A 100 round magazine

[phantom power]

Small wonder 70 people were shot.

A drum-style magazine for an AR-15 assault rifle was recovered at the movie theater, said police Chief Dan Oates at a news conference.

Holmes bought four guns recently from area retailers and 6,000 rounds of ammunition and several magazines that fit the assault rifle on the Internet, Oates said. He said 3,000 rounds were .223-caliber bullets for the AR-15. The chief said he didn't know where Holmes obtained the full suit of body armor and gas mask he was wearing when arrested.

With the 100-round magazine, "he could have gotten off 50 to 60 rounds -- even if it was a semi-automatic -- within one minute," Oates said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/james-holmes-aurora-shooting-medical-student_n_1689794.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cnetscape%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D182203#132_joseph-holmes-bought-6000-rounds-of-ammo-big-assault-rifle-magazine-from-internet

There is zero excuse whatsoever for allowing some random kid to have an AR15, a 100-round magazine and 6,000 rounds. That's not a self-defense or hunting gun. That's a murder machine, no different from high-grade explosives or military grade anthrax.

There's just no excuse for allowing a random civilian to have access to that kind of firepower.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/unconscionable-and-unacceptable-by.html

[Tejas]

1. "some random kid" = "murder machine"

drama much?

[phantom power]

2. Two things...

1) the phrase "murder machine" was referring to the AR-15 with the 100-round magazine.

2) 70 people shot up in a movie theater, 12 of them murdered, is, in fact, fucking dramatic. Are you really so desensitized?

[Tejas]

4. Correct on #1

#2, I'm not in the least desensitized. I live in the hood and get to witness firsthand victims getting loading in the ambulance, I don't read about it on some holier-than-thou prick's blog. Fuck Atkins and his Bloomberg elitist attitude, I am NOT a "civilian", I am a citizen.

[phantom power]

5. Are referring to Heinlein's definitions of those two words?

I'm not sure why you think Atkins is elitist. Is that because he doesn't think it's necessary for 100 round clips to be legal (for people to defend themselves), and you disagree?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. "I live in the hood"

I picture sandbags.

[spanone]

13. i guess if you were in the theater you'd have a different perspective....yep, lot's of drama

[lunatica]

35. this coming from someone who runs full tilt off cliffs

screaming that everything should be banned if guns are?

LOL!

[indepat]

3. There you go, wanting to take away some of our guns a shrill RW

meme will likely ring.

[Coexist]

6. knr

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. I now despise...

can't finish this sentence without getting my post hidden. Now that the door is open to that group and I see what cold hearted robots they really are... can't finish this sentence either.

[Cheap_Trick]

15. As soon as Skinner announced that we could hide entire groups

the gungeon went bye bye.

And not a moment too soon. I wouldn't wade into that cesspool any sooner than I'd go browsing at RimJob's pathetic site.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

20. Yep.

And anytime I see a post in GD that smells wrong I look at the profile of the poster to find out which group they frequent and it's almost always... guess who...

[Cheap_Trick]

21. You mean these guys?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

37. LOL

Strap an AR-15 with a 100 round clip on Gollum and he'll be a big hit in the Gungeon.

[Edweird]

8. Meh. For a "murder machine" it wasn't terribly effective. The Virginia Tech killer used 10 rd mags

and was significantly more lethal.

[wandy]

31. Not as effective may only have been because Jokerboy wasn't as good of a shot. n/t

[Edweird]

32. It was in a crowded movie theater. Ray Charles would have had a higher body count.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. 3,2,1....

(And I agree with you)

[Major Nikon]

10. Thank Jesus the NRA made high capacity magazines legal again

The thought of infringing on someone's 2nd amendment right to murder the fuck out of large groups of people is just too hard to contemplate.

[Cheap_Trick]

16. On which day did god create guns

and couldn't he have rested on that day too?

FUCK THE NRA!

[Edweird]

18. Virginia Tech.

[GarroHorus]

27. High capacity magazines were NEVER illegal

Only high capacity magazines manufactured between 1994 and 2004 were illegal, and then only between 1994 and 2004.

The manufactures made and warehoused literally MILLIONS on high capacity magazines before the ban went into effect, then jacked up the price for the duration.

Some high capacity magazines you can purchase as new to this day were manufactured pre-1994.

