And this is because of a crazy twenty-something guy with a gun. Yes, it's true that we need better mental health care in this country. It's true that in some cases, it should be easier to commit someone showing dangerous, unhealthy behavior to a mental institution.
But Wayne La Pierre of the NRA (National Rifle Association) would have us believe that knowing the whereabouts of severely mentally ill people, keeping some of them in a national database, is fine while keeping a national database of gun owners is not. It infringes on our right to privacy; to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
He asserts that keeping guns out of the hands of criminals is all we have to do, so we won't infringe on the rights of lawful gun owners just trying to protect their families.
To me, the first statement is hypocritical and the second is simplistic. Because when does a criminal become a criminal? Maybe he's already committed some criminal act before he buys a gun at a gun show. OR, maybe she doesn't become a criminal until she takes the gun out of her purse one day and shoots someone in the grocery store parking lot. Maybe he's always been a mild-mannered dentist until one day he gets depressed or angry, slides the gun out of the drawer, and shoots his wife and children.
Criminals may be able to get guns, and that's "criminal," but using a one's own legally bought gun when you've never used one before can make you a criminal. It usually does make you a criminal, immediately. Charged with murder, attempted murder, or something else.
So I hope we can get beyond the simplistic, the hypocritical in this issue and pass legislation that's practical, based in public health and common sense. Guns are too easy a tool for killing and injuring people.