UPDATE #2: Statement from Sen. Morgan Carroll, who represents Aurora including the Aurora Town Center shopping area where the shooting occurred.
Aurora is my community and a place I know and love. My heart goes out to all those hurt and to the families of those who lost loved ones. This act is not representative of the people who live our community. We are of course, horrified at this violence.
And Rep. Rhonda Fields, who represents the area in the Colorado House:
As a mother and survivor of a murder, I am horrified, shaken, and distressed over this enormous loss. It is time for us to collectively strategize to address preventative factors to ensure community safety and well-being. I will do everything possible to support the families, friends and community members whom have been impacted.
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Use this thread to post statements you see from elected officials and organizations on the shootings in Aurora overnight–we’ll post more after the jump as we receive them.
President Barack Obama’s remarks this morning follow in their entirety.
UPDATE: Mitt Romney’s statement:
Mitt Romney today made the following statement on this morning’s tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado:“Ann and I are deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence that took the lives of 15 people in Colorado and injured dozens more. We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice.”
Details of a prayer vigil at the Kaiser Permanente building tonight at Denver Pols.
Remarks by the President on the Shootings in Aurora, ColoradoHarborside Event Center
Fort Myers, Florida10:44 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me, first of all, say how grateful I am for all of you being here, and how much we appreciate everything that you’ve done. I know that there are a lot of people here who have been so engaged in the campaign, have sacrificed so much, people who’ve been involved back since 2007. (Applause.) And so I want all of you to know how appreciative I am.
And I know many of you came here today for a campaign event. I was looking forward to having a fun conversation with you about some really important matters that we face as a country and the differences between myself and my opponent in this election. But this morning, we woke up to news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways that we are united as one American family.
By now, many of you know, many of you have heard that a few miles outside of Denver in a town call Aurora, at least 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a movie theater, and dozens more are being treated for injuries at a local hospital. Some of the victims are being treated at a children’s hospital.
We’re still gathering all the facts about what happened in Aurora, but what we do know is that the police have one suspect in custody. And the federal government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice. (Applause.) And we will take every step possible to ensure the safety of all of our people.
We’re going to stand by our neighbors in Colorado during this extraordinarily difficult time. And I had a chance to speak with the Mayor of Aurora as well as the Governor of Colorado to express, not just on behalf of Michelle and myself, but the entire American family, how heartbroken we are.
Now, even as we learn how this happened and who’s responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living. The people we lost in Aurora loved and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers; they were husbands and wives; sisters and brothers; sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.
And if there’s anything to take away from this tragedy it’s the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another. (Applause.)
It’s what we do on a daily basis to give our lives meaning and to give our lives purpose. That’s what matters. At the end of the day, what we’ll remember will be those we loved and what we did for others. That’s why we’re here.
I’m sure that many of you who are parents here had the same reaction that I did when I heard this news. My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater, as so many of our kids do every day? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight, and I’m sure you will do the same with your children. But for those parents who may not be so lucky, we have to embrace them and let them know we will be there for them as a nation.
So, again, I am so grateful that all of you are here. I am so moved by your support. But there are going to be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection.
So what I’d ask everybody to do, I’d like us to pause in a moment of silence for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover, and for all the victims of less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities every single day. So if everybody can just take a moment.
(Moment of silence.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. I hope all of you will keep the people of Aurora in your hearts and minds today. May the Lord bring them comfort and healing in hard days to come.
I am grateful to all of you, and I hope that as a consequence of today’s events, as you leave here, you spend a little time thinking about the incredible blessings that God has given us.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Obama! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-…
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-50…
Yes, Rep Coffman – your military experience and faux combat tour in Iraq is TOTALLY appropriate to pimp in a press release about a shooting in your district…
… but just barely.
But “nothing like this has ever happened here?” Way to throw the families of Nathan Dunlop’s victims under the bus, Congressman.