[JeepJK556]

12. Yup.

The AR-15 is only a murder machine.

That's why there are millions and millions of them in the U.S. used for sporting and small game hunting and not for murder.

[phantom power]

25. Why not go hunting or sporting with a weapon not specifically designed for killing people in combat?

It's not like there aren't hundreds of other options for target shooting, or hunting, or even self defense.

I get that plenty of sane, properly trained people just like them for various reasons. I've used them myself, at a firing range. And I get that lots of things can be dangerous when used improperly, but not all that many things fall into the category of "specifically designed for killing other people"

And to me, the question of magazine sizes is yet another separate topic. An assault rifle is one thing. An assault rifle (or really, any gun) with a 100 round magazine is another thing altogether. You don't need 100 reload-free rounds of anything to hunt, target shoot, or for self defense. You just don't.

[JeepJK556]

33. Why?

Why pick another rifle?

The AR is light, reliable, doesn't have much recoil, extremely accurate, and is easily the most customizable firearm in the world. Every part on the gun can be swapped out for countless other choices. It is made by dozens of manufactures in countless configurations.

Why pick something else? There is a reason it is currently the most popular rifle in America. There is a reason many world class rifle shooters have abandoned their bolt-action rifles in exchange for ARs in competition.

The AR =/= the M16/M4. The AR isn't full auto. It only shoots one round at a time. It isn't an assault rifle. It is no different than any other semi-auto rifle out there.

A lot guns in history have been designed for killing people. Every new technological advancement in firearms was either based around life on the frontier or warfare.

The fact is if a gun design is adopted by the military it is going to become popular, in some form, among civilians. Because if a gun was originally used by the military it means it has been proven to be extremely accurate and extremely reliable, which are two of the major things gun owners look for when buying a gun.

[hay rick]

14. Even a 100-round magazine is useless

if 101 bad guys come through your castle door.

[Moltisanti]

17. that's why you get an AR15 with a bayonet ..n/t

[hay rick]

23. Ok, 102 guys.

Now you need your AR15, your bayonet, and a fresh diaper.

[slampoet]

39. When a 100 people break down a castle door, only the King calls them bad guys.

[hay rick]

40. Or the good ole boys, these days.

Invoking the castle doctrine and stand your ground laws...

[Major Hogwash]

19. Police Chief Oakes also said he purchased all 4 guns in the last 2 months.

Holmes was a med student, studying for his Ph.D.
He drove a fairly new car.
So, Holmes wasn't some poor kid, from some poor background, raised in squalor or from a poor neighborhood.

They also reported last night that Holmes wasn't cooperating with police and that he had already obtained a lawyer.

[wandy]

34. This may be why he didn't do more damage, considering the amount of fire power he had.......

It might be he wasn't really proficient with guns.
Just someone gone over the edge and sadly nobody caught on in time.
All things considered, I don't think Holmes was the responsible, practiced gun owner type.
No sarcasm meant in that last sentence.
Are 100 round clips really necessary. I would vote no.
I don't think that guns were the only problem here.

[Major Hogwash]

38. Oakes also said that he didn't know where Holmes purchased the body armor he was wearing.

So, it may be that Holmes may have known someone who did have expertise with firearms.

People usually just don't rush to buy a 100-round magazine when they buy a new rifle.

[hedgehog]

22. "There's just no excuse for allowing a random civilian to have access to that kind of firepower. "

You say that now, but just wait until FEMA comes in the black helicopters to herd us all into FEMA camps so we'll be sitting ducks for the invaders; then you'll be sorry!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. He also had 2 Glocks and a shotgun

Not clear what got used first, what if any weapon jammed, etc. I assume that will trickle out over time.

[Richard D]

26. I can't help but wonder . . .

. . . where someone out of work paid for all of this.

[Johnny Rico]

28. Isn't it plausible that he simply threw it on a credit card?

AR-15: $1000
2 Glocks: $900
Shotgun: $300

Not that much.

[wandy]

36. Add to that, he might have figured he would not be around long enough to pay the Credit Card bill.

[GarroHorus]

29. "There's just no excuse for allowing a random civilian to have access to that kind of firepower. "

Oh yes there is...

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

It's not an excuse so much as a protected right.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

30. Criminal types will get these murder machines because they can