Perhaps if the perp had seen his victims shooting back, he may have beat feet out the way he came in.

Out of that entire movie theater, don't you think there would have been ONE off-duty police officer? Most cities, I believe, have their off-duty officers carry a concealed pistol.

It's not for any of us armchair CCW carriers to decide which little lady, child or senior citizen would be "a good enough shot" when cornered in a massacre like THIS:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1u0Byq5Qis]Suzanna Gratia Hupp explains meaning of 2nd Amendment! - YouTube[/ame]

Well, I hope that more cops who are off duty bring their guns along when they go to movies, church, the mall, etc. Just make sure that the theater or whatever management know who is who that has the firearm.

You can not convert an M16 to full auto very easy. Best read up on what it takes before making that statement.

Another thing, assault rifle is a term used, that has no meaning. The civilian version of the M16, semi auto is not an assault rifle. Look the term assault rifle up, then come on back and tell me what it is.

Educate yourself on the correct terms and stop listening to the media who would not know a sling shot from a cannon.

Figgy, go on Google and type in "how to convert M16 to full auto" and a slew of information comes up. I did not download it since I do not want that crap on my hard drive. It obviously is not too difficult. And why should I read up on the subject before making the statement? Am I going to get sued by a criminal who was not able to convert his weapon?

Assault rifle to most people is the term used for the M16 and such weapons. They may not have the bayonet mounts and a few little features but the general idea stands. Don't get your tighty-whiteys in a bunch over semantics when everyone knows what is meant.

Obviously, this shooter in Colorado had enough ammunition and magazines loaded to put a great deal of firepower out since over 70 people were wounded and at least 12 killed. Even if the rifle was not the military definition of assault rifle, it sure assaulted the heck out of over 80 people.

Buggy, don't believe everything you read on the internet. Ain't true about the easy conversion.

Word mean different things, use the correct word and the meaning of a sentence changes just as using some meaningless word changes the whole idea.

I found this interesting.

Lone Gunmen Always a Law Enforcement Challenge - ABC News

Articles in various papers say Holmes' assault rifle jammed.
 

Official says assault rifle used in Colorado shooting jammed, forced suspect to use gun

Thank God that Holmes was a novice to the world of guns and bought an assualt rifle that jams.

If guns were available, I believe this man would have tried bombs or some kind of chemical weapon to do his evil. Some people are simply rotten.

Buggy, I went on line and read a few of the articles. It can be done, but Figmo is right, it is not easy. You would first need to get the plans and parts, second have access to a well equipped machine shop and third know how to used the equipment or hire someone to do it for you. Hiring someone to do something illegal is probably not the wisest thing to do.

I'm not sure about that, he might be too much of a coward to be a suicide bomber, after all, he surrendered. Not a guy committed to dying.

He could have left bombs in some place where a crowd gathered rather than becoming a suicide bomber.

I do hope that the Criminal Justice System in Colorado can somehow be persuaded to hand this over to the Federal government for some kind of terrorist charge which would then carry the death penalty.

Look at the eyes on this feller. They are shark eyes. He needs killed. Now, this article says the CO has the death penalty but I agree with you. The Feds didn't play long with McVey, hopefully they can do their thing again.

Colorado Shooting: Will Alleged Gunman James Eagan Holmes Get The Death Penalty? - International Business Times

CO does have the death penalty. Just does not use it very often.

Time to dust off Old Sparky or The Gurney.

I have waited to collect my thoughts before posting anything regarding this terrible tragedy and I am NOT responding to any other posts in this thread.

I have lived in Colorado for almost 50 years now it is a beautiful, although at time a cold, piece of the world. Just last week I visited the University of Colorado Medical Center to fix some computer issues they were having. On my way to a family reunion in Grand Lake I passed the Bass Pro shop twice so I am pretty familiar with the territory.....

I know that the 2nd amendment grants citizens the right to bear arms, I have no real problem with that but I do have a problem with the gun lobby's stand on how far those rights go.

So for example, the West was on fire in Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado...at least 2 of those fires were started by citizens target shooting in the woods. Perhaps none of you heard about this but there was a big debate surrounding the temporary banning of target shooting during the current conditions. The gun lobby was, as you might expect, against a ban claiming the 2nd amendment rights. My point on this is why can't a ban be placed on shooting in the woods? There where bans on fires and fireworks....why NOT shooting?

I understand that gun owners want to hunt with their firearms but I don't think they would select a AK15 to kill a deer. These weapons are intended to kill only one kind of prey. PEOPLE. These types of weapons should be more closely controlled.

Most, if not all, of the most recent mass killing in the US involved 3 things, automatic or semi-automatic guns, large capacity clips and angry men. I know we can't ban men but how about restricting the sale of large capacity clips? Or why didn't some guy buying 6,000 rounds of ammo set off alarm bells somewhere? My credit card has been shut off by just buying things on the Internet...... Why can't we restrict the purchase of large amounts of ammo?

Often I have been told and it has already been said in this case that, if only someone at that movie had a gun. Colorado does allow concealed weapons even in church but in spite of that no one in that movie had a gun with them. And even if they had a gun this guy was wearing full body armor so what good would that gun have done? And why in the heck do we sell these suits on the internet? And ship them 2nd day air? In this case, this kid was not in any trouble prior to the shooting and was not a loner....he had friends in the community.

Perhaps one of saddest things I heard this morning was some evangelical minister saying that only the Christians killed would be going to heaven. I think the phrase is "Judge not least yea be judged" perhaps that guy should join the Westboro church.

This is not our first rodeo but I surely hope it is our last.....

Now where is a mad guy with a gun when you need one.....

Those good christians from our neighbor to the east are heading to the vigil.

Westboro Baptist Church Threatens To 'Super Picket' Aurora Prayer Vigil For Batman Shooting Victims

The minister you mention at the end of your post is an ass, and I doubt his statement puts him in good graces with the God he worships.

You make excellent points in recognizing red flags pertaining to unusual purchases of firearm paraphernalia.

I think anyone found to have purchased a enormous amount of ammunition should be questioned by somebody, just as someone who purchases an enormous amount of fertilizer, like that used in the Oklahoma bombing, would be.

The same with body armor. Who needs this and why? It doesn't affect our 2nd Amendment rights to ask that question.

On another note; firearms are purchased and used for sport and for personal protection much more than they are purchased for hunting, by the way. The hunting argument against particular forms of firearms is not really valid.

[/QUOTE]
On another note; firearms are purchased and used for sport and for personal protection much more than they are purchased for hunting, by the way. The hunting argument against particular forms of firearms is not really valid.[/QUOTE]

Point taken and accepted.

Well said, but the I don't think automatic weapons, or large capacity clips are necessary for sport or personal protection.

Automatic weapons are illegal everywhere, so I don't know why you've mentioned them.

Large magazines?; I agree with you if you're talking about the kind of clip this sociopath in Colorado was in possession of. There is no reason on God's green earth for a citizen to own a 100 round drum clip. The military doesn't even use such equipment.

In NYC there is, or used to be, a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Second Amendment advocates denounced those restrictions. I'm not sure of the efficacy of such a law.

Actually they aren't, but you need a special permet to own them.

I was always under the impression that they were illegal for private citizens to own, but I see that you can own them with a special Class III permit in most states.

You learn something new every day.