Any thoughts on policy ideas to stop these kinds of events from happening (other than the standard "gun up" or "gun control")?

LTC Kevin B. — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 22:18:16 -0400

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-killed-least-six-injured-louisiana-theater-shooting-n397586?cid=eml_nbn_20150723

Three Dead, 9 Injured After Gunman Opens Fire in Theater

A gunman killed two people and wounded nine others after opening fire Thursday night at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, police said.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 23 at 2015 10:25 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 22:25:34 -0400

Not enough info to provide an opinion/assessment at this point. However, shooting up a crowded space is "generally" a Mental Health type issue, as opposed to a Criminal type issue.

The issue with Mental Health and guns is that our Legal System errs heavily towards Civil Rights (as it should), and therefore how do you "prevent" these type of issues from happening? There is no good answer without violating EVERYONE's Civil Rights in the process.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 23 at 2015 10:49 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 22:49:13 -0400

Back home, we had a terrible issue with men taking children from our highschool and raping them. As a deterrent, the police have a permanent roving unit around campus. As a result, we actually have never had that issue again. If police or armed security started roving the facilities with a QRF a short distance away, I bet that issues like this would occur much less AND be less volatile when they would happen.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 23 at 2015 11:09 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:09:28 -0400

Criminals will always find away to get their hands on weapons. Perhaps some form of trigger lock that unlocks with your fingerprint. I have fingerprint scanning capability on my iPhone

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 12:49 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 00:49:22 -0400

I am retired law enforcement, so here is my professional and VERY unrealistic opinion on how to TOTALLY STOP this kind of criminal activity: confiscate ALL privately-owned firearms of any kind and/or description. Confiscate museum firearms. Confiscate all unsold firearms at and close all gun stores across the nation. Close and shutter all firearm manufacturers. Issue one firearm to all police officers of any kind for use ONLY while on official duty. Assign police officers and military (Posse Comitatus is null and void) to every school, church, grocery store, theatre, bank, shopping center, amusement park, public pool, library, and street corner across the U.S. Marshal Law is in effect. Confiscate and control the manufacture and sale of gunpowder chemicals. Needless to say, cease the import of all foreign-made weapons. Micro-chip EVERY human being in the country over the age of two. Institutionalize every person suspected of paranoia, schizophrenia, or any psychosis of any kind, or any person displaying abnormal mental characteristics.

Do I have your attention yet??? These multiple death shootings are the results of intentional negative human interactions. Add to that those shootings perpetrated by people with mental defects (most of which I don't buy). But, GUNS DO NOT KILL PEOPLE, any more than forks cause obesity. People kill people; always have, always will. Statistically, 85% of all murders in this country every year are generally unplanned and are committed by persons armed with blunt instruments or knives rather than firearms. But firearms get all the attention. Cars don't kill people; drunk drivers and people driving with their heads up their asses kill people while driving cars. Medical malpractice in hospitals (PAY ATTENTION HERE) kills 150.000 to 300,000 people EVERY YEAR.

Now, when reality sets in, we must surely be able to see the absurdity of my suggestions. But because we are dealing with the human mind, the MOST unpredictable "thing" on this planet, we will never eradicate these spontaneous or even premeditated mass killings unless some of these suggestions I made are instituted. How many freedoms are Americans willing to surrender to stop these senseless tragedies? In the end, not many, if any. They've grown far to accustom to them.

Response by TSgt Kevin Buccola made Jul 24 at 2015 9:43 AM

TSgt Kevin Buccola — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:43:34 -0400

This is a very tough discussion – is there a way – I am unsure. Are we getting to the point that when you leave your house you have to wear protective gear? You mention gun control and half the country goes nuts and the other half wants to conceal carry. The bad part is this not just a country problem this is a world problem…if we ban guns here you can still get them elsewhere. If everyone is armed – then we have actually moved backwards to the old west. Honestly could you imagine being in this theater it is dark, a person stands up and start shooting – then a few pull their weapons and aim for the shooter while the others are running away – bullets are flying – there would have been more injuries than the 10. What’s the answer – I honestly have no idea…

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 9:49 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:49:58 -0400

I don't think we can start addressing this disturbing trend without admitting the social changes that impact people's perception of firearms. Fifty years ago, most of the male population had at least "working" knowledge of firearms thanks to programs like the Boy Scouts of America and the traditional use of weapons for hunting/sport. Even when I was a kid, it was commonplace for a father to take his son out to shoot an old Ruger .22 around ten or eleven years old.

I recall that then, it was the realization that squeezing the trigger at a watermelon resulted in fruity carnage...rather than the "hollywood" gasp and slow fall...that impacted me the most. From that point on, I knew that a firearm...any firearm...was a lethal tool evoking enormous responsibility.

Now, kids play games where they are "using" a variety of weapons in shockingly realistic detail...movies exhibit a level of bloodshed that may almost be more graphic than reality. The result? Desensitized feelings regarding death coupled with an "unfulfilled" sense of having an experience without the consequences.

