A survivor of the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater in July appears in a new ad calling on the public to push the presidential candidates for stronger gun control.
Stephen Barton, a young man shot in the face and neck less during the Aurora, Colo., shooting that left 12 dead and dozens injured, stars in the ad, which takes place in an empty theater setting.
"I was lucky," Barton says in the ad. "In the next four years, 48,000 Americans won't be so lucky, because they'll be murdered with guns in the next president's term—enough to fill over 200 theaters. So when you watch the presidential debates, ask yourself, 'Who has a plan to stop gun violence?'"
The first presidential debate takes place on Wednesday in Denver.
Produced by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of mayors led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston's Thomas Menino, the ad is expected to air nationally.
The 30-second spot pushes viewers to the website DemandAPlan.org where the public can gain more information on gun violence and the mayors' ongoing campaign for greater attention to this issue. It includes a petition asking President Obama and Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney for a "plan to end gun violence."
"What we need from our nation’s leaders is more than just a moment of silence -- we need a moment of courage," reads the petition.
The group released a similar ad last month featuring survivors of the Tucson, Ariz., shooting in which former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords survived being shot in the head.
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This should at least be discussed.....
This should At Least be discussed and not act like it is not a problem!!
The cost of the Aurora, Colorado theater massacre will easily reach $50 million to $70 million in total long term costs. However a figure of a $100 million plus in total expenses for the Aurora theater massacre is not out of the question. The trial for the gunman could cost $10 million plus with appeals. Plus the medical care for the wounded in several cases could be $2 million plus for each victim for the severely wounded. Also we must think in terms of lost productivity of lives which is enormous when one considers many of the dead were young people who could have worked and earned about $2 million over a 40 year career. We fail as a society to deal with the total costs of these disasters which are what these gun massacres are total preventable economic disasters. The truth is Wayne LaPierre and the NRA won't be paying a nickel of these costs. But you and I will be paying them for the rest of our lives. The government just adds it to our tax bills when all of us pay federal, state, and local taxes. This horrendous expense is never talked about in public. How much longer can we keep subsidizing the NRA with these "socialistic" handouts for gun massacres?
I am a 20 year combat veteran of the Persian Gulf war and retired from the U.S. Army. I also am a gun owner. No civilian needs to own high capacity ammunition clip or a semiautomatic pistol or a semiautomatic assault rifle with a 30 round magazine period. These types of firearms are weapons of war for the use in a combat zones. These assault weapons are nothing but job security for morticians. We do not need assault weapons on the streets and neighborhoods of America where innocent women, children, and families live or work. Anyone who says they need an AK-47 to defend their home or go deer hunting is a lunatic, madman, or a conservative radical. We need to tell conservatives that we can not afford these liberal subsidies for the NRA sponsored gun massacres that are nothing but pure socialism.
Here is a study from the Center for American Progress that compiles the costs of the Virginia Tech massacre at $48.2 million dollars. These costs are documented and nothing but pure socialistic subsidies for right winged NRA radicals. Taxpayers get to bailout the NRA every time with these socialist subsidies for gun massacres. The availability of assault weapons is a huge disaster for the American taxpayer when these weapons of war fall into the hands of the mentally disturbed or sociopaths. Even though 99% of people who own guns in America are responsible gun owners it only takes a few in that one percent to cost us tens of millions of dollars each time these nasty mass murders occur in our society. Here is long quote from a report from the Center for American Progress on the Solutions website, about the huge bankrupting costs of the Virginia Tech massacre five years ago:
Quote starts here and is sourced below:
"In this report we share the findings of the Center for American Progress’s survey of the monetary costs incurred as a result of the murderous rampage at Virginia Tech five years ago. This paper assesses this cost at $48.2 million for the taxpayers of the United States and the commonwealth of Virginia, and for Virginia Tech, a public university. This report also demonstrates how the loopholes in the background-check system failed to protect American citizens from an armed and dangerous Seung-Hui Cho, costing innocent lives—many of them young ones. This was compounded by the legal use of high capacity magazines which transform often traditional firearms into killing machines.
