's make guns the next wedge issue that allows Democrats to divert attention from the fact that they've pushed through a more-costly-than-ever for-profit "universal" health-care reform that leaves 30 million completely uninsured and more than that badly underinsured; that they've presided over the biggest drop in Black and Hispanic household wealth in the country's history; that they're angling for ways to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; and that they've basically done not one damn thing to start reversing the top 1%'s capture of virtually all of the country's new income and wealth since 1980. Democrats are against flash suppressors, pistol grips, and folding stocks! They understand the crucial difference between one 20-round magazine and two 10-round magazines! They may not be perfect, but by God, they hate guns so they're liberal and they're our friends! In fact, this issue (along with the Frank Luntzian "fiscal cliff") may just be so damn important that the Senate won't even have time at the beginning of the 113th Congress to consider doing anything about the filibuster and the personal hold! And if that gives Dems another two years of excuses for why they can't actually do any of that little-people stuff they pretend to care about, well that's just collateral damage from being truly liberal. Great diversionary work, guys, on behalf of the plutocrats who run the Democratic Party behind the scenes. It's stuff like this that makes them win regardless of who gets elected.
[Just to forestall inevitable projection and villification from other readers, I had better point out that I support gay equality, abortion rights, legal pot, smart gun control, and a whole host of other "liberal" causes. I'm just appalled that economic justice, health justice, and plutocratic corruption of government and media have been eclipsed and left by the wayside in their pursuit.]
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[Just to forestall inevitable projection and villification from other readers, I had better point out that I support gay equality, abortion rights, legal pot, smart gun control, and a whole host of other "liberal" causes. I'm just appalled that economic justice, health justice, and plutocratic corruption of government and media have been eclipsed and left by the wayside in their pursuit.]
59
This is nothing compared to Arizona. People live like it's the wild fucking west out there. No joke. It's fucking scary.
60
There are SO many ways this could have ended badly: kid gets shot; kid hides/steals gun and gets shot or shoots someone later; the person who finds the gun is insane and shoots up the theater. But, of course, this is only "an outrage" if an innocent gets killed. Since this didn't end in catastrophe, any mention of this story is just another way liberals are exaggerating the danger of guns.
61
Is this guy one of those "good guys" I keep hearing about that should be carrying a gun, making all this fuss over this gun OK!
62
He did indeed get his concealed carry permit revoked.
While I would ideally have liked to see him exiled to Siberia and working in a salt mine, that's near enough to a win to satisfy me.
While I would ideally have liked to see him exiled to Siberia and working in a salt mine, that's near enough to a win to satisfy me.
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