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It's all over the news about a nut that gunned down lots of innocent people at a movie theater. Just saddens me to hear things like this. Those people did nothing. They just went to see a movie and lost their lives.

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that's pretty bad, luckily we don't have things like that happen here. Well there was one case in Tasmania some time ago & a bikie war at milperra but there were mainly only killing each other only one innocent person died. We have anti gun laws here only criminals have guns.

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I'm going to make one final contribution to this discussion regarding the shooting. This is not reference to anyone here or anything like that. But outside of this forum such as comments on news articles, YouTube videos, discussions in YouTube videos and other forums, I cannot believe what i've been reading. I'm not going to provide specific links, mainly because I would be giving them a voice.

What's sadder, i'm seeing and reading MORE of these kinds of posts than I am ones of sentiment. What am I referring to? People making tasteless jokes, focusing blame on parents and even some people complaining that their sessions were cancelled because of this event. I'm seriously surprised as to how on some areas on the Internet this has brought out the worst in people. Of course, there have been many places like here too where we've all stopped to reflect, but there seems to be a strange trend of tasteless bickering of issues that almost demoralise the issue. It's actually managed to get that bit more tragic, more than it already was.

That's all I have to say.

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You go on the Internet and see topic discussions on news events. You'll see all sorts of slams. It's ridiculous.

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You hear about this kind of thing almost every year. How many shootings will there be before anti-gun laws are introduced in the US? I think it is too late for them to do anything.

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I lied in my earlier post, had to make another comment lol...

As I understand it, the American Constitution guarantees a right for its citizens to bare arms. While i'm not an American citizen, in Australia we also have a Constitution which acts as a constraint on law making powers where legislation must be drafted, written and approved in a certain manner to be approved. The Constitution also outlines certain rights and liberties that a law must not violate.

My interpretation of gun laws in America is that any law to modify or control gun usage COULD be in breach of the Constitutional right to bare arms. But, I haven't read up on the relevant provisions. However, the fact that gun laws in America have been such a contentious issue for the time that they have, i'm guessing violation of the Constitution is pivotal to the argument.

In Australia, we banned the use of semi-automatic rifles in 1997 following the Port Arthur Massacre. Our Constitution does not guarantee a right to bare arms which provided easy passage for the relevant legislation to be passed when it did. I imagine the situation in America is far more complicated.

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They have modified the gun laws here in America before, such as they need to see if you have a history of violence on your criminal record or have been a mental institution. Back in the old days you could get a gun at any age and it didnt matter what you did.

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First and foremost, thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families as they try and get through this horrible tragedy. My own 19 yr old son was only miles away and thank goodness he didn't decide to go to that theater on that night.

Second, to try and fill in some info to the those that live outside of the U.S. 1) yes, there is an amendment to our Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, that refers to "the right to bear arms". It was put in there because when written back in the 1700s there was no organized U.S. Army and farmers had to take up arms and fight for the country's independence. Initial need no longer being there, this clause has it's limits in today's society. 2) There was a national ban on automatic weapons but unfortunately it expired recently and people can now legally buy them again. 3) The ban can and should be voted on to be extended but probaly will not be because of politics and "our nemisis" money. The largest and most influential lobby (organised political pressure) is the National Rifle Association (NRA) with millions of members and the NRA leaders pay millions, if not billions of dollars to both sides of political campaigns. With that monetary backing and those votes on the line in an election year, elected officials will avoid the issue, another tragedy in itself.

To try and end on a ligher note, we here in America do have the right to wear tank tops and sleevless shirts, i.e. "the right to bare arms".

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@GMPetrie To let a few isolated incidents rob us of our constitutional rights is ridiculous. I say the solution lies in parenting.

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This is a pretty terrible thing, to be sure. However, and you'll find this on the minds of many Americans, if someone in that theater had a concealed carry license for a firearm(which you have to prove your proficiency with one to even get) the gunman would most likely have been removed from the picture before he had a chance to actually kill anyone. He himself may have been killed, or at least incapacitated if someone knew what they were doing. As much as I'd wish there could be a way where everyone could be saved(like my fictional idol, Vash the Stampede) I would consider one life against potential dozens, a fair trade off. Self-defense is the meaning behind "the right to bear arms" in America these days.

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No doubt this is a very sensitive topic,
If any of you feel offended by my views, please let me apologize right away, this was never my intention.


What happend was such a terrible and horrible tragedy.
I believe no sane person could ever think otherwise.

I fully understand the desire to make a law, preventing anything like this from ever happening again.


But would a law have stopped this mass murderer ? I don't think so for a second.

In my country, we have such laws. They're there for good intentions; to protect the public, of course.
Nobody is allowed to carry guns. It was ever so.

The result : Only the bad guys have guns.
And they've got plenty.

On the other hand;
The "good guys", people who might have wanted a gun for protection, haven't got one.
Its very much agains the law to have a gun, and since they're "good guys", they obay the law.

People like that lunatic who killed all those innocent people in the theater don't obay such laws.
And at least around these parts of the world, getting the criminals to give up their illegal weapons has been 100% unsuccessfull.


Its about one year ago these days, that Anders Breivik shot and killed 77 innocent people on an island in Norway.
I'm sure that guns are very illegal in Norway too, just like they are in my country.
It didn't help those kids on the island.

sigh... what a terrible world it is at times

I don't know the answer, only I dont think making laws is the way out of this.

All I can think of is praying that the insanity will stop....

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This is ridiculous. The guy was dressed head to toe in bullet proof armor, bullet proof leggings, and a riot helmet, had tear gas a shotgun, and an AR-15. One guy with a concealed handgun wouldn't have been able to do jack $#it.

I don't like how this is being co-opted and politicized into some gun control debate. The fact is, this guy had access to illegal weapons so more laws wouldn't have stopped him, and he planned his attack really well so more guns wouldn't have stopped him either. Sometimes $#it just happens and isn't the fault of the laws or lawmakers.

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Crap, I did it again, giving my opinion before knowing the whole story, I didn't bother to research. My apologies. Still these things don't surprise me any more, much as I hate to say it. I grew up hearing stories about Charles Whitman from my dad, who was on the scene as a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman at the time of the shootings in August of '66 so I'm quite familiar with similar stories.

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Well, they say that politics and religion tend to make for heated discussions and should be avoided. This string is not a debate, at least not from my perspective but a open discussion about somthing horrible that happened and ideas. Not that we will necessarily solve or figure out anything here.

The gunman did purchase all his weapons and ammo legally, background checks and all. With no criminal or mental health background he had no problems. Sounds like gun control didn't/doesn't work in norway, sweden, etc and don't think that having one person or everyone bring and carry a gun into theaters would work either. Personnally, i don't see the need for automatic weapons or extended magazines/clips but at the same time not trying to take anyone's gun away from them. Ban one thing and next time it may be explosives or chemical weapons.

Feel bad for those affected by this and hope that a solution is found before another similar incident occurs anywhere in the world.