The loss of one innocent life to a mentally disturbed shooter should be reason enough to close the gaping holes in the system that permit gun purchases and access to high-capacity magazines that can cause such bloodshed. The Virginia Tech tragedy drives this point home in the most dramatic of ways because of the sheer number of deaths. For this reason, we recommend commonsense measures designed to curb gun violence without taking a single gun away from the great majority of Americans who have the right to own a weapon. These measures are detailed further in this report, but briefly we recommend:
In addition we offer two other recommendations for Congress to enact arising from the lessons of Virginia Tech:
Taking these sound steps would go a long way toward ending the spree killing rampages that continue to haunt our nation."
Quote stops here with website for reference below.
Source: Donna Cooper and Anthony Green. 2012. In Colorado’s Wake, A Financial Analysis of the High Cost of Gun Violence . Solutions. Vol , pp. - - http: //www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1134
We must tax ammunition of these assault weapons at a couple dollars per round. We can exempt certain common types of hunting ammunition for shotguns and rifles used in hunting as long as reasonable limits are placed on the amount of ammunition someone can purchase per year. The average person who hunts should be able to buy 200 rounds per hunting license for shotguns or rifles and much more for plinking rounds like .22's which are common. Otherwise you pay $2 per round or more in taxes. Professional shooters and others who shoot a lot should be required to get special licenses with fees assessed in order to escape the limit on ammunition purchased per year.
I also believe all gun owners need to be licensed to own a firearm of any type. We should also tax reloading pretty high unless that person has a license with appropriate fees. Along with the gun licensing we must require firearms education and licensing as part of the normal high school education process. All people who want to buy, own, or use a firearm must have so many hours of classroom instruction, pass a written test, and pay for a gun license. Driving a car is a freedom that is licensed and taxed. Owning a firearm should be treated the same. If someone gets in trouble with the law or has serious alcohol, drug, or mental health issues a judge can immediately revoke that person's gun license. The sheriff and police are then legally authorized by the court to round up that person's firearms for destruction or sale by the court. Once you get in trouble with the law or have significant alcohol, drug, or serious mental health problems forget about ever getting a gun license again in your natural life. Penalties for having a gun without a license should be a serious felony with years in prison. Licensing and regulating gun ownership is the best way to handle our society with 350 million guns in it. Gun prohibition will never work here in America.
None of these suggestions will eliminate our gun violence problems in this country. We do need to acknowledge that we have a serious societal problem and licensing gun ownership is not incompatible with Second Amendment rights. These suggestions will go along ways towards making America a safer places for innocent families. We have to understand that we can not afford these $50 million costs for these gun massacres. An ounce of prevention is cheaper than a $10,000 funeral and a million dollar lawsuit with a million dollar medical bill. Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are no where to be found when these costs come due and the burden falls squarely on the taxpayer. We can do better than this in America so we can walk down the street with our families and have a reasonable expectation of surviving.
thank you Rex in Minnesota.
i agree.
please respond to what we will hear on this blog sooner or later from those who think President Obama wants to take their guns (he doesn't).
"IT'S NOT THE GUN'S FAULT".
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcassaul.html
Rex,
Thank you for your service to the country. Imagine if there had been ONE, just one concealed carry patriot in the theater that night. By your on figures it would have saved 10's of Millions of Dollars, and so much greif, not to mention the trial cost of a nut.
In Switzerland the government issues EVERY citizen a firearm, and requires them to qualify to shoot it. There are folks there with all kinds of firearms.
The 2nd amendment recognizes the truth that a well armed militia (citizen army) is the best defense against a tyranical gorvernment. As crazy as the Aurora, Colorado theater massacre was, it pales to what a crazy President and Congress could do to our people. Fastr and Furrry Holder and his boss could be just such a Combo. I will not trust my families, state's and country's security to others, it is my responsibility.