“This was the type of violence that I would have expected when I served in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps – not tin the safe zone where I was, but you know, in the other places but never here at home, except when this kind of violence did happen like when Nathan Dunlap killed all those people at Chuck E Cheese, and even last New Year’s eve at the Red Lion when a riot broke out and other times that I can neither recall nor cite because I spend most of my time focused on Washington and keeping my job even though we have an un-American president.”
It is kind of an odd thing to say considering all the world famous mass shootings right here in the USA and especially in Colorado in the not terribly distant past. My heart’s not in jumping all over the guy today. Maybe he’s just kind of odd.
I said what I said out of anger.
However… someone who has lived in this area for as long as he has still ought to have remembered Chuck E. Cheese. It was possibly the first (god, the first – what a hell of a thing to say) mass shooting in the Denver area, right in Aurora. It really is impossible to forget, even with all that’s going on.
I’m going to guess that Coffman didn’t write the statement he put his name to, and that the author is possibly an intern too young to remember Dunlap (assuming intern is actually from Colorado), and Coffman might not have even read it before it went out.
Despite your moniker, SSG_Dan, the above post makes me wonder if you were ever in the military… or, if you were, did you ever see combat? Except for the fools behind the “Swift Boat” attack ads against John Kerry in 2004, (I have no respect for them either.) I have never run across a combat vet who dissed another vet’s combat experience for the simple fact that they know they weren’t there to make that kind of judgment.
In 1991, Coffman took a leave of absence from the State House to serve as a light armored infantry officer… and yes, he saw combat in the Persian Gulf War. In 2005, he resigned as State Treasurer to rejoin the Marines — at their request — to serve as a a civilian affairs officer in the western Euphrates Valley. This wasn’t the Green Zone and any Marine posted there, in any capacity, will tell you the whole region was a combat zone. Besides, Coffman did all this at ages 50-51. Somehow, Sgt Dan, I just don’t envision you going through Combat Readiness Training at age 50. So,unless you were with Coffman’s unit, in either theater, you really are not qualified to make such ridiculous statements like “faux combat tour.”
Too bad you feel as though Coffman is “pimping his military service.” I imagine that when anyone spends 23 years in uniform, their military experience defines a lot of who they are. (Being a middle school teacher for 22 years defines a lot of who I am.) I imagine that is why Coffman was appointed to the House Armed Services Committee.
What a truly absurd statement, Aristotle. You’re actually comparing Nathan Dunlop’s shooting spree robbery nineteen years ago with the Aurora theater shooting?! Dunlop was a disgruntled ex-employee, who gunned down five people, who seemed to have known him, with a hand gun — killing four — and took off with over $1,500 cash.
That isn’t remotely the same as a heavily armed gunman, who randomly shot 70 people he did not know with a variety of weapons.
Your premise is totally off base and no, Coffman, didn’t “throw the families of Nathan Dunlop’s victims under the bus.” I suspect the kind of carnage that took place, at the Century 21 theater, was very much like incidents U.S. servicemen saw in Iraq, but not in Aurora, Colorado. Even Aurora Chief Dan Oates, with 33 years of experience — 21 in NYC — stated he had never seen anything like what happened on July 20th. Coffman’s analogy makes a whole lot more sense than yours does.
I see no reason to state how others should respond to this. Everyone is going to have their own reaction.
with Coffman’s statement isn’t whether any such thing has happened before in Aurora. Knock yourselves out arguing that angels-on-pinhead point if you wish.
The problem I have is that it had happened before at all . . . elsewhere . . . repeatedly. The name of the specific geographic point is no longer relevant in the least, and it is no longer an excuse.
This never happened before in Greeley, or Grand Junction, or Breckebridge, or Cortez, or Lamar, or Sterling, or Monument, or Estes Park, or Boulder, or . . . I hope you get the point, because my point is it no longer matters one whit where this hasn’t happened before, . . . kid yourself if you want — Hometown USA isn’t all that special, or all that different . . . but, where it will most assuredly, undoubtedly happen next if some several things don’t change.
Deny it as much as you can, but you can only hit the snooze alarm so many times before you actually have to wake up.
