3 August 2012. PenzaNews. The Court of the US state of Colorado formally charged James Eagan Holmes with mass murder. The shooting occurred on July, 20 at the Century 16 Movie in Aurora, Colorado, during the screening of the latest Batman film The Dark Knight Rises: 12 people were killed and almost 60 wounded. The attacker may face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

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The massacre provoked a mixed reaction of the American community: some people started calling for more restrictions on ammunition sales again, but at the same time gun stores are seeing a big jump in demand for firearms. According to the US law enforcement authorities, on July 20–22, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm, which is 43% more than on the previous weekend.

The current US gun law is based on the right of self-defense however it is difficult to say whether it is justified if none of those sitting in the theater tried to defend themselves by shooting back. This is the opinion expressed by Brent Simon, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) in an interview with news agency “PenzaNews.”

“In my opinion, the issue of paramount importance should be closing loopholes on background checks for gun sales. Currently, sales of firearms at stores require a background check and waiting period, but weapons can also be bought at traveling gun shows, and over the Internet. While convicted felons would still be flagged in these arenas, this is still dangerous, as it allows the mentally ill access to deadly weapons. That needs to be rectified,” he said.

According to Brent Simon, the National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun-owners club, is a very powerful political player and contributor to campaigns of many Congressmen and –women but “politicians – with the backing, blessing and involvement of the public – need to have the courage to tackle the gun lobby and try to reform the gun laws.”

Analyzing the possible causes of the tragedy, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association supposed that movies could become points of obsession or focus for only those suffering from psychiatric disorders.

“Shootings of this sort are the result of either psychopathy (Eric Harris, one of the Columbine, Colorado teenage killers), severe and suicidal depression (Dylan Klebold, the other Columbine shooter) or delusional mental illness (the Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho),” the expert stated.

Despite the fact that medical opinion has not been reported yet, Brent Simon suggested that on the first wave of evidence James Holmes falls into the latter camp.

“Schizophrenia and many other mental disorders often begin to most manifest themselves in the early 20s, and are marked by increasingly intrusive thoughts, wild paranoia and the like. But it is not like The Dark Knight Rises or its predecessor triggered Holmes’ illness; it just became a point of fixation (likely one of many), and the premiere of the movie gave him a guaranteed crowd,” he explained.

At the same time, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association noted that Hollywood would be very sensitive to charges of moral bankruptcy. However, the expert does not foresee any radical changes in content.

“After all, The Dark Knight Rises was not among the more brutally violent films of the year,” Brent Simon emphasized.

In addition, he suggested that the gun violence in the country is not purely a product of movies, videogames and entertainment media.

“Other countries watch and consume many American-produced forms of entertainment, and do not suffer from the same homicide rates, or as frequent types of mass killings. It is more a result and symptom of various deficiencies and funding gaps in governmental mental health programs,” the expert said.

Meanwhile, Peter Krausz, Chairman of the Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA), a Psychologist, stressed that studies do not show a provable causal link between seeing movies or images and actual criminal behaviour.

“Who can fully understand mental illness, psychotic episodes and antisocial behaviour? There was supposedly a case in the UK after a screening of Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange in 1972 when a man mimicked the behaviour of Alex in the film, and that caused censorship issues which in turn made Kubrick very angry. One or two cases of copycat behaviour support the notion that for most people there is no impact on behaviour as people understand the difference between the illusion and creation of movies and real life,” he said.

At the same time, Peter Krausz suggested that certainly automatic weapons and larger weapons should be better regulated.

“Vigilantism and self-defence are problematic areas, but arming everyone in the cinema does not solve the problem. We are again dealing with isolated, specialized incidents of mental disorders that could occur in any public setting. It is impossible to predict them or adequately prepare for them,” he emphasized.

In the mean time, Peter Krausz noted that he did not see how censorship or the Hays Code serves any purpose to reduce the number of such crimes.

“The behaviour will still occur in isolated cases no matter what you do. Do we want a sanitized cinema that eliminates anything that might prove to be potentially difficult for some people? We are all presumably normal functioning adults, and it is the few who exhibit or have these aberrant behaviours that cause the problem,” said Chairman of the Australian Film Critics Association.

In turn, Anthony Glees, Professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham and director of its Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS), believes that the right way forward is for those who produce and direct films to be encouraged to take ethical values and lawfulness more seriously again.

“They need to think of the impact they have not just on the 90% of people who are non-violent in a social sense and want to live in peacefulness but on the 10% who are only too ready to resort to violence if this thing, or that thing, does not please them,” the analyst stated.

Despite the fact that in Batman movies violence is used to combat violence, in an attempt to restore lawfulness, and on the side of the civil society, cruelty, according to the expert, should not be acceptable.

“Just as great art encourages people to think great thoughts, and extend the mind, so violent art encourages people to think violent thoughts, and narrow the mind,” Anthony Glees said.

Analyzing the current US gun law, Professor stressed that terror freezes the victims of violence.

“This is one reason why I oppose the NRA and the logic it employs,” the analyst explained and added that violence in a liberal democracy is not a human right but a crime.

“The right to possess weapons designed for the specific purpose of taking life must be subject to the most stringent controls and should never be glorified,” he concluded.

Major cases of mass murders in the United States in 2010-2012:

July 20, 2012, Colorado. A gunman opened fire on the audience in the cinema: 12 people were killed and almost 60 wounded. 24-year-old local man James Eagan Holmes is suspected in the shooting.

April 2, 2012, California. 43-year old South Korean native One L. Goh opened gunfire on the campus of Oikos University in Oakland, killing seven people and injuring three.

October 13, 2011, California. A man shot nine people, killing eight of them in Meritage beauty salon where his ex-wife worked.

September 7, 2011, Nevada. As a result of indiscriminate shooting in a café, four people were killed, a few more were wounded. The attacker shot himself.

August 7, 2011, Ohio. After a family scandal, a man shot and killed five people, then two more before being killed by police.

July 7, 2011, Michigan. 34-year-old previously convicted Rodric Shonte Dantzler killed seven people. Then he shot himself.

June 19, 2011, New York. Unknown killed four people at the drug store. The offender managed to escape.

June 2, 2011, Arizona. 73-year-old Carey Hal Dyess several times opened fire on people, killing five and injuring one person. Later, the offender shot himself.

January 8, 2011, Arizona. 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner shot a member of the US Congress Gabrielle Dee Giffords and killed six people, opening fire at the meeting of the congresswoman with the electorate. The offender was declared insane and sent for compulsory treatment.

January 5, 2011, Nebraska. 17-year old son of an Omaha, Nebraska police detective Robert Butler, Jr. opened fire at school. Two people were killed, one was injured. The offender committed suicide.

July 12, 2010, New Mexico. A former employee opened fire at the plant. Three people were killed and eight wounded.

June 18, 2010, California. Unknown opened fire at a fast-food restaurant. As a result of the incident, two people were killed and three, including the assailant, were seriously injured.

April 19, 2010, Tennessee. Unknown shot people standing at the exit from the medical center. Two people were killed, two were wounded. The offender shot himself.

April 4, 2010, California. Unknown opened fire at a restaurant in North Hollywood. As a result of the tragedy, four people were killed and two wounded. The offender escaped.

March 30, 2010, Washington, DC. Unidentified shot the crowd in a street in the US capital. Three people were killed and six wounded.

January 20, 2010, Virginia. 39-year-old Christopher Speight shot and killed eight people.

January 7, 2010, Missouri. Timothy Herndon opened fire at the plant. As a result of the incident, three people were killed and five wounded.