It’s been an abysmal news cycle in Colorado since our last issue. First, we had one of the worst fires in our state’s history. 346 homes were destroyed on the edge of Colorado Springs in the 18,247-acre Waldo Canyon fire which started on June 23. As of press time, the cause has yet been determined.
Here in Salida, we felt some of the effects: from smoke in the valley to evacuees taking refuge in the cooler climate. At the local farm market I met a couple from Woodland Park who had to evacuate their home and were fortunate to have a second home here to escape to. Another couple were from Manitou Springs, the first area to be evacuated, and were camping out on national forest land. They joked about how they weren’t allowed to have a campfire.
It was so dry here in Salida that the authorities cancelled the July 4th fireworks, even banning possession of such devices. Fortunately, the often overstated Colorado “monsoon season” arrived, offering some relief for firefighters and residents alike.
Later on in the month, on July 20, a gunman opened fire on a theater full of moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado after tossing a gas canister into the theater. 13 people died and 58 were injured by the assault which included a twelve-gauge shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine and a Glock 22 handgun. The suspect, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes, had purchased nearly 7,000 rounds of ammunition in the 60 days before the shooting, most of it on the Internet.
One of the ironies of this tragic story is that up until the time when Holmes entered the theater and began his massacre, everything he did was legal; possession of the weapons, purchase of the ammo, even driving his arsenal to the scene of the crime – all within federal and Colorado law.
Naturally the hand-wringing began, just as it had in 2011 after Arizona Congresswomen Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by a single gunman who killed six others and injured 13. But this is a political year, and both candidates, rather than incur the wrath of the National Rifle Association, spoke only to the horror of the event and the sorrow they felt for the victims of this heinous crime. The dialog on assault weapons in the U.S. will again be firmly placed on the back burner and remain there until the next mass-killing – and yes, there will be a next one. This is, after all, the land of the free. Free to purchase 7,000 rounds of ammo as if one were buying a book from Amazon.com.
Were either of these tragedies avoidable? Perhaps, to some degree. It is not yet known if arson was the culprit in the Waldo Canyon fire, but the fact remains that the homes were built on the edge of a thick forest and just as those who build in a floodplain risk inundation, those who construct and purchase homes in fire zones have to assume that risk. The insurance claims from the recent fires is estimated to be nearly $500 million.
Regarding the shootings in Aurora, the blame firmly rests on the shoulders of the lunatic who brought about the mayhem. But he did have accessories to his crime, among them the film industry, which insists on showing greater violence on the screen with each passing year. The gunman himself claimed to identify with one of the villains on the screen that fateful night. Also, the ease of access to such lethal weapons, none of which any hunter needs to bag his prey or homeowner to defend his property, is a real problem.
What we desperately need in this country is an honest discussion on where to draw the line – on both violence in video games and in the media – and the ease of purchase of powerful weapons that go way beyond the needs of sportsmen. But I’m afraid if we wait for our elected officials to begin that dialog, we’ll be waiting long after the next massacre of innocent lives. – Mike Rosso
(Note: In between these two fiascos in Colorado, I had to make the unfortunate decision to put down my awesome feline companion due to kidney malfunction. Farewell, Ivan, and thanks for being such a great cat and housemate – hope we again someday.)