With its highly restrictive gun laws.
Your point is meaningless in my estimation.
I can promise you I own at least as many guns as you, without even counting, and likely multiples. Way to knock the stuffing out of that straw man, however. Impressive.
Don’t worry though, you’ll never have to face this problem in your town or neighborhood . . . this is obviously only a problem for others, those less exceptional. Rest easy.
You know me well enough to know that I don’t think like that. I wasn’t assuming you were anti-gun at all.
My point was simply that inhuman, despicable acts like this can happen even in the most unlikely of places, like Norway. I don’t find this to be a uniquely American symptom, and certainly some will disagree with that. That’s ok.
You and I might disagree on things like the Brady Bill, etc., but I just don’t know. It’s never come up.
Anyway, I wasn’t being as snarky to you as you might have thought I was. Sorry if I came off that way.
I’ve met two of the kids that were killed yesterday – didn’t “know” them, but it’s just such a mess.
I do know many of the cops that were on scene, and some of them are really struggling. A lot of APD cars were out of service because they had so much blood in the backs of them from officers dragging the wounded out of the theater and throwing them in the back of their cars to get them to hospitals more quickly. A lot of heroism all the way around.
it can happen anywhere, everywhere — mywhere and yourwhere — sooner than later if some things aren’t changed.
The canard that “nothing like this has ever happened here before” is so much meaningless twaddle.
It’s uniquely human, sadly yes; but, it’s uniquely inhuman to let this continue unaddressed and unabated — to say that the best we can do is pray, and support, and lift up the victims; the rapidly growing and ever expanding number if victims. It isn’t the lack of support, and prayers, and coming together that!s ever been the problem.
I’ve got a good buddy that’s been doing evidence recovery and crime scene investigation for the last two days; that includes removing bodies from the scene. He worked Columbine, also — it took a long time for him to get past that. I’m tired for my friend, I’m tired for all those who are dealing with this directly and indirectly, and I’m already tired for those who will be doing it all over again next time wherever and whenever that next time may be.
This happens too often, too easily. We’ve made, and allowed, it to be so for far, far too long.
…he has lost all respect from me for violating the UCMJ regarding his comments toward the CiC, and his candy-ass tapdancing he did afterwards.
Regarding my comments about his faux deployment, Coffman spent most of his time in the Green Zone pushing paper. He was not a combat officer, he did not lead Marines into battle, and his constant inference that he deployed to Iraq on a combat tour is disingenuous at best and insulting otherwise.
Lastly, a deployment to Iraq (as a Marine, a Contractor or a Mormom=n Missionary) has FUCK-ALL to do with a domestic shooting spree in a movie theater. NOTHING.
If he wanted to comment on election fraud by the Republicans, THAT would be appropriate.
Coffman was not working from the Green Zone in Iraq. He was in the Western Euphrates River Valley.
The Marines specifically asked him, back in 2005, to help set up local governments and the national elections in that area. This required him going out to meet with tribal leaders in their villages. You better believed he was armed in doing so.
Was he actively leading combat troops in 2005-06? No — and he never claimed he did — but he was definitely serving in a combat zone then. There was a reason the Marines had him go through Combat Readiness Training at age 50. They knew they weren’t going to have him sitting behind the desk in the Green Zone.
Did he lead combat troops in the Persian Gulf War? Definitely. That is the only function of a light armored infantry officer during an invasion.
You’re offended that Coffman allegedly violated the UCMJ by dissing the CIC? Coffman retired from the USMC in 2006. He’s a civilian now.
There is nothing wrong with you disagreeing with Coffman’s political positions, although he clearly represents the majority of the beliefs of the congressional district he has been twice elected to. It’s your baseless claims about his military service that is offensive to a lot of veterans.
Coffman has more of a military background than the CIC, vice president, and you combined. Besides, it seems most military veterans do not like Obama as CIC either. You are in the minority… again.
http://www.rasmussenreports.co…
…You’re offended that Coffman allegedly violated the UCMJ by dissing the CIC? Coffman retired from the USMC in 2006. He’s a civilian now….
