The local movie theater was filled with young, eager children and their accommodating chaperones. I enjoy taking my three girls to the movies. It gives us an opportunity to spend time alone and eat an ungodly amount of popcorn.
An unsettling thought entered my mind as we sat down to watch the film. What if someone came in here and started shooting?
I thought about several of the most recent mass shootings, particularly the one in Aurora, Colorado. On July 20, 2012, a 24-year-old male entered a movie theater armed with an AR-15 assault rifle complete with a 100-round magazine, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and a .40 caliber Glock handgun. Twelve people lost their lives that day. Fifty-eight people were wounded.
Jamie Rohrs, a 25-year-old survivor of the Aurora shooting, described the scene to The New York Times: “It was just chaos. You started hearing screaming. You looked up and people were falling. It was like a dream.”
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During the first five minutes of the movie, I found myself repeatedly glancing at the theater exits. If someone was to start shooting, I was unsure how I would carry my children to safety. Perhaps I would not have time to carry them. In that case, would I tell them to play dead while shielding their bodies with mine?
I spent the next few moments imagining what I would do if I were armed. I can be sure of one thing: I would feel more confident that I could protect my children. However, what if others also had firearms? Movie theaters are dark places.
In the midst of a chaotic situation, could armed citizens mistake one another for accomplices of a perpetrator? Could law enforcement?
While I recognize that mass shootings in movie theaters are highly unlikely, I suspect that probability alone offers little comfort to many. I understand the desire to possess a firearm for protection. Still, I am far more interested in moving towards a nation where fewer people feel the need to have one in public areas. In my view, carrying popcorn and drinks for three children in a crowded movie theater is a big enough challenge.
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