This is just a brief vent over conversations I've had with family and coworkers regarding the Aurora, CO theater shooting. The conversations inevitably steer towards what could have been done in the face of this tragedy.
I must first say that I was not there and I will admit that even armed resistance in that ambush would have been difficult. A darkened theater, late at night, relaxed and prepared to enjoy a new movie, and suddenly you are presented with a dark figure shooting at random. If I wasn't the one of the first to be hit, I hope and pray,that my preparations would allow me to react quickly and effectively enough to save my life, and the lives of the innocents around me. Draw the 45xdm, activate laser, verify and acquire target, aim, and fire until the target drops. I rarely carry a spare mag and my thinking is that if 14 rounds of 45 HP won't stop them, another 13 probably won't either. After this, I've started carrying the extra 13 rounds.
Back to topic....I've heard so many sheep around me and in the media say that there's nothing you could do in that scenario, even if armed. So if violent response is not acceptable in their mind, what is their plan or what would they do? They never have the answer. As Wade Garrett so wisely said, "When a man sticks a gun in your face, you have 2 options; You can stand there and die, or you can kill the motherf#@cker." I think everyone else in my sphere opts for the latter and it disgusts me.
"He had body armor. You couldn't even shoot him if you had a gun." I've seen conflicting reports on whether or not the shooter had body armor or just a tac vest. I have not personally tested body armor. I've worn a flak vest and Kpot in training, but never seen how effective armor is. Any experienced input would be appreciated. I wouldn't want to be behind a cinder block wall if there were 14 45acp shells flying at it in rapid succession. I'm confident most regular shooters could put 1 or 2 under stress in the kill zone if they got 14 tries.
Finally, one concealed carry gun in the crowd might not have stopped this tragedy, but what about 2, or 3, or 12? There will always be bad guys that use the element of surprise and lots of firepower to prey on the innocent, but if there are enough responsible, trained, and safe CCW carriers out there, the bad guys will not get the numbers they would otherwise. At some point the sheep must realize that LEO's do a great job, but their small numbers prevent their ability to be effective in most situations. LEO's were on the scene in 3 minutes. Pretty damn fast, but not nearly fast enough. It was all over by that point. So many people have the mindset that they will rely on the government for everything. Natural disasters, riots, jobs, the economy, etc. "It will be ok, the government is here to take care of me." We need to take care of each other and let the government worry about the judicial and corrections systems.
I hate to rant, but this pacifist trend really makes my blood boil.
Be prepared. A.ways B.e C.arrying. Who knows, the life you save, may be your own.
Go Sheepdogs.
I must first say that I was not there and I will admit that even armed resistance in that ambush would have been difficult. A darkened theater, late at night, relaxed and prepared to enjoy a new movie, and suddenly you are presented with a dark figure shooting at random. If I wasn't the one of the first to be hit, I hope and pray,that my preparations would allow me to react quickly and effectively enough to save my life, and the lives of the innocents around me. Draw the 45xdm, activate laser, verify and acquire target, aim, and fire until the target drops. I rarely carry a spare mag and my thinking is that if 14 rounds of 45 HP won't stop them, another 13 probably won't either. After this, I've started carrying the extra 13 rounds.
Back to topic....I've heard so many sheep around me and in the media say that there's nothing you could do in that scenario, even if armed. So if violent response is not acceptable in their mind, what is their plan or what would they do? They never have the answer. As Wade Garrett so wisely said, "When a man sticks a gun in your face, you have 2 options; You can stand there and die, or you can kill the motherf#@cker." I think everyone else in my sphere opts for the latter and it disgusts me.
"He had body armor. You couldn't even shoot him if you had a gun." I've seen conflicting reports on whether or not the shooter had body armor or just a tac vest. I have not personally tested body armor. I've worn a flak vest and Kpot in training, but never seen how effective armor is. Any experienced input would be appreciated. I wouldn't want to be behind a cinder block wall if there were 14 45acp shells flying at it in rapid succession. I'm confident most regular shooters could put 1 or 2 under stress in the kill zone if they got 14 tries.
Finally, one concealed carry gun in the crowd might not have stopped this tragedy, but what about 2, or 3, or 12? There will always be bad guys that use the element of surprise and lots of firepower to prey on the innocent, but if there are enough responsible, trained, and safe CCW carriers out there, the bad guys will not get the numbers they would otherwise. At some point the sheep must realize that LEO's do a great job, but their small numbers prevent their ability to be effective in most situations. LEO's were on the scene in 3 minutes. Pretty damn fast, but not nearly fast enough. It was all over by that point. So many people have the mindset that they will rely on the government for everything. Natural disasters, riots, jobs, the economy, etc. "It will be ok, the government is here to take care of me." We need to take care of each other and let the government worry about the judicial and corrections systems.
I hate to rant, but this pacifist trend really makes my blood boil.
Be prepared. A.ways B.e C.arrying. Who knows, the life you save, may be your own.
Go Sheepdogs.
