Post: #1

Old story but didn't find a thread for it

Quote:An argument between a retired police captain and a couple who was texting inside of a Florida movie theater erupted into gunfire today that left one man dead and a woman wounded.

Police said that two couples began arguing before a showing of "Lone Survivor" over one couple's text messaging.

The shooting suspect, identified as retired Tampa police officer Curtis Reeves, 71, became annoyed when a couple sitting in front of him were texting during the movie's previews, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's office.

Police said that Reeves asked Chad and Nichole Oulson several times to stop, and then Reeves left the theater. When Reeves returned, Chad Oulson asked Reeves if he reported his phone use to the theater managers, police said. That prompted an argument which ended when Reeves pulled out a gun and shot Oulson in the chest, police said.

"The victim was on his cellphone, he was texting. We believe he was making some kind of noise. This noise led to an altercation," Sheriff Chris Nocco said, according to ABC News affiliate WFTS. "During that altercation, the suspect decided to pull out a .380 and he shoots the victim."
Chad Oulson died of his wound and his wife was wounded.

An off-duty Sumter County deputy who was in the theater quickly subdued the gunman and took possession of his weapon, police said. The off-duty cop, who held Reeves until arresting officers arrived, was not immediately identified.

Tampa police identified Reeves as a former captain who retired 20 years ago after helping create the department's Tactical Response Team.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=21517988

Post: #2

Give assholes access to guns and this is the kind of shit that happens.

Post: #3

Looks like Reeves answered to the call of duty... Now the wife's a "Lone survivor".

Post: #4

(01-23-2014 09:44 AM)soup Wrote:  Give assholes access to guns and this is the kind of shit that happens.

Or give guns to everyone. I bet the shooter was sure that he had a high probability of being the only one armed in the cinema and that no one will shoot back.

Post: #5

Yes give everyone in the theater guns- give every asshole with a short fuse access to such immediate far reaching power and of course we will all be much more safe.

Instead of one person being killed, we could have an entire theater filled with cadavers.

Post: #6

But an armed society is a polite society.

Post: #7

Tampa bay = anything can happen. You really need a different brand of "street smarts" here.

Post: #8

Snowplow, did you ever hang out in NYC in the 1980s? Like South Bronx, East NY, or Bushwick? Did you ever anyone you know die from random gunfire?

Guns are different from other weapons. It's isn't just about "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Not everyone should have access to guns.

Imagine if every feminist carried a gun. Imagine what would happen if they got creeped out by bad game. Guns escalate situations faster than most people can handle. That isn't even taking into consideration the number of crazy motherfuckers out there like this cop.
In the same way that feminism messes with the natural order if things, guns can abstract peoples' sense of who they are. It's too much power for most people to handle.

Post: #9

I'm just glad it was an ex cop that pulled this shit. The gun grabbers are always saying only the police can be trusted with guns.

Post: #10

No Soup, I've never been to New York and I was born in the late 80s. I understand what you are getting at. I believe there should be an all around test to be able to have a gun.

But still the idea of knowing you're not the only person with a gun makes you think twice about pulling it out over an argument. Bystanders that are packing could already be waiting and diffuse the situation.

Post: #11

(01-23-2014 09:54 AM)soup Wrote:  Yes give everyone in the theater guns- give every asshole with a short fuse access to such immediate far reaching power and of course we will all be much more safe.

Instead of one person being killed, we could have an entire theater filled with cadavers.

There will never be 100% safety. This is evidenced by the supposedly safe "no gun zones" of public schools that still have shootings and violence. Best be is to let everyone be armed instead of just the elites that can buy justice or "licensed" thugs to protect them.

Post: #12

(01-23-2014 11:58 AM)Snowplow Wrote:  No Soup, I've never been to New York and I was born in the late 80s. I understand what you are getting at. I believe there should be an all around test to be able to have a gun.

But still the idea of knowing you're not the only person with a gun makes you think twice about pulling it out over an argument. Bystanders that are packing could already be waiting and diffuse the situation.

Anyone who isn't completely nuts will know that pulling a gun out because of an argument is going to ruin your life whether or not someone else nearby is packing.

The crazies are going to crazy regardless.

These isn't something that happens every day. We are talking about outliers. I would be on-board for a solution that lets most people CC if they wish to, but precludes the outliers.

However, since there is no reliable means of predicting future crazy behavior (short of an intensive battery of pseudo-psych exams every 6 months), I'm not going to hold my breath on this.


Really, cars are the danger. I'm much less concerned about crazy people packing guns. Crazy man shooting up a mall is a rare and extreme outlier.

People driving drunk well beyond a .08 BAC (I'd guess a lot of people can drive fine at that level, but a .14 BAC is scary and should be illegal), or people who can't be bothered to ever use turn signals, or any driver who over-estimates their abilities and doesn't take reasonable safety precautions is something that scares me.

Because that's what kills people like me every day.

Post: #13

Snowplow, I think you have too much faith in people "thinking twice" about pulling a gun.

