Let's cut through the bullshit, okay? If some one in the crowd had a gun and was accurate and willing to shoot then yes, it would have been a good thing that night. Some people would have been saved. I wish there was some one in that particular theater who had a gun. Anyone arguing otherwise is kidding themselves.
The issue, though, is that a culture wherein people habitually carry around guns to movie theaters and churches and college campuses and wherever a mass murder might next occur is probably more dangerous and definitely makes people (myself included) uneasy. I'm trying to imagine how that society might look, and I'm sure people like Heinballz and myself have two very different visions.
In my opinion I think it's extremely unhealthy for a society that encourages a sort of day-to-day individual quasi-brinksmanship/mutually assured destruction.
On the contrary, I agree with you totally. I think what's important is to look at the individual committing these crimes and understand no one dedicates that much effort into anything without feeling justified in their actions. Whether it's someone with no emotional connection, feeling trapped in poverty and oppressed by a war on drugs, or has identified an enemy based on foreign policy & occupation of their country. Regardless of what anyone believes, perception becomes their reality. We all effect perception but rarely will anyone accept responsibility when blow-back explodes in our face. We create terrorism, gang violence, & violent rampages then externalize it by placing blame solely on the logical target, then communicate our hatred & sometimes irrational response by assigning labels to these targets. It's not important what happens to this James Holmes dude, what's important is how we move forward - and assuring we don't create another "mentally ill" James Holmes, or "thug" or "terrorist".
The problem then lies with how realistic it is for society to change their attitude towards this type of behavior and prevent people like this from getting to this stage. It's rather utopian - and I don't think we'll ever get there. The logical alternative seems to allow people to defend themselves how they see fit. I don't trust a police officer, FBI agent, or military dude to protect my family any better than myself; I think I have a right to not rely on anyone else for my protection.
