You’d almost think his recall or possibly the fact that his former friend and cohort committed a mass murder in May might convince Russell Pearce to choose his words slightly more carefully, but nope, apparently the people of Aurora should have been prepared to fight off a shooter in tactical gear, armed with tear gas and a gun that could shoot 50 to 60 rounds a minute. But, yet, it was the Republic that twisted his words. Some people, truly, never learn.
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2012.
Is there a minimum intelligence requirement for politicians these days? Seriously. And if some overly eager 2nd Amendment touting Americans had it their ways, we’d all be riding around with rifles on our backs. Kind of like they do in certain countries with warlords and child armies…because OBVIOUSLY it’s working over there, so hey! Let’s try that in Uh-MUR-ica. Please, please, please, can’t someone do something to help prevent crimes like this, such as perhaps doing the right thing and LIMITING access to weapons like that? Come on! Give it up! There is a mass shooting nearly every 6 months these days. What’s it going to take for people to understand that having access to guns isn’t solving anything and isn’t a way to “protect” anyone???? We aren’t living in the same world as the time when the Constitution was written!
All that is missing is for Frank Antenori to spout off now. Seriously, these people should be pistol whipped! To open his mouth and go on like this while the victims were still being treated, while their families were in shock and feeling so lost just shows what kind of an ass this man is. Truly despicable.
Almost cannot comment due to the stupidity level in his words. Almost.
Pearce…I believe the heroes of Flight 93 are now memorialized on sight. May they be forever remembered and rest in peace.
He essentially blames the people in the theater for not being armed and taking control. I believe they were running for their lives and protecting loved ones.
You idiot.
Every day I am more embarrassed by the people elected to represent us.
Well Frank Antenori has weighed in. He feels we should ban popcorn.
Poor Russell…he is a fat, flaccid old fool. One thing is for sure. Russell is a fat COWARD..he would have run over women and children to save his fat butt. And, HE knows it. He has to look in the mirror every day…and what he sees, he doesnt like.
Is this for real? I can’t believe that Pearce passed high school English. The mans a politician, you can’t write like that publicly. I propose RECALL!
Why even give these guys a gram of ink, or bytes??
I hate to be in the awkward position of coming to Russell Pearce’s defense (sort of), but I don’t really see the insult in his comments that others do. I’m not even sure what he means when he asks why no one tried to stop the shooter. Since Pearce is a gun nut, I imagine he wishes someone had been armed and able to take the shooter out. That’s my guess, at least, unless he means that someone should have tackled the shooter while he reloaded. At any rate, I don’t think he was displaying contempt for the audience members just because no one stopped the guy. However, wondering where the “flight 93” guys were is a little inappropriate since the flight 93 guys had a long time to assess their situation and even plan out their attempt to rescue the plane.
Even if there had been a number of armed citizens in the audience, do we know that they would have been accurate marksmen themselves? Would they have been able to keep their cool and fire reliably under the circumstances? In a crowded, chaotic movie theater, in the dark?
I also wondered why nobody “manned up” and tried to stop him, his gun jammed or otherwise everyone else dies.. What the? When Gabby got shot, several folks wrestled that maniac to the ground…what happened in Colorado????
hows about a different situation entirely? As to why no one ‘wrestled the maniac’ to the ground? As I recall, in Tucson one person bashed him with a folding chair..don’t think such a ‘weapon’ was available in this instance, hmm?
The difference amounts to one word: lighting.
While I think Pearce, like most of his Republican cohorts in Arizona politics, is an embarrassment to the people of this state; I also can’t help but think that if there had been someone armed in that crowd, possibly, some of the victims could have been spared.
There is very little similarity between what happened on Flight 93, and this incident. Someone else noted, difference in the lighting between the two, plus a much more condensed timing, the panic caused by not only the firing, but also the effect of the smoke grenade, made this so much more confusing to all innocents involved.
Perhaps someone was armed, but was unable to respond for some reason, just being armed for self defense doesn’t mean you can stop a determined, and in this case extremely intelligent wacko from killing innocents.
But, not being armed in such a case as this, certainly means you are totally at his or her mercy…..and as history shows mercy can be in very short supply.
Bwilde, you may be right.. if you cant see him, you cant tackle him.. Either way, I wouldve expected someone to try, this may come out later.. RIP to the Victims killed, get well to all those wounded.
I would have thought someone could have made an attempt to tackle him when he stopped to reload. If vision was so bad, they surely had some idea as to where the firing was coming from. If vision was all that bad, the shooter perhaps would not have been able to see another person coming at him. A two way street?
Holmes, murdered 12 innocent people armed with an assult rifle, and a gloc 10. In the other hand, we have Russel Pearce, armed with an arsenal of words of mass distruction, with the capability of producing an army of soldiers, simular to the one witnessed in Aurora Colorado.
Where do I sign up to be trained as a movie theatre “Sky Marshall”?
Free movie tickets and “packin'”. God help the unfortunate person who dares throw popcorn or stands up in front of me! And a pair of night vision goggles as standard equipment.