No, he is retired. He is NOT a civilian. He subject to recall to AD at any time – and there are many MANY retirees who have been called back to AD, so much so that the DoD has set up a special website just for retirees –
http://www.dfas.mil/retiredmil…
If he continues to pimp his USMC cred at every opportunity, then he needs to also obey the rules and regulations that purports to emulate. One fundamental concept of military leadership is RESPECT – he seems to have forgotten it. COMPLETELY.
….Coffman was not working from the Green Zone in Iraq. He was in the Western Euphrates River Valley…..
And again, no. Coffman was assigned to assist in conducting the Iraqi elections and drafting of the Iraqi Constitution, and was primarily in the Green Zone. He left on occasion to supervise elections in Tal Afar, but his primary duty station was Baghdad.
And lastly, that poll is about Obama, not Coffman – BULLSHIT on changing the subject. However, it’s a typically inflated Rassy poll, so here’s an article and survey from a legit news organization:
http://www.reuters.com/article…
I’m not the one being absurd.
None of the uber-faux-patriots have posted anything today other than Albert’s asshole comment in the open thread.
I guess if it isn’t related to gargle, bargle, bashing Obama, they don’t have anything to contribute. It’s pretty sad actually that they have no empathy for the victims or their families.
It is just as possible that the right-wing posters here are comforting family members or friends in real life and, as a result, haven’t logged on to the computer to make a token statement as a comment to a blog post. This is hardly the time to judge and belittle any Coloradan. As names are released, it is likely that we will all find out we know someone, or know someone who knows someone, who was affected.
Where is the expression of sympathy from our conservative pro-gun rights bloggers?
Not one post.
You draw your conclusions and I’ll draw mine.
If it turns out they’ve been in line to donate blood and without an internet connection.
Maybe some just don’t feel like posting today or don’t tihnk it’s helpful for them or others.
Judgement is not mine
but my primary emotion today is one of anger.
I am angry to the core of my being that our citizens will continue to be slaughtered in our streets and public gathering places by sick individuals who have unrestricted access to unlimited arsenals of weapons and no access to health care and any attempts to deal with this crisis will be met with hysterical screaming that “you can’t take away our right to automatic weapons”.
We as a society and the conservative “Pro-Life” segment in particular value showering the rich with as many benefits as possible while failing to provide access to mental health care to those most in need.
I’ve known people who had severe mental health issues who ended up taking their own lives and I can tell you as a fact that they can’t heal themselves. It is impossible. They can’t even hold down jobs to pay for their treatment. The conservative mantra is that these people are on their own and have to deal with it themselves. ”Government can’t help so let’s give all our money to the rich and the ‘job creators’ will solve the problem for us”. It’s morally wrong but we’ll read about another mass murder tomorrow and say “Too bad but I’m glad I’m not one of those unlucky victims” while the “Pro-Life” pro-gun advocates will continue to impede and obstruct any meaningful effort to deal with this crisis.
I’m angry today because we as a society are evolving into a police state where you are going to have to pass through metal detectors to go to the 7-11 and people’s freedom of movement will be voluntarily restricted because of fears of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and these cowardly motherfuckers are enablers of that dystopian future. They can’t even admit in writing that something is wrong.
Have been before – for all the good it did me. Or anyone.
All I’m saying is I can think of a million good reasons someone has not posted today. Rage, by the way, is on that list. On an airplane. Driving cross country. Shot. In jail. And a million others.
These people spout all manner of being “Pro-Life” and how compassionate and morally superior they are than the dirty liberals when in reality they help foster a climate of fear and violence with their vociferous screeching about how “Guns don’t kill people” and “Get rid of mental health clinics because it is socialism”.
The probability is on my side that they are petty cowards who rush to provide the first post when it comes to political attacks but don’t show up when it is time to show some humanity towards the victims of their guns are good ideology. Maybe one or more of them is doing something noble today but all of them? Come on.