Consider what happens with drunk driving. Hell, consider road rage, and people flying off the handle. Consider what it's like to be at your wits end or desperate. The country is gulped with people who could pass some test but would easily lose their shit.

Post: #14

(01-23-2014 12:10 PM)soup Wrote:  Snowplow, I think you have too much faith in people "thinking twice" about pulling a gun.

Consider what happens with drunk driving. Hell, consider road rage, and people flying off the handle. Consider what it's like to be at your wits end or desperate. The country is gulped with people who could pass some test but would easily lose their shit.

Your opinion does not matter in this.

Guns gave us our freedom. period There is no debate to be had. The Brits did their damned best to remove weapons from colonists. Look how that turned out.

I'd rather have a few loan crazies shoot off someone than a government go tyrannical and lock down everyone. At least I have a fighting chance when the storm troopers appear in full riot gear. I'd be happier knowing I died defending myself.

Driving kills more people every day than gun violence ever will. Lets go ahead and ban driving!

Yeah no, the world isn't perfect. Shit happens, people die. It sucks, but sometimes it is possible to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Post: #15

(01-23-2014 01:03 PM)frenchie Wrote:  I'd rather have a few loan crazies shoot off someone than a government go tyrannical and lock down everyone. At least I have a fighting chance when the storm troopers appear in full riot gear. I'd be happier knowing I died defending myself.

Your opinion does not matter here. Plenty of countries get on in a civilized manner without widespread private gun ownership.

By the time we reach a point where taking down the government with force is necessary, we're already past the point of reason.

Guns do not stop governments from becoming tyrannical. They only allow for the option of a civil war when it happens.

Looking at current affairs and history, we can see that the American Revolutions was an outlier. Almost always, when you overthrow a government, you get nothing better in its place when the dust settles.

What stops tyranny is well balanced powers. In a world with advanced military hardware, private gun ownership is no longer an effective balancing force.



This doesn't mean that I'm personally opposed to private gun ownership. Folks who own guns legally tend to be very law abiding individuals statistically. But that is altogether a separate issue in a day and age where we have the knowledge and potentially the awareness to recognize that a civil war is in no one's best interests.

Post: #16

Guns at home increase risk of homicide and suicide:
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/20...cide-risk/

Post: #17

Post: #18

Well....

Post: #19

(01-23-2014 01:42 PM)Suits Wrote:  

(01-23-2014 01:03 PM)frenchie Wrote:  I'd rather have a few loan crazies shoot off someone than a government go tyrannical and lock down everyone. At least I have a fighting chance when the storm troopers appear in full riot gear. I'd be happier knowing I died defending myself.

Your opinion does not matter here. Plenty of countries get on in a civilized manner without widespread private gun ownership.

By the time we reach a point where taking down the government with force is necessary, we're already past the point of reason.

Guns do not stop governments from becoming tyrannical. They only allow for the option of a civil war when it happens.

Looking at current affairs and history, we can see that the American Revolutions was an outlier. Almost always, when you overthrow a government, you get nothing better in its place when the dust settles.

What stops tyranny is well balanced powers. In a world with advanced military hardware, private gun ownership is no longer an effective balancing force.



This doesn't mean that I'm personally opposed to private gun ownership. Folks who own guns legally tend to be very law abiding individuals statistically. But that is altogether a separate issue in a day and age where we have the knowledge and potentially the awareness to recognize that a civil war is in no one's best interests.

Good points all around, opinion modified.

Debate game recognized.

Post: #20

This story reminded me of the theatre scene from the dark comedy "God Bless America."

Post: #21

That article is nothing more than CNN fear mongering.

Quote:“Although there is little evidence that having a gun reduces the risk for homicide victimization,” writes Hemenway, “there is not yet compelling evidence that having a gun substantially increases the risk for homicide victimization for most men. What does put men at substantially increased risk for homicide victimization is other men having access to guns."

And as for the suicide rate the U.S. is ranked 33rd out of 110 countries.

(01-23-2014 01:03 PM)frenchie Wrote:  Driving kills more people every day than gun violence ever will. Lets go ahead and ban driving!

Yeah no, the world isn't perfect. Shit happens, people die. It sucks, but sometimes it is possible to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I agree with frenchie, "the world isn't perfect."

A person's hands can kill you in more ways than gun, would you prefer everyone have their hands removed to prevent victimization?

Post: #22

Tragic.

Apparently the guy was texting his 3-year old. Who the hell gives a phone to a three year old?

Post: #23

I thought he was texting the babysitter.

edit: I thought there already was a thread for gun ownership discussion.

Post: #24

You're such a liberal soup. Why aren't New Mexico and Arizona war zones with bullets flying everywhere? Those states are extremely law with their gun laws.

Post: #25

A) Naturally, it's in Florida. Is there any crazy shit anywhere that isn't in Florida?

B) It doesn't matter whether other people had guns. Psychotic lunatics willing to pull a gun on someone over them texting during movie previews generally don't concern themselves with potential consequences of their deeds (such as being shot). It's what makes them psychotic lunatic, after all!