Gun Nut


Apologies for the less than serious photo, but maybe I was hoping it would be an attention grabber for what's amounting to an utter tragedy--Friday's double homicide/suicide at Louisiana Technical College:

Latina Williams had been living in a car and showing signs of paranoia before she went to a New Orleans pawnshop where she bought the .357-caliber revolver she used the next day to fatally shoot two classmates and then herself, police said Monday.

Williams, 23, kept the weapon concealed in her purse as she opened fire Friday at her Louisiana Technical College nursing classmates before stopping to reload, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Sgt. Don Kelly said.

Sad to say, neither signs of NOR A DIAGNOSIS of mental illness disqualifies a person from purchasing or owning firearms in the Gret Stet:

Even if Williams had been declared mentally defective in Louisiana, it would not have turned up on the federal background check.

Louisiana is one of several states that do not report to federal authorities records of people whose mental condition should prevent them from owning a handgun under federal law.

The state provides only criminal information to the federal government for background checks.

Now, for the record, I don't own any firearms, and have only shot a few small pistols or rifles at various practice ranges...but I tend towards absolute 2nd amendment rights. If nothing else, Pandora's box is already wide open; I also think most gun owners are responsible, I've known plenty of hunters, and even dated/lived with a woman who was and presumably is quite proud of her SK-47...

All that said, there is absolutely NO excuse for civil society allowing the sale of or otherwise providing guns to the mentally ill. Even the National Rifle Association should recognize this very plain fact.

Adding to the tragedy is that of course not even a year ago another mentally ill person did almost the exact same thing, with even more horrific results. Unfortunately, the subsequent debate, instead of focusing on the problem, devolved into nonsense about whether or not students should be carrying guns on campus/into class.

How many tragic lessons is it going to take?