People should stop blaming 40 yr. old Robert Card's FAMILY for not taking his guns away.

[pnwmom]

Card isn't a child. He's a single adult, whose only son (a recent high school graduate) has been living with an ex-wife Card divorced in 2007.

The "family" quoted in the articles consisted of a brother and a sister-in-law who HAD repeatedly reached out to the Army with their concerns about his mental health. It wasn't his brother's job to break into Card's home and remove his weapons.

The Army sent him for two weeks of mental health treatment this summer, because of their own observations of his behavior -- and they notified law enforcement.

So the FAMILY had done their part. It was the AUTHORITIES who fell down on the job.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/maine-mass-shooting-suspect/story?id=104342351

Card was previously married. His ex-wife filed for the divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, which was granted in 2007 with shared custody of the couple's minor child, court documents show. The divorce order was amended in 2013 to include shared parental rights and responsibilities of the child, whose primary residence was with his mother, the documents show.

SNIP

A U.S. Defense Department official confirmed to ABC News that Card was "behaving erratically" while deployed over the summer with his Army Reserve Unit to Camp Smith Training Center in upstate New York to support summer training for West Point cadets.

Leaders of the Army Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment informed garrison staff at the training site about his behavior on July 17, the defense official said.

"Out of concern for his safety, the unit requested that law enforcement be contacted," the official said.

[Lovie777]

1. NRA and GQP make sure the blame goes somewhere else.......................

that's their MO.

[pnwmom]

2. Unfortunately, there are DUers who've been saying that, so I was reacting to them.

It's hard enough having a mentally ill or drug addicted relative, without being blamed for everything they might do.

[maxsolomon]

3. sometimes family are the only ones who can act.

when my BIL was arrested (for insane shit I don't want to share w/ DU), it was his father that came and took his guns.

it does seem like card's family took what action they could. people want there to be a way to stop these shootings; we grasp after any potential solution.

which authority in Maine had the right to act? IIRC, there are no red-flag laws.

[pnwmom]

8. In the Card's case the family did what they could -- reporting him.

The brother would have been risking his own life if he'd confronted his armed, psychotic brother.

You were lucky that your father in law wasn't hurt when he intervened.

[NutmegYankee]

4. It's unknown if anything could be done.

Adjudicated mentally defective is a HIGH burden. The mental illness could have been a mania phase of Bi-polar, which can cause very paranoid behavior but is not an illness that people lose the right to own guns for. I know several gun owners with that illness, and others who have had depression. It's a strict and high burden to overcome.

[ripcord]

13. Maine has a yellow flag law

It requires a medical examination not just layman's opinions.

[NutmegYankee]

19. And in practice is worthless.

[BigmanPigman]

5. I was reminded that the two mass shooters

Ethan Crumbley and Robert Crimo were both underage murderers and their parents bought them guns or signed cards allowing for the sale of a gun to their child. Both families knew their child was "not normal" but they did not see a problem. Both sets of parents are also being charged, along with their child.

They were minors. Robert Card was not a minor. He bought those guns himself. His family likely didn't supply him with his automatic weapons. This is ALL on him. He is an adult.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-crimo-jr-father-highland-park-parade-shooting-suspect-trial-can-continue-judge-rules/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/parents-michigan-high-school-shooter-ethan-crumbley-trial/story?id=98072544

[Attilatheblond]

15. It is ALSO on lawmakers who take NRA $ and refuse to ban sale of assault weapons of war to public

This is on the puppets who allow their strings to be controlled by particular businesses and groups funded partly by Russia.

[LiberalFighter]

6. I agree

[John1956PA]

7. This may not be on point, but the family is described as being pro-militia.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/robert-card-who-is-the-suspect-in-the-maine-mass-shooting/ar-AA1iU0m8

The above-linked article states the following: "Maine resident Liam Kent told NBC that he grew up near Card and his family, who he described as 'gun fanatics' and 'very much associated with right-wing militias.'

It could be argued that the family is trying to deflect a long standing right-wing mindset as a contributing reason for the slaughter. His sister-law has stated that he recently received "high power" hearing aids. (If he has hearing loss, it might have been caused by practicing with high-powered rifles.) She says "this is not him" and that he has always been a gentle person. She did not mention that one of his two former wives had to obtain a restraining order against him.

[pnwmom]

9. He's 40, so the family he grew up in isn't around anymore, except for one brother.

The family mentioned in that article probably refers to Robert Card's parents.

Neither the brother nor his wife sound like pro-militia people -- and in any case, they weren't living with the 40 year old and weren't responsible for him. Even so, they did reach out to authorities, who bear the blame for their lack of response.

That includes the legislators who refuse to pass Red Flag laws.

[John1956PA]

14. Yes. Robert Card's parents are alive and are remaining silent.

I have read that neighbors did not feel comfortable with the Card household as Robert Card was growing up.

It is not cleart at this point how much, if any, effect the family's (parent's/sibling's) right-wing and militia mindset (and the home environment of RC while growing up) played in spawning his horrific act. Perhaps the note which law enforcement found at RC' s home will shed some light on his decision to commit mass murder.

[pnwmom]

16. The parents couldn't have