No one needs an AK-47 or an M-16 or a 9mm Glock with a 30 round clip to take their kid to school, defend their home or go deer hunting. Hunting rifles, shotguns, and revolvers are fine. But you miss my point that no one needs a weapon of war/assault rifle here at home. Licensing and regulating gun ownership along with firearms training and education should be pushed hard by groups like the NRA and others. If you had to get a license to own guns, you could still have them just obey the law. Believe it or not this would matter a lot and make life better for all families in America.
Registration also provides a nice easy list for an out of control government to come get them. By the way....registering guns does what? Let's the government know what guns a law abiding citizen owns....
As far as Assualt Rifles.....compared to the guns that you say are OK....they are used in criminal acts....a very small percentage of the time......If you ban them....criminals will still get them...
TAP: I guess Republicans want to be "big socialist liberal spenders" to support these gun massacre expenditures. Why is it okay to have to spend $50 million plus subsidizing NRA created gun massacres? We will never eliminate mentally deranged people in our society but we can make it slightly harder to get assault weapons. So let's raise taxes on the top one percent so we can pay off all of these big socialist expenses. Why the hell does Aurora have to pay $50 million plus for this gun massacre? The school districts, city, and county governments all were making cuts in their budgets. So who gets to pay for these expensive gun massacres? $50 million is more than many rural counties spend in a decade on roads, schools, or other community government functions on the Plains states. A murder trial for even one victim can bankrupt a rural or small city government because these trials cost one million plus. These costs do nothing but go up exponentially when multiple victims in a mass murder massacre happen.
Assault rifles and semiautomatic with large ammunition clips 30 rounds plus, need to be banned from civilian possession. Most of the big massacres that cost $50 million plus such as the Virginia Tech massacre and others all involve semiautomatic pistols with large capacity ammunition clips. Go do the research yourself because I have. If you have 30 round clips you can start getting off hundreds of rounds within a couple minutes before the police even know what is going on. No other civilized country on the face of the earth tolerates this kinds of violence. Bolt action hunting rifles and shotguns are seldom used in these gun massacres. Its those damn 9mm Glocks with large ammo clips assault rifles like AK-47's that need to be completely banned for civilian use except for law enforcement or the military. Wouldn't be appropriate for Wayne LaPierre to get out his checkbook and send the City of Aurora $50 million as a first installment for their theater massacre earlier this year.
Its totally unfair that my tax money has to go to pay for the Aurora gun massacre or the one in Tucson or Virginia Tech or Columbine and all the others because some conservatives want to own assault rifles and semiautomatic weapons that create disaster when they fall into the wrong hands which they always do. I don't own assault rifles or semiautomatic pistols so why the hell do I have to pay for the gun massacres these weapons cause when they fall into the hands of the mentally deranged? Punishing the shooter is not justice. Justice is keeping assault weapons out of our society completely. Australia did this and in Australia you can go to a move theater with your family and not have to worry about being slaughtered. I want an answer from a conservative.
Require everyone to own a gun. Make it easier to identify the mentally unstable and make it virtually impossible for them to get one......However, they will get one anyway if they really want one.....If just one person in that theater had a gun.....the massacre could have been stopped.
Rex....You mentioned Australia....well read this article and see if you still like banning guns....
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=17847
What if we ban all guns for all Democrats?
My plan is to never to posses or shoot a gun. I don't need to hunt people or food.
I know some people are insecure and need their guns. You can carry a hand gun, but not hidden, concealed or high-powered guns that can kill crowds of people no one need in society. Come on be rational and use common sense. Close the gun loophole.
TM....If someone is trying to kill you or someone else.....wouldn't it be nice to be able to pull out your .45 and stop them?
Thankful Mom
My plan is to never run out of bullets... When you close hte 'Gun Loophole' all you will do is insure that the criminals will have the advantage.
