http://www.kctv5.com/story/19071381/shooting-at-theater-during-batman-premiere-in-colorado

I just turned on the news and I saw this incident - apparently it's the worst in the USA since a school shooting many years ago (I think), so it's extremely saddening.

Aside from just reporting the story however (which I assume American users know about already), I wondered what your opinions were regarding gun laws. It's impossible to deny that the chances of such a tragedy happening would be reduced if ownership of a gun is illegal without a license (assuming these licenses were very difficult to get, and wouldn't allow a civilian to carry one in public). Is the idea of possessing a gun an outdated idea, or is it still significant in the modern world?

Was just about to post this. Horrific.

Wow that is just sad. People who get caught with guns and no permit should get 20 years in prison and second offense just death penalty. They need to start making penalties more longer to reduce all of this violence and crime. There should be more death penalties in the USA and go with the non expensive route with a bullet to the head = /

Wow that's messed up, being gunned down while going to see the new Batman :/

Crazy! the Theatre shooting is the new columbine. This happened less than 20 miles away from Columbine High. Colorado is becoming notorious for these types of shootings.. maybe

9 and 6 year olds were shot and i believe the youngest was a 3 month old -_-

Sad story, and will have negative impact on sales for the movie, especially for the opening weekend.

Yeah,that's never going to happen. Prison's are already over-crowded enough. Penalties are severe for murder,but there's no way there going to be that severe for just getting caught with a gun,without a permit. That's just not logical/pratical.

Current Sky News information:

Suspect in custody.
Suspect in early 20's.
Suspect was carrying one rifle and two handguns - no automatic weapons.
Suspect's Hyundai car being searched for explosives.
Appears to have been smoke, not tear gas. UPDATE - News sources saying it was Tear Gas.
At least 14 people confirmed dead.
Around 50 injured with injuries ranging from minor to severe.
Of the 14 dead, 10 were killed in the attack. The other four died in hospital from their injuries.

Could say more about this. A lot. Waste of time here. Kind of stings more coming from your state and from places you have been too many times.

By the way Aurora, Colorado and Littleton, Colorado are completely different worlds in terms of income. I do not think this makes Colorado notorious at all for spree killings considering Columbine happened in 1996 and is most famous because it was the most deadly of shootings in schools after a great many in a relatively short time period. There have been many less frequent shootings since then, but Columbine is always the most famously remembered.

Despicable. I woke up to this news 2 hours ago as well.

He threw canisters of gas. Possessed high powered rifle and hang guns. Was wearing a gas mask and cevlar/ bullet proof vest. The only description I heard was that he was tall slemdar and a muscular build. Name is James Holmes and he was 24.

On the OP wanting to know about gun laws... There is no way u will stop violent crimes with strict gun laws. Normal citizens will abide by the law. Criminals will still be able to get guns on the black market or secretly.

I disagree with the OP on this. If the theatre allowed concealed carry and I was carrying u better b darn sure I would do everything I could to try and stop him. You see this is the problem. Only law abiding citizens will abide by strict laws. If an experienced gunman was there with a concealed weapon they would have had the power to try and stop him before he killed more.

Actually many of my fellow Americans seem to think the situation would have been better had other civilians in the theater brought their guns, despite the fact that there was complete chaos in the theater and the thug wore body armor and threw tear gas. No doubt that had other people started shooting a lot more people would have been killed in the crossfire.

There is absolutely no way guns will ever be outlawed in America. There are too many gunowners, most of whom probably responsibly carry their firearms, who would never vote for someone trying to make a gun ban. What will hopefully eventually be done is better screening of people who wish to purchase guns and bigger penalties for those who illegally sell guns, but I doubt that will happen either.