Hell, we've got eight year olds playing "First person shooter" games desperate for that "knife kill" needed to make "SGT" on their score card!

Another aspect of this dichotomy is the unrealistic depictions of warfare presented. I played "Call of Duty" once...You know, I'm not a NOLO, but I seriously doubt I could single-handedly capture a Russian sub loaded with SPETZNAZ.

These same players are raised without a sense of discipline or self-actualization...they play these games for hours in the persona of a Green Beret, SEAL or CIA assassin, then go to school and get the "standard harassment package" being told that if they get into a fist fight, they'll have a permanent record.

Result? People with a real messed up sense of their "real self".

Give that person a "reason" to be angry, disenfranchised, whatever...and you turn a maladjusted weirdo into a ticking time bomb.

We "Fix" this by re-instituting a culture of that respects achievement built on discipline...by teaching young people...not containing them. Get the kids out from behind the XBox and out into the woods. Show them the majesty of an eight point ALIVE in the wild...long before you teach them how to turn that life into food. Get them around a camp fire with other kids...teach them how to work as part of a group and stick up for one another...long before they have to defend themselves.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 1:34 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 13:34:44 -0400

The truth to gun control is that criminals don't follow laws, so gun control would only hurt the people of whom follow laws and can't protect themselves if they so choose to carry a gun lawfully. Gun control takes guns away from lawful citizens who choose to protect themselves against such threats. No matter how many ways people put this argument, the fact of the matter is criminals will use guns whether a gun control law is in place or not.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Jul 24 at 2015 2:48 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:48:05 -0400

The gun debate is kind of dead as no one is going to budge. I think the solution lies instead with mental health services. We need to find a way to identify and treat people with dangerous mental health conditions that does not place enormous burden on the families, who are usually already pushed to their limits. We also need to create a real avenue for mental health providers to do something about it when they identify a danger. Several of these guys were known beforehand but nothing could be done about it.

Response by Maj Mike Sciales made Dec 6 at 2015 10:44 AM

Maj Mike Sciales — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 10:44:18 -0500

We need to find the root cause and my suspicion is the constant amplification by the media is a big contributor. On one hand they provide fame for the evil bastards looking for it and on the other they trumpet a message of fear of the next one. All to sell ads and fill he dead air between commercials. We saw stuff like this in the late 60s with domestic terrorists, the SLA, Weather Underground and the like. Bombs going off, ROTC units destroyed, banks being robbed and all kinds of crap. The media loved it, the cops all got tons of money for new weapons and the terrorists got publicity. The profile of a terrorist? White, female, Jewish from the upper middle class. How did it end? When the SLA took Patty Hearst and the Hearst newspaper syndicate turned against them, suddenly, it was over and disco began.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2016 12:44 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 12:44:56 -0400

LTC Kevin B. As has been seen recently in Nice France and on the train in Germany, a determined person will find a tool to do harm if that is their intent. Now, the problem as I see it is the basic disregard for human life and personal responsibility.

How to we get people to treasure human life and take personal responsibility?

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jul 19 at 2016 1:22 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 13:22:06 -0400

LTC Kevin B. policy is never going to stop these events from happening. This is a humanity issue. Until we as a society can have an honest conversation, with differing opinions, without people denigrating those opinions, in a human manner, nothing is going to change. Our society has become totally self absorbed. This self absorption has led to the devaluing of our fellow humans. People are not anything but obstacles, opportunities, and stepping stones. They are no longer our fellow citizens, neighbors, and friends. Society in general has devolved to a state where anything said that is offensive must be banned, taken down, or repressed. It leads people to a state where human lives mean nothing. They have no value. When another person's life has no value, then it is no difficult task to take up arms and gun down people because they are a physical representation of that which must not be.
So, you want a policy other than gun up or gun control, I submit that humanity would be that policy. We need to value human life. I am not saying that people won't still be offended by things, but (at least it should be) in a nation that values free speech, offense will be taken at times. Those are times we need to look inside ourselves, and try to find why those words have offended us. We need to be able to articulate why that has happened with means other than rampaging violently against the offense. When a group has been wronged we need to be able to admit that a mistake was made. Part of being human is making mistakes. Those mistakes should not be used to divide us. They should be the catalyst for an open dialogue.

Response by SPC Darren Koele made Jul 19 at 2016 9:45 PM

SPC Darren Koele — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:45:04 -0400

The problem with creating policy is that guns are seemingly the simple solution to both sides. When an event occurs, the cries for gun control ramp up then gun owners go on the defensive. The problem with this is that I distracts from the primary cause, human behavior. Maybe this behavior is driven by a mental deficiency, maybe by emotion such as hate, rage, fear, or depression. The problem is these are difficult problems to solve and politicians nor society have the patience to actively delve into such a discussion, they prefer the easy way out; such is the way of politics these days.