Although most people agree that the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., was tragic and horrific, their views differ when it comes to finding the best way to keep it from happening again.
Gun control issues have always been surrounded in controversy and the shooting in Colorado has reawakened the debate that never slumbers for long.
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson said he feels it’s important to wait until all the facts are in before legislators start considering any changes.
“Like most Americans, I was horrified to learn of the shootings that took place in Aurora, Colo. This act of senseless violence in what many considered a safe place has been difficult for anyone to understand, and I mourn with those who lost family members and friends in this tragedy,” he said. “Not surprisingly, this incident has prompted instant debate on gun control and other political issues. While I oppose new gun control measures and believe a majority of Idahoans do too, it is important that any policy discussion take place once all the facts have been reviewed and at a time when we can consider the issue objectively.”
Still, many people already have strong feelings about gun control laws, and both sides feel the tragedy in Colorado only backs up their beliefs.
Some, including state Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello, feel that the government should increase certain gun regulations, particularly when it comes to purchasing assault rifles like the AR-15 — one of the weapons that 24-year-old James Holmes allegedly used to kill 12 people and injure 58 at the theater during a midnight showing of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” earlier this month.
Bilyeu is concerned about the fact that the shooter was able to get his hands on that type of weapon in the first place.
“I don’t see any need for assault (rifles),” she said, adding that most people in this area use guns to hunt and they don’t need those types of weapons to do that. “It’s a sport — (the purpose) isn’t to massacre something or somebody.”
Although she doesn’t have any qualms about the sale of more standard guns, she feels Idaho legislators and members of the National Rifle Association should reconsider the sell of assault rifles, especially when she thinks about the Colorado tragedy.
“It breaks my heart,” she said. “I can’t imagine any young person ... would do something so destructive and ruin his life and the lives of (12) other people plus their families.”
Still, others feel current gun regulations are already restrictive enough, and tightening them more will only affect those who obey the law anyway — not the criminals.
Landon Truman — owner of A to Z Guns and Pawn in Blackfoot, which sells everything from handguns to AR-15s — believes that dangerous situations would arise more often if people weren’t allowed to have guns to protect themselves. For instance, if someone in the Colorado theater had had a weapon, they may have been able to stop the shooter from doing so much damage.
“At least they could have shot back,” Truman said.
Jim Barron, owner of Quality Arms of Idaho, which manufactures AR-15 rifles in Rigby, agrees.
He said he lived in England before moving to the U.S. 21 years ago, and he feels much safer here than he did in that country, which has tougher gun control laws.
“I’ve lived in Florida, Oregon and Idaho and I feel safer here than I do in England because of the freedoms we have here to be able to defend ourselves,” he said.
Barron said in England, people can’t really do anything but wait for the police if there is a burglar in their home or if someone tries to mug them on the street, and he feels that drives crimes up.
“(There) the criminal has more rights than I do,” he said.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen agrees that guns can be effective when it comes to deterring crimes, particularly in the home. He points to a woman in Lava who used a gun to keep an intruder, who broke into her house, there until police arrived.
“If people are competent with a weapon and know how to use it, it’s absolutely a deterrent,” he said.
Still he knows that not everyone is competent enough to handle a gun responsibly.
“I’m not blaming the gun; it’s the mindset of the person that carries it,” he said, adding he wishes there was a way to test people for mental competency before they could purchase a weapon.
He would like to see laws that would make it impossible for anyone who has ever been convicted of using a gun in a crime from purchasing one in the future. He would also like prosecutors to be more adamant about pursuing sentencing enhancements for gun-related crimes.
“We have them on the books, but they’re not following them,” he said. “Enhancements should be mandatory.”
Still, when it comes to the average person wanting to purchase a gun, both Truman and Barron believe that the current regulations are already strict enough and they don’t want to see changes that could make it more difficult for good people to purchase guns for hunting, target practice or protection.
Those who want to buy a gun already have to show their ID and pass a background check, Barron said. He feels that’s enough.
“You will always get a problem with the mentally deranged or absolute nut cases. They cannot legislate against that,” he said. “Criminals will always get guns.”