Right-wingers don’t get to dodge criticism for facilitating tragedies like this (with the policies you note) by saying “no no don’t politicize this,” even as Mitt and the Repubs “politicize” everything bad by blaming Obama for it.
Here’s another.
The 9.11 victims were compensated – some of them really well compensated.
I get that the FAA and there federal gov’t were exposed. As were the airlines.
But since guns can shoot people and cause other property damage- why aren’t gun owners required to buy insurance to compensate their potential victims? Either on the gun – or more appropriately on the ammunition since the gun without bullets is not much more dangerous than a crowbar. Maybe less.
Of course, I understand that bullets without the gun are almost as harmless, but I don’t know how to create an insurance product that insures only the moment the bullet enters the gun and causes inappropriate death or destruction.
.
To provide a compensation fund. Unlikely a private insurer would want to write policies on this sort of thing.
Of course “taxes” and “guns” are not to be spoken of in the halls of government.
From news reports, the gunman fits to a tee the FBI profile of a young white male loner. Apparently dropping out of pharmacy school. Avoided social/eye contact, even among his neighbors.
My prayers to the victims and their families. I only wish I could promise our communities will never again suffer this type of tragedy again.
Especially at times like this I come to this website to see if there is a way to make sense of the senseless.
Thanks, Polsters.
There are never adequate words to address what happened in tragedies like Columbine or Aurora. Many of the feelings of shock and anguish, that occurred thirteen years ago at Columbine, have come back to haunt us once again. I found the media coverage for both events to be eerily similar and equally discomforting.
The calls for more gun control, as well as those saying some patrons in the theater should have been able to have a concealed weapon to stop the madness, are premature and without foundation. In circumstances like this, we really do need to let the investigations play out, lest we start jumping to conclusions before knowing what the facts truly are.
Disturbed individuals will find a way to circumvent any gun law on the books to achieve their purpose. If your intent is to kill, why would you worry about breaking a gun law or two?
The notion that a few armed patrons could have stopped this latest act of madness is ridiculous. The shooter tossed a canister of some form of chemical irritant, and possibly a smoke grenade, first. I doubt a trained police officer — standing in the auditorium — could have gotten off a shot without being obstructed by panicked civilians or overcome by tear gas.
One thing does stand clear though. This senseless act of violence is precisely why no state should take the death penalty off its books. Society should never become comfortable with the death penalty, but for crimes like this, it is truly the only just punishment. Do any of us really want to pay for this killer’s upkeep for the next fifty years or so?
I would rather pay for his upkeep for the next fifty or so years than pay for his execution.
I strongly suspect you are in the minority.
… and ONLY like this (premeditated mass murder)… I can support the death penalty.
BUT… it bears keeping in mind that we’re going to spend a huge amount of money, any way you cut it. I doubt he’ll be tried before 2014. When it finally happens, his trial will probably last for weeks. I predict he will receive the death penalty, but that’s never a given. Terry Nichols dodged that bullet twice, after all. But assuming he does, how long will he be on death row (where the expense per inmate is much greater than other maximum security prisoners) before he runs out of appeals? 20 years? 30?
If you care about the expense, he’s going to cost us a hell of a lot more than if he gets a life sentence. (Unless he decides not to fight it, which sometimes happens.)
Try reading Nancy’s diary, and see if you can feel a little empathy for people who don’t give a fuck about your position on the death penalty or gun control right now. Why must everything be an excuse for your posturing?
The death penalty is a total failure as deterrent. Especially with the average street criminal’s intelligence and inability to think long term.
Killing this man will not bring any of the victims back to life. It is only vengeance, which if one is a good Christian or Jew, seems to be explicitly up to God.
There is absolutely no difference in crime rates between states that do and don’t have the death penaly.
Our justice system is so messed up that we have walked something like 140 men on death row baed on new DNA evidence.
Lock ‘em up, let them think about their miserable life for the next 50 years.
Sunday
Aurora Municipal Center
6:30 PM Start