While I believe everyone has a right to carry guns, this murderer was in full body armor. Anyone who may have been carrying a handgun wouldn’t have stood a chance with this maniac. Pearce is a complete fool for even suggesting that I guy spraying bullets into a dark theater should have been apprehended by the victims, and yes, the victims were also those individuals who did not receive any wounds. Pearce needs a serious reality check.
Can one expect more from a sociopath?
The one break they received was that since Pierce and Antenori shoved thru the new law that says you DO NOT have to have training to own guns; this moron only killed 14 of the SIXTY he shot at point-blank range. That’s pathetic shooting thank god!
These horrible atrocities happen and the anti-gun Left-wingnuts start up, chirping away like toads after a summer rain. The napalm the young man had made would have been far more damaging; bombs are just a drugstore trip away. This young man had a profile; these profiles must be learned and searched for. In this age where showing an ID (how absolutely loony is that) is considered profiling and profiling is a dirty word how can we stop these mass murderers? Profiling is a required tool, if a nut job wants to be the joker and kill as many as he can, the only way to stop it is to treat that illness any other talk is just chirping toad talk!
I have read and read again the comments made by Sen. Pearce and I can find no reason for all of these rabid comments concerning him. As far as I can tell he was trying to show sympathy and kindness, and even astonishment concerning the incident. In the last few years I have had several conversations with my children and grandchildren concerning the change in our society and a change in the citizens of the United States. People used to have an attitude of win lose or draw they would try to protect their loved ones and their neighbors and that attitude has changed. I am going to stop my tirade with a word for Sen. Pearce, “Sen. Pearce I agree with you.” For those of you who want to slam me. My advice would be consider what could’ve been done and consider if your loved one were there, the appreciation you would’ve had if someone had tried to protect them for you.
There WAS someone at the Gabby Giffords shooting who WAS packing and had the good sense to leave his gun in his holster…
He realized that if he pulled it he could just as easily shoot an innocent person or be shot himself by the cops as another perpetrator…
Pearce, as usual, in his blind ideology of guns ubber alles and utter ignorance refuses to recognize that blasting away at the “shooter” in a darkened theater would more probably kill more innocents than improve the situation…
This gentleman is just one of many reasons why Arizona ranks horribly low in education. You can’t teach common sense. A purported leader espouses shooting at shadows across a dark movie theater. Please think prior to talking, and use common sense.
Ah, yes. The cold dead brains and widdle stamping feet of Russell Pearce and Raytheon’s Frank Antenori.
Like clockwork…
If, as some folks say, “there are too many guns to regulate…” Then regulate the ammunition! Tax it as high as cigarettes.
Be very, very afraid. . . of sociopathic madmen with guns and conservatives that oppose ANY form of gun regulation or controls. Imagine a dozen people in that theater with legal concealed weapons opening fire in the dark and smoke and confusion. The alleged perpetrator was kevlar toe-to-helmet – he wouldn’t have gone down.
In 1994, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed. It was set to expire in 2004. Due to the NRA Lobbying our members of Congress, it did expire. This ban needs to be reinstated. While I respect the 2nd Amendment, and my own dad enjoyed hunting during his life–I see absolutely no reason for anyone to own an assault weapon for hunting.
We have a right and duty to provide for our safety and protection.
We can not wait for the so-called first-providers to protect…they
are human just like us all and can not act like gods and stop the
bullet aimedd at us.
There were many ” men from flight 93″ in the Aurora theatre protecting their friends, family and loved ones and they paid the ultimate price for it. If the Moronic EX self proclaimed Aizona President of the Senate had taken a moment to look all the facts perhaps he would have kept his mouth shut instead of sticking his gun toting, Tea Party ideologic, reactionary foot in his ignorant mouth. Fact Mr. Pearce—a dark theatre. Fact Mr. Pearce an assailant in tactical body armor from head to toe, no amount of light arms fire would have brought him down. Fact Mr. Pearce… chemical smoke which did it’s job, dissorient the theatre patrons. Tell me Mr Pearce, would you have bull rushed this assaillant or would you have hidden behind others??? I think the latter because you are and always have been a loud mouthed bully and nothing more. God Bless the people of Mesa for finally seeing through your sorry act and kicking your ass to the curb. Now do us all in Arizona a favor……Leave
Posted by Dave D on 07/23/2012 at 7:01 PM, I didn’t post this comment !
RE; Chetdude…The man who had a gun at the Giffords shooting was not near the event when it happened, he was at the drug store. By the time he got down there, the shooter was already down.
Re: Mitch Marcus…..the gun law you reference is an AZ state law…this happened in Colorado.
Re Empire: your right about a citizen (who was packing)…
when he came out of the store he ran toward the shooter with
his hand on his concealed piece…he noted that folks near the
shooter were in the process of taking down the shooter…
at that point in time he pulled his hand from his piece.
If a Muslim did this crime it will be a terrorist act but if a American dose it will be a illness or tragedy . WTF is wrong with Americans!