Let me establish a bit of a knowledge base for you all. I spent six years in the military, as a part of a fire crew. We spent 20 or 30 hours a month “sucking rubber” in gas masks and breathing apparatus. I have also spent over twenty years since then working as a firefighter/paramedic. I also did HAZMAT and SWAT responses. I literally have spent thousands of hours in various gas masks and respirators.

I am an avid shooter and gun collector. Not as good as many, but I still shoot. A LOT. 

There are many that claim that the shooter in Aurora was virtually invincible, due to body armor and the tactical situation. I say otherwise. For starters, the vest he bought was NOT a ballistic vest. It was a tactical vest, and was bought online from a Missouri store. One of the things that surprises me is that the owner of a store that makes his living selling to the gun community would throw gunnies under the bus like he does:

We play a supporting role for law enforcement guys and military and
we’ve been doing that for years and we’re kind of proud of that role we
play in supporting them,” explains Andrew Hoefner, COO of Tacticalgear.com. 
“I think if any additional scrutiny needs to be paid, it needs to be
ammunition sourcing online and firearms and how those are purchased.”

 Fuck you AND your store, you asshole.

Next, there is the issue of the shooter wearing a gas mask. This means that he had very limited peripheral vision. Anyone approaching him from the side or rear would have been unseen by him. Since he was shooting, his hearing would be diminished (as anyone who has ever fired a weapon indoors without hearing protection can tell you). The limited sense of hearing and sight would make him vulnerable, indeed.

No, what made this unwinnable was the fact that Cinemark theaters bans people with concealed weapons permits from the most effective means of self defense. This, combined with the fact that they couldn’t be bothered to make sure the exit doors weren’t propped open means that this theater should be sued off the planet. Of course, the courts will never let that happen. We can’t let a silly thing like dead bodies interfere with corporate profits.

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2 Comments

Anonymous · July 29, 2012 at 3:52 am

"No Gun" signs never stopped me from carrying a gun. Concealed is concealed.

What let that tragedy happen was more about attitude than equipment.

Ted N · August 10, 2012 at 4:54 pm

I've been chomping at the bit when people bring up the supposed body armor. Silly, shoot him anyway, and keep shooting until he goes away.

Anything else I hear is just pre-failure apoligies.

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