Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)- An interesting opinion piece was published on Foxnews.com that contained research pertaining to the Colorado movie theater shooting.
Pro right-to-carry advocates have often speculated that mass shooters intentionally select locations where law-abiding carry is banned because they are “safer” for madmen to go on shooting rampages. (Columbine, Virginia Tech, etc)
Evidence researched for the above piece strongly suggests this may be true. From the article:
“So why did the killer pick the Cinemark theater? You might think that it was the one closest to the killer’s apartment. Or, that it was the one with the largest audience.
Yet, neither explanation is right. Instead, out of all the movie theaters within 20 minutes of his apartment showing the new Batman movie that night, **it was the only one where guns were banned.** In Colorado, individuals with permits can carry concealed handgun in most malls, stores, movie theaters, and restaurants. But private businesses can determine whether permit holders can carry guns on their private property.
Most movie theaters allow permit holders carrying guns. But the Cinemark movie theater was the only one with a sign posted at the theater’s entrance.
According to mapquest.com and movies.com, there were seven movie theaters showing “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20th within 20 minutes of the killer’s apartment at 1690 Paris St, Aurora, Colorado. At 4 miles and an 8-minute car ride, the Cinemark’s Century Theater wasn’t the closest.
Another theater was only 1.2 miles (3 minutes) away.
There was also a theater just slightly further away, 10 minutes. It is the “home of Colorado’s largest auditorium,” according to their movie hotline greeting message. The potentially huge audience ought to have been attractive to someone trying to kill as many people as possible. Four other theaters were 18 minutes, two at 19 minutes, and 20 minutes away. But all of those theaters allowed permitted concealed handguns.
So why would a mass shooter pick a place that bans guns? The answer should be obvious, though it apparently is not clear to the media – disarming law-abiding citizens leaves them as sitting ducks.”
We know the shooter in this instance planned his attack with exceptional attention to detail (rigging explosives at his apartment) AND he went to unusual lengths to try to protect himself from being shot (bulletproof body armor, helmet, and arm and leg protection). Every logical analysis of this situation would conclude that it seems virtually inconceivable that the “no-gun policy” of this theater was not a primary factor in the shooter’s selection of this location.
He didn’t want to encounter an armed citizen and get shot.
Wisconsin Carry encourages our members to share this information with businesses who have chosen to post “no guns” signs as it seems very plausible that those signs could well attract criminals who seek defenseless victims.
Carry On,
Nik Clark
Chairman/President – Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.wisconsincarry.org
nik@wisconsincarry.org
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About Wisconsin Carry
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing. We believe that “open carry” and “concealed carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on their situation and preference. Wisconsin Carry, like many gun-rights organizations in Wisconsin, is investing a great deal of resources to get Wisconsin law changed to allow concealed carry this next legislative session by proposing Constitutional Carry. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use legal recourse to deter unlawful treatment of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who currently exercise their right to open carry, and soon will exercise their right to concealed carry in Wisconsin. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org
