The real issue in my mind is more and better control of people with serious mental issues. Most people with mental problems are not violent. However, there are a few that do and we need more and better protection from them and for them.
I am old enough to remember when President Reagan shut down the mental hospitals back in 1986 in an effort to control the federal budget. Mental hospitals were painted as torture chambers and places not fit for human occupancy in order to sell this to the public. The media bought it hook line and sinker as did the public.
I can think of no instance where people were shot in wholesale manner by anyone who was not dealing with mental issues. Additionally, shootings like what we all have seen in recent times were very rare before 1986 when mental hospitals were up and running to accomodate those with mental issues.
President Reagan was shot by a citizen with mental issues. Just think of all the instances recently involving people with mental issues and the consequences of not keeping them in a safe haven and controlled environment.
In every instance shootings of people by people with mental issues were thought out in well planned detail. Parents of the people who did these horrible acts were at the end of their rope on what to do and very few options to deal with their children who carried out these unthinkable acts.
I can remember when you could see advertisements for war surplus guns of all makes and kinds in comic books, Sports Afield, and other magazines for as little as $10 each. President Kennedy was shot by a mentally unstable person with just such a gun. The reaction was to shut down mail order gun sales of cheap guns and not deal with the mental health aspects of this terrible acts.
Today, we have the media in lock-step trying to get more and tougher gun control laws on the books as a result of the Sandy Hook School shootings. I would offer we need more and better mental health laws and facilities in this country. Right now the only place most cities and counties have are jails and prisons for these folks. This is a very costly environment and it does nothing to address the problems of mental health confinement needs. The mother of the young man who did the killings was at her wits end on how to deal with her son.
Be careful what you ask for. Some people in the govt. already think if you are prepared to defend yourself you should be removed from society. I have no faith in a govt. that will sell automatic weapons to Mexico and use drones to kill enemys of the state in the middle east killing them without a trial. I am not sure a rational discussion can be held. We are only becoming more divided.
ReplyDeleteI saw a piece on the noon news on chanel 7 today with Ada County Sheirff Gary Rainey about the people with mental health issues in the Ada County jail and that it costs $200/day to house these people in their jail. He also disucssed teh shortage of mental facilities in Idhao and resources for dealing with mental inmates.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind we need to go back and revisit the wisdom of what happened when the mental hospitals were closed.
The media is not going to let up on gun violence and gun control and that just is not the problem: It is a symtom of bad government policy with how to deal with people and their mental health issues.
I hear talk of making EVERY gun sale require a background check! Would this mean that I could not sell any of my guns to anyone from my family members to friends I have known for years a "background check" situation?
ReplyDeleteI hate what happened at Sandy Hook but I see all of this spinning out of control and taking dead aim at constitutional rights. I am not a gun-nut nor am I a member of the NRA but I see nothing but problems for gun owners and sportsmen on the horizon.
One observation is most of these mass killing events take place at soft targets where little to no resistance will happen nor would anyone expect this kind of tragedy to take place. The people who carry out these kinds of things need to be put in a special place before they get the opportunity. Their parents have to come to grips with the possiblity their child is a monster.
ReplyDeleteIt is better for Congress to take up action now rather to to stonewall and kick the can down the road. All it would take is more mass shootings like this and the President could pass a law by executive order and all these types of firearms would be illegal.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t see the interview with Rainey I wish I would have I have always enjoyed a good fiction story. I am not going to call Gary a lair but, I am going to say he’s full of crap. I as a former guest of his at his as he calls it “bed and breakfast” am here to say Gary you’re lying out your arse. The mental health screening consisted (as of 2009) of 1 yup that’s right 1 question regarding hearing voices when I asked the deputy why they asked the question his answer was (I will attempt to spell this how he pronounced it) schitzophrinika, when I asked if he meant Schizophrenia he replied ya. I would think part of Gary’s imaginary $200 a day would include hiring deputies who were capable of pronouncing the disorder they supposedly were screening for.
ReplyDeleteWhat really boils the restaurant grapevines oil is that the democrats are always getting blamed for gun control. Nampa's pawn shops are full of guns, why? The leading citizens; movers and shakers, and the local government entities have created a town full of empty buildings, low wage jobs, and high taxes in the industrial areas that create jobs. This type of situation has forced the population to hock off their guns in order to just survive. Yet, the same ones that created this situation think that they are the only ones with the rights and privilages to own guns. Good example of republican gun control, right?
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