Columnist on Isla Vista Killer:More Gun Control Won't Work

[Red Wind]

A very well done article by Helen Aguirre Ferre' who breaks the mold of most of today's columnists. Thoughtful, balanced and well written, she graphically points out that no more California or Federal restraints could have stopped this rampage.

Your thoughts,THR?

Quote:
BY HELEN AGUIRRE FERRÉ

[email protected]

It should not take another mass murder, like the one that occurred at University of California at Santa Barbara, to make us realize that we have a sinister problem with violence and mental illness.

Apparently, it will take more violence before we seek the right solutions because so many are jumping to the wrong conclusions. Violence and mental illness are the problem; more gun control won’t solve it. The facts are disturbingly similar to the violent murders in recent years committed by young men, but they bear repeating in order to determine if more gun control will stop the next mentally disturbed would-be killer.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/31/4149351/confront-violence-and-mental-illness.html

The full article^

 

[MErl]

Could have been written by a member here.

This troubles me though. More talk of balance and giving up freedoms.

The core issue is that the policy makers and the medical community have been unable to address in real terms forcing treatment on adults who desperately need it but refuse to submit to it. In the past, forced treatment of mentally ill patients was abusive and violated personal freedoms. That must be avoided, but there is no question that we must find a necessary balance.

I think it comes down to are we willing to have this happen now and then (it is not commonplace) in exchange for not having gov monitoring of our thoughts.

 

[ohbythebay]

I published it on facebook

While I agree "thought control" is not wanted, its about time we see a good article that has the clear view of "the tool is not the issue".

If you have facebook, do the same, get the word out.

 

[Red Wind]

Very good. Never done better than in Shane,1953. " A gun is just a tool".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ternps0JFwo

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Forced psychiatric holds are known as 5150's in CA. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5150_(involuntary_psychiatric_hold)

I was discussing it with someone a couple weeks ago and his argument is police should fudge around the level of evidence to meet the requirements of evidence to hold people against their will for three days, for the greater good.

Yeah, I have a serious problem with giving law enforcement perverce incentives to fib, and giving the state more power to hold and harass innocent people. That's a pretty slippery slope.

 

[40-82]

The line between the criminal and the disturbed is subtle and not easily defined. Even when you see the criminal act coming from a disturbed person, and almost always someone does, its not always easy to prevent it without violating rights that we don't want to give anyone the authority to violate.

Red Wind,

I loved the clip from Shane. I haven't seen it in years. Long years before I saw the movie I can remember my father's voice saying the same words. "A gun is a tool as good or as bad as the man who carries it." Thank you.

 

[Red Wind]

Red Wind,

I loved the clip from Shane. I haven't seen it in years. Long years before I saw the movie I can remember my father's voice saying the same words. "A gun is a tool as good or as bad as the man who carries it." Thank you.

You are welcome,40-82. I have loved it too, since seeing it at age 11 ,in the premier of the movie in the summer of 1953 in Paterson, New Jersey. My home town.

Shane, the Starrats,Tory, will always be with us. This was more than just a movie. It is America, scrambling to make our place in the world and succeeding.

Shane, with all his goodness and his flaws, exemplifies that special place.

Shane.The final climax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1l3TboL5MI

 

[Red Wind]

Please delete . Duplicate

 

[Red Wind]

The crosscuts create tremendous tension. Shane, twirling that gun to show you he's done this before!

Director George Stevens was a genius. There will never be a one on one shootout to match it. Never. Jack Palance was one of a kind.

It's all adds up to the greatest Western ever, IMO.

 

[CoalTrain49]

A few columnists are venturing away from the "we need more gun control". Mostly because everyone likes to beat that dead horse and nothing changes. The AG folks will keep this up until just about everyone, even the non-gun owning public, is fed up with it and denounce it for the worthless solution that it is. I see maybe more licensing coming but that isn't gun control. Gun control is what they have in CA when they make certain types of weapons illegal. Licensing is people control and targets people like felons who have demonstrated that they have the capacity to be violent. Maybe mental patients should be added to that list and denied the ability to purchase also. But then we open up another can of worms by abusing 4A right to privacy. The NSA has found a way to do that in the name of terrorism so maybe just add one more thing to the list to prevent a mass murder.

 

[DNS]

Blaming guns is simply the easy way out and relieves the MH community of inaction.

I've got experience with a mental issue family member and in the end it simply boils down to money. Basic services for the masses and usually only more after that point if required by a judge or some other authority. From my view its not been proactive like you'd think but simply reactive after an episode/event.

For us its been eight years and counting. Although we now see a light at the end of the tunnel it's been a long and costly road. I do miss having a good shooting hand for pistol competition.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Very good. Never done better than in Shane,1953. " A gun is just a tool".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ternps0JFwo

This is a good article.

Ain't yella.

 

[Somewhere in NM]

Much of gun control logic is along the lines of

- We must do something!

- This is something

- Therefore, we must do it!

Then they can say they tried. Nevermind that this "something" doesn't accomplish anything, and violates the constitution.