A Congresswoman was shot through the brain. It happened while she was meeting her public in the parking lot of a grocery store. Others were shot and killed. Not one of them had done anything to deserve such a fate. The boy who shot them was obviously mentally ill. He was apparently able to purchase a gun because he had never misused one before. He left clues all over the internet that indicated his thoughts were not rational. His behavior in school had frightened classmates who were afraid he might come into the school as a shooter. He was, as they say, a ticking time bomb. What could have been done to avoid this tragedy?
I'm not sure why Mrs. Gifford did not have official bodyguards. There is security for some but not for others? That must be how it works. The shooter was not tagged by anybody in law enforcement as dangerous. He was seen as a nuisance but not a danger to self or others. Because we are a country based on individual freedom, that boy was able to say and do odd, frightening, threatening things without being committed to a mental institution. Did he not have a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia? Was there not someone in his family who was willing to step forward and get a commitment in place to take him off of the street until he was stable? I know families are afraid to press these commitments because we are not usually objective about those we love. There have been countless families killed by children who could have been treated by professionals. If only someone would have spoken up. I am aware, however, that it is very difficult to hold anybody with a mental illness for any length of time. Local mental health centers are supposed to pick up the responsibility for those who have been hospitalized for mental illness. This does not mean the mentally ill person is forced to comply with medication or treatment. There is not enough money, in my opinion, allocated to care for the mentally ill. In a way, we remain in the dark ages when it comes to mental illness. Paranoid Schizophrenia can obviously be a dangerous diagnosis unless treated correctly.
Individual freedom stops when it comes nose to nose with another's right to safety. This mentally ill, threatening, unstable man was able to purchase a weapon. We seem to like our right to bear arms. I don't argue that Constitutional right either. I do wonder if there is not a better way to manage the purchase of firearms. Should every gun purchase be entered into a local law enforcement data base? If law enforcement had a data base with the shooter's name listed as someone who MAY be a threat, and if they had a list of those who have purchased a weapon, perhaps the local law enforcement would have been aware and on guard before the tragedy struck. Actually, who in our country NEEDS a gun of the sort the shooter purchased? Either we all need them, or no one needs them.
Perhaps this event will trigger some new consideration about gun control. Perhaps we will include the elements of this tragedy in our homeland security discussions. If we do not, we can expect future events. There is no way to completely eliminate such tragedies, but for the sake of those who died or were injured, we must take another look at ourselves and our values. I pray for the safety of my children and grandchildren. I'm sure the victims of this tragedy prayed for safety for their children. No matter what else happens, for everyones' sake we must learn something valuable from this and change the way we do business.
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