The criminals already have the advantage, the GOP and Wall Street are filled with them. So go back to hiding under your bed, John Wayne wasn't even a John Wayne, he was an actor ffs.
whom....maybe hiding under your bed is your way with dealing with armed robbers. Without a gun .....that's pretty much your only option.....
No tap I am not a bed wetting scared of everything republican who seem to believe a gun will keep them safe and who end up shooting everyone except criminals. See tap in the real world crime is a hit or miss thing most of the time it is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unlike you tap I have lived in gang area's, in fact 7 years ago I was living in an area that had a different gang on every block. Guess what tap, I left them alone they left me alone.
Guess what tap, I left them alone they left me alone.
Until they find out your easy prey.......and then....hope your neighbor is smarter than you is armed and comes to your rescue.....You might want to tell them where your hiding place will be. Also, keep a good supply of Depends....
Projection again tap. I am not the one who played drama queen and ran away tap, that would be you.
Again whom.....I never ran away. I left because I had some personal responsibilities that didn't allow me the time to blog....I have already explained this to you but you refuse to listen....I never promised that I would never come back.....that is something you assumed not me. As far as calling me a drama queen....your just ticked because I called you out for what you are....so get over it.
As far as having a gun.....do what you want....if you want to be at the mercy of others that's you decision. Let me ask you this.....If someone is armed and robbing your house.....what are you gonna do to stop them?
Guess what tap having a gun in your home does not protect you from the boogieman. In fact tap having a dog in your home is far more protection then a gun and its safer because a criminal can't use your dog against you nor do you have to worry about the kids finding the dog and shooting themselves with your dog nor will a dog mistake a wayward teen sneaking back into the house as an intruder. In fact tap if a criminal hears a barking dog they will avoid your home. Like I said tap you are just a scared little child who plays childish games.
Dogs are indeed mans best friend...I encourage you to have one...I have two...a robber will indeed make your dog bark....but a S&W will make it stop....maybe your dog will take a bullet for you....I hope that never happens whom....and I really mean that....but if someone wants something you have bad enough ......a dog will not work...protect yourself and your family.....own a gun.
The advantage always goes to the criminal because they choose the time and place of the crime. Surprise is always their biggest weapon. So unless you know that a specific person is out to get you and when this event will happen, it becomes really difficult to protect yourself from a totally random event. Locking your doors, keeping your car locked up, good lighting, having a dog, and just not keeping real valuable stuff laying around in your car or house is a really good idea. Real valuable stuff like large sums or money or jewelry should be locked up in a safe at home or a safety deposit box in a bank. Adequate house insurance is also a good idea. Neighbors who know you are also a form of passive defense because you can watch out for each other and call the cops. If you do these simple things usually you won't have a big problem even in areas that have some crime. If you don't go to rowdy bars you avoid bar fights. You can avoid most crime by making your house a little bit harder to get into and just not having anything very valuable laying around when you are not using it. Lock your house up and 90% or more of the time you will get by just fine.
If you have a family around forget the idea of a loaded gun in the house entirely. Its just too dangerous and your odds of hitting and killing your own wife or children with that loaded gun is always higher than even scaring the burglar with one. Most of us will never be Inspector Callahan or John Wayne we are just average married people with ordinary lives in Anytown, USA. You have to shoot all the time to be any good with one and most of us have neither the time, money, or energy after a 50 hour work week and commute to worry about target shooting. Loaded guns in the house is often a really horrible idea especially if the burglar breaks in and finds it, steals it, and kills an innocent person with it. Then you can have all kinds of one way conversations with the police, lawyers, and judges even if it is someone else who did the shooting. The gun is still yours that you are responsible and liable for. I keep my guns locked up so no one can get at them.
Rex...my driveway is over 1/4 mile long....My dogs start barking at cars when they enter.....By the time an intruder manages to travel that distance and kill both of my dogs.....My family will be in the basement and I will be greeting the intruder with a one way ticket to hell.