Beware Big Brother’s Solutions — by Polydamas
I completely concur in the cogent analysis by Odysseus and in the rational solution he proposes in “It’s Not About Guns or Insanity; It’s About Publicity”. However, I want to address the wrong Big Brother solutions that I predict will wind up carrying the day and will be either completely useless or, more probably, even make matters worse. Before the bodies of the innocent victims have had the dignity of being respectfully buried, the “Usual Suspects” enshrined in the Mount Rushmore of firearm confiscationists have jumped on the issue to extract the maximum lessons from this “teachable moment” lest, in the words of Rahm Emanuel, a good crisis go to waste.
Although radical gun control measures are not really viable three months before the monumental 2012 presidential election in November, our prediction is that there will be Big Brother solutions coming in 2013 and thereafter regardless of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney winning the presidency. We predict that the President and Congress on the federal level and the various states will attempt to extend the reach of the Transportation Safety Administration (“TSA”) or their state equivalents to private stadiums, sports arenas, and movie theaters. The private sector will be bullied by industry groups, insurance companies, and plaintiffs’ personal injury attorneys into making significant changes in our way of life. In the name of protecting us from terrorism, both Islamic and the so-called domestic terror of home-grown mass murderers, people should expect to arrive at these venues three hours before the scheduled event or movie. They should be prepared to bring a government-issued picture identification card, be photographed, x-rayed and fondled by TSA employees or their equivalent civilian contractors, and their belongings inspected in painstaking detail with every object harder than a noodle being classified as a deadly weapon.
Any doubts about the direction we are heading should be conclusively answered by the revealing July 20, 2012 article, titled “Colorado Shooting: Civil Lawsuits Likely” by Andrew Lu in FindLaw.com, which was reprinted by Reuters (http://reut.rs/NHrYII):
“Another potential target for civil lawsuits would be Century Theaters, where the shooting took place. It was reported that Holmes entered the theater through an emergency exit before throwing off gas canisters and using at least two guns in the shooting. One may wonder just how Holmes got in through the emergency exit and if the theater did enough to protect the crowds. That said, metal detectors and pat-downs aren’t standard at most U.S. movie theaters.
“While movie-going is usually not a dangerous activity, the Batman premiere was a midnight showing and Century Theaters likely should have expected large crowds.
“As a business that is attracting a late-night audience, Century Theaters owed a duty to its patrons to keep them safe. So steps like keeping emergency doors closed and having security personnel to conduct pat-downs of ticket holders may have been a good idea. Then again, it could be Century Theaters took all the reasonable precautions.
“It’s still not clear what safety measures Century Theaters took, but James Holmes allegedly made it into the theater while armed to the teeth. One can only speculate if enhanced security measures could have prevented the Colorado shooting.”
Ladies and gentlemen, you have now heard the future closing argument in the future civil trial against Century Theaters. Security personnel, enhanced security measures, metal detectors, and pat-downs are coming to theaters near you because this will be the new legal standard by which all movie theaters and entertainment venues will be measured. As armies of plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death lawyers cry alligator tears and figuratively train their sights (pardon the pun) on a new growth industry after mulcting the asbestos and tobacco industries, woe to the theater chains that do not fall in line. Movie theaters will be required by their insurance carriers to adhere to the new standard of legal care and the paternalistic duty to keep its patrons safe. Based upon the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision approving the insurance mandate of the Obama health care plan, the President and Congress and the various states can force private companies to purchase this insurance coverage, under Congress’ taxing power, and pay for the above security procedures and personnel.
Naturally, it should be expected that the federal government, the various states, and the dictates of insurance companies would not even consider how this tragedy might have been prevented by concealed carry weapons holders. One or two conscientious concealed firearm holders in the movie theater could have slowed or stopped James Holmes’ rampage with a few well-placed shots. Federal and state governments and insurance companies will never opt for decentralized solutions that allow law-abiding citizens to take individual responsibility for their safety and which will not create an enormous government apparatus which is funded by an even heavier tax burden.
In the end, we predict that the costs for security that will be forcibly imposed on these businesses will be passed on to consumers. The higher costs and the extreme hassle and abuse that will be heaped on consumers will cause the economic demise of stadiums, arenas, and movie theaters as viable entertainment venues. Why exactly should one pay $25 or more for a movie ticket and stand in line for three hours and submit oneself and one’s family and friends to various indignities when the same movie can be viewed in the privacy of one’s home on the big screen television for less than $10.00 per month through Netflix, Hulu Plus, Redbox and similar home movie services? It will be an unfortunate end of our way of life and an experience which succeeding generations will not have the pleasure of enjoying.
Mind you, astute readers of The Cassandra Times, that the same cycle of media publicity, hand-wringing, recriminations, heated hyperbole, heavy-handed federal and state government regulations, insurance company dictates, personal injury and class action lawsuits, and the like will be repeated when mass murderers turn to other targets of opportunity and decide to shoot people in supermarkets, department stores, and large restaurants. If you thought that being groped at the airport by the TSA was fun, you can enjoy the same quality experience at a supermarket near you when you stop to buy a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk at inflated prices.
