Strange asking a non-SEAL how a SEAL would react. But here goes (read 4 Marcinko books): safe your weapon, assist bystanders in getting out as quickly as possible, keep re-assessing the situation on what you should do next. The definite no-no would be to wade across the crowd, looking to get within arms-length of the shooter, and expect him to be waiting for you in a classic western draw.
Oh, look, we have a kwimby soulmate!
Wow, what a prince of a guy! So determined to see to it that no joker could ever shoot up a theaterful of innocent people again, no sirree! And so perfectly positioned to carry out his mission:
Now, wouldn’t we all feel ever so much safer with someone like that in the theater?
Says the man who continues to miss the entire point of this thread.
I guess being the center of a PALATR session is still better than being ignored.
Well at least the “man” part and the “laughing” part.
I’ll be laughing all the way to the shooting range for a little practice today.
Right now I’m laughing to myself at all the 'tards like you who aren’t man enough to stand up to the bullshit.
Being a keyboard commando with all your dope buds is kinda PALATR in it’s own right, eh?
Ever wonder how many people might be reading this thread and laughing at you?
Even a little? 
Yeah, fuck the commie fags who think we shouldn’t resist evil and should turn the other cheek, right?
Yup. Called it. Fifteen years old.
I stopped into my local gun shop today, to check out a Colt Officer’s Target .38 Special pistol I’d had my eye on for a while (yup, bought it), and got to chatting with the owner, “Jack”, and the employee on with him, “Bill”, about the Batman theater massacre. Both men are ex-Special Forces, with long lifetimes of weapons experience and expertise. Their verdict (once they’d finished reminiscing about their tear-gas training sessions): anyone claiming they’d have been able to take out the shooter, if only they’d been there and carrying, is an idiot and would have been a dangerous fool to even try.
Bill did say if he had a clear shot in a similar situation, he would take it, but he was as firm as Jack in saying under the Colorado conditions it would have been impossible. He made this further point: “In time of crisis one reverts to one’s lowest level of training.” Chew on that, all would-be heroes.
^
Assuming you’re quoting unqualified expert opinion, it pretty much closes the discussion on the Batman shooting with regard to the armed citizen. Just remember: all of these shooting incidences are highly situational. As I mentioned, the Batman shooter came highly prepared, possibly even against a trained shooter in the crowd. I just hope this doesn’t inspire a whole lot of loonies wanting to take it out on a big crowd of defensless people.
Right.
There’s no way for him or anybody else who wasn’t there to know that.
So Teddy, do you carry? Gonna stop now? Maybe you should be like antiBob and leave it it home in case you ever have the opportunity to screw up in public with your weapon.
And kwimby confirms exactly what Jack and Bill had to say about hero wannabes. Hint: It weren’t purty.
Hasn’t stopped you yet.
I still think that the worst possible scenerio for having to shoot in self-defense does not automatically translate to “no one should ever carry guns”. As in if you can’t positively identify the threat, you don’t have a clear shot and you’re not sure of your backdrop, then you should know not to shoot. And other self-defense situations might not be as craptastic as this one.
I think you’re probably right.
My main gripe, in conversations like this, is with people who basically make the argument, “If other members of the public had been carrying, this terrible tragedy would have been brought to an end more quickly, or averted altogether.”
Not only is this impossible to know, but it also excludes the possibility that more people firing away might actually make things worse.
Not if we pass a law requiring bad guys to wear black hats at all times. Problem solved.
It’s telling how the anti-gun side in this discussion responds to cogent arguments and factual information with snide remarks and flippant comments. Guess you gotta go with what you got. Is that all you got?
Been that way pretty much the whole thread. Yawn. :rolleyes:
Include, exclude whatever. It’s not black and white, either/or. It’s a dynamic scenario that has endless possibilities. Yet some people (for obvious reasons) continue attempting to assert it is clearly a one-sided proposition with this unrealistic assumption that it must be a better option to not offer armed resistance, if possible.
I suppose it’s just too difficult for some people to comprehend in an objective, rational way. So the simplistic, pacifist, politically-motivated viewpoint is more palatable. What a disgusting way to use this as soapbox opportunity to broadcast your misinformed opinion.
Sorry it can’t made easily understood for the reality challenged.
There’s a massive, gaping excluded middle. For example, I don’t believe anyone on either side of the debate felt like my description of how I would have handled the situation was unreasonable.
What I’ve seen is a wide range of people, some with extensive military and/or police experience, a lot of them very “pro-gun”, saying that you are basically full of shit. My suggestion? Put away the “Executioner/Stoney Man” gun-porno paperbacks, turn off whatever shoot-em-up game you’ve got playing on your X-Box, climb out of your parent’s basement, take a bath and go talk to a real girl. There’s still a couple of weeks of summer vacation left-go participate in some real life activities before school starts back up again.
Reasonable approach…but we distracted by the clown.
Sorry.
Or better still if you’re old enough, take some real firearms tactical self-defense courses and learn just how hard it is to respond to sudden emergencies- and hopefully become better prepared for such emergencies. I recently discovered to my horror just how slow and clumsy simply drawing a concealed firearm is if you’ve never actually practiced it before. Practice, preparation and awareness are indispensable.