ngnrd
Member
Before anybody agrees to the government's intrusion into another person's medical history on the basis that it would benefit society, please ask yourself two questions... why? ... and, to what end?
If the answers are that we need to keep guns away from the mentally incompetent in order to keep horrific events like Newtown from happening... well, you need to understand that none of the proposed or recently enacted laws would have prevented Adam Lanza from doing what he did. You see, here's something that isn't generally reported... while Adam didn't fit into the "normal" box that society (and by extension, our government) seems to think people should fit into, NONE of his diagnoses included any conditions linked to violent behavior. And with no diagnosed propensity for violence, there was no reason to bar either him, or his mother from owning firearms. If this is upsetting to you, please identify which of his specific mental illnesses should have been the red flag in this case? Or should just the fact that he had some kind of mental illness be enough to bar him from firearm ownership?
Pushing, or even just accepting "mental illness" as a justifiable reason to disarm the American people based on the Sandy Hook tragedy is foolish on its face. And it is also dangerous. How many "normal" people have had - at one time or another in their lives - a period in which they were anxious or depressed, had a bout of OCD or ADD, had a panic attack, or were forced to get treatment for anger management because they got in a fight as a teen? What of those among us that have phobias, or eating disorders? Would you argue that these mental deficiencies are any less dangerous than Lanza's non-violent conditions? Or would you instead willingly turn in your firearms because you, or your roommate, or a member of your family, or your holiday houseguest, have been proven to be less than mentally perfect and shouldn’t be trusted around such a dangerous tool?
Before you answer, I’d like to remind you that there are those that would argue that even wanting to possess an “instrument of death” like a firearm is a legitimate sign of mental deficiency. So, be careful what you wish for, for you just might get it.
If the answers are that we need to keep guns away from the mentally incompetent in order to keep horrific events like Newtown from happening... well, you need to understand that none of the proposed or recently enacted laws would have prevented Adam Lanza from doing what he did. You see, here's something that isn't generally reported... while Adam didn't fit into the "normal" box that society (and by extension, our government) seems to think people should fit into, NONE of his diagnoses included any conditions linked to violent behavior. And with no diagnosed propensity for violence, there was no reason to bar either him, or his mother from owning firearms. If this is upsetting to you, please identify which of his specific mental illnesses should have been the red flag in this case? Or should just the fact that he had some kind of mental illness be enough to bar him from firearm ownership?
Pushing, or even just accepting "mental illness" as a justifiable reason to disarm the American people based on the Sandy Hook tragedy is foolish on its face. And it is also dangerous. How many "normal" people have had - at one time or another in their lives - a period in which they were anxious or depressed, had a bout of OCD or ADD, had a panic attack, or were forced to get treatment for anger management because they got in a fight as a teen? What of those among us that have phobias, or eating disorders? Would you argue that these mental deficiencies are any less dangerous than Lanza's non-violent conditions? Or would you instead willingly turn in your firearms because you, or your roommate, or a member of your family, or your holiday houseguest, have been proven to be less than mentally perfect and shouldn’t be trusted around such a dangerous tool?
Before you answer, I’d like to remind you that there are those that would argue that even wanting to possess an “instrument of death” like a firearm is a legitimate sign of mental deficiency. So, be careful what you wish for, for you just might get it.
