Theater shooting teaches lessons
The Albuquerque theater negligent discharge incident has some very instructive lessons for those of us rational enough to pick them out.
This case, making the unfounded assumption that the media reports are correct, concerns a man who had his revolver slip out of his pocket during a movie, hit the floor and discharge, striking a woman in the foot. Of course, this has the hoplophobes wriggling with scarcely-concealed glee. They see it as an opportunity to further criminalize guns and gun owners. Even the police are calling the shooting "accidental" yet are charging the man in connection with the shooting. "Accidents" happen and should never be the basis for criminal charges. Bad government. No biscuit!
No "laws", new or otherwise, are necessary for dealing with events such as this.
The theater had no policy prohibiting the carrying of weapons as far as I can tell, nor should they- unless they don't care about the true safety of their customers. So, he was not "trespassing" or violating the stated wishes of the property owner as long as he paid for his ticket. No wrong was done there.
"Laws" prohibiting or regulating the carrying of weaponry, concealed or openly, are evil. They are also completely and utterly unconstitutional, if that concerns you. It is not the "possession" of anything, ever, that is wrong, but only your actions with that object. Once again, no wrong on the man's part.
You have a responsibility to carry your weapons in a secure manner. Obviously, he was not doing so. I have been guilty of this a time or two myself. This is irresponsible and has consequences. "Strike one" against him.
So, let's look at the harm he caused. If you cause harm you are responsible. Restitution is the proper remedy, not "criminal charges" like those the authoritards are filing. (Because they smell blood, the district attorney's office decided, against it's own normal policy, to get involved. This is politically motivated hogwash driven by emotionalism rather than reason. Why does that not surprise me?) The gun owner is responsible for the injured person's medical bills which result from her injury, whether he likes that fact or not. So, when he realized he had harmed someone, he lied. This is understandable in light of the authoritarian police-state in which we find ourselves, where anytime there is an accident, someone must be punished to satisfy Master, but it is still wrong. Strike two.
If this were a free society, and the same event had happened, the man would probably have not been afraid to own up to his grave mistake. He would have had no overwhelming reason to lie or try to run from his responsibility. And there would have been no "official" involvement; only arbitration if needed.
Also note- The first review of my book Indy-Pindy has been published.
