Stick to the Movies

One of the most typical manifestations of ignorance in the media occurs when sports columnists and movie critics among other non-political writers feel the need to transcend their sphere and talk about the things touching on the political.  In this manner, they indirectly touch on things good and noble, base and vile.  (The things good and noble of course always seem to be in line with whatever the latest Democrat talking point is, and the things base and vile for the most part includes conservatism in some form or another.)

With all of that said as a backdrop, I now turn to the mass murder that occurred early Friday morning at a theater in Colorado. Roger Ebert, film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, took to the pages of the New York Times in the Friday edition (boy, that was fast), and makes the case for increased gun control in light of the shootings.

Here is Ebert:

That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection. The United States is one of few developed nations that accepts the notion of firearms in public hands. In theory, the citizenry needs to defend itself. Not a single person at the Aurora, Colo., theater shot back, but the theory will still be defended.

I will credit Ebert for calling Holmes "insane" (although I'm not quite 100 percent sure from reading his peice it isn't a synonym for conservativism, but I digress).  In any case Ebert faults concealed and carry holders for not taking down the shooter, which in Ebert's mind proves concealed carry laws are useless (this is quite a departure from the usual argument against CCW laws -- that they would bring back the days of the Old West on streets across America).

But there's one problem with this analysis:  the theater has a gun-free zone policy.  Cinemark, which owns the theater, put in place a few years ago a policy that forbids concealed carry holders from bringing firearms into their theaters.

And then there is this aside:

I was sitting in a Chicago bar one night with my friend McHugh when a guy from down the street came in and let us see that he was packing heat.

“Why do you need to carry a gun?” McHugh asked him.

“I live in a dangerous neighborhood.”

“It would be safer if you moved.”

I'm fairly sure that the answer to stemming the violence in that neighborhood wouldn't be having all the people who carry legally move away so that only the people who have weapons illegally will have freer reign.  Just a thought.