I’d like to begin this post by offering my continued prayers for the full recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford and all the other survivors of the Tucson, Arizona massacre. I’d also like to express my condolences to the friends and family of those who perished in the rampage killing carried out by Jared Loughner.
That said, I think we need to address the political rhetoric being bandied about, first and foremost by Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, who just hours after the mass shooting called Arizona a, “a mecca for prejudice and bigotry" and blasted the "vitriol" in today's political language. On Sunday, the sheriff, who is at the center of the shooting investigation appeared to go after the state's gun laws.
Before I even weigh in on the topic of gun control, let me start out by explaining that I, personally, have been a victim of gun violence. In 1991, I was a vibrant 15 year old, an all-state athlete and honor student who had just been “discovered” by a modeling scout on the streets of Manhattan as I was out shopping with a girl friend one day.
On October 12, 1991; while hanging out in downtown Jersey City after the homecoming football game, two gangs showed up to settle a turf dispute, saw a few hundred kids hanging about and in an effort to clear the area, fired a warning shot into the crowd. I was struck by the stray bullet.
In a matter of seconds, a criminal with a gun, changed my life forever.
To be clear, this gangbanger had not applied for a permit, filed no papers, nor was he subjected to any background checks.
According to preliminary reports, Loughner, 22, a Tucson, Arizona native, was a long-time anti-government proponent who was suspended from Pima Community College.
The school said Loughner had as many as five run-ins with campus police for "classroom and library disruptions," and was suspended after college police discovered a YouTube video apparently created by Loughner in which he claimed the college is "illegal."
The school sent a letter to Loughner's parents stating that if Loughner wished to return to the school, he would have to "obtain a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the College does not present a danger to himself or others." Rather than return to school, Loughner dropped out, the statement said.
The Daily Caller has reported that Loughner also had prior run-ins with the law in the form of at least one arrest, according to two Public Access documents as well as a history of drug use. He had also been rejected by the army for failing a drug test.
All of this begs the question, why was Loughner allowed to legally obtain the Glock 9mm pistol that he used in the massacre?
Somehow this question has been lost amid the public outcry for stricter gun control laws. I don't agree with stricter gun control. It's our Second Amendment right to bear arms. According to Politico, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), has already drafted legislation that she plans to introduce as early as Monday.
McCarthy ran for Congress after her husband was gunned down and her son seriously injured in a shooting in 1993 on a Long Island commuter train. McCarthy today will officially announce she is working on a bill targeting the high-capacity ammunition clips the gunman allegedly used in the shooting, as Politico first reported.
"My staff is working on looking at the different legislation fixes that we might be able to do and we might be able to introduce as early as tomorrow," she told Politico.
The congresswoman plans to discuss the legislation this week with Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, her staff confirms to CBSNews.com. The handling of the proposed legislation will be the first test of the 112th Congress, to prove to the voters who elected them to office that they recognize the United States Constitution as more than just a historical document. Not for nothing, but this administration has already run rough-shod over the Constitution as it is.
We need better access to mental health and tighter screening of those who seek to own guns legally. The bad guys will always find a way to get a gun. The one that I was shot with certainly wasn't registered.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who only identified the shooter as a 22-year-old white male, said that from evidence online and through information he’d received from two schools Loughner had attended, led him to believe that the gunman was "unstable."
If the sheriff could deduce that from preliminary information gathered within the first few hours of the incident, how did this knowledge elude those whose job it is uncover such facts in order to prevent such people from obtaining weapons in the first place?
We need to take the focus off of an across-the-board ban on private gun ownership, and redirect attention to strengthening governmental procedure that regulates it. I’m not sure what the answer is, perhaps as my friend Benjamin suggested, “mental patients should have their info flagged in the FBI computer by their attending doctor so that these sort of patients are carefully evaluated in the prospective ownership of a firearm.”
An excellent suggestion at face value, but even before the first file was documented; the left would be up in arms about invasion of privacy.
Gun control will never stop those intent on acquiring weapons for nefarious reasons from doing so; all it will do is create a vulnerable citizenry, unable to defend themselves.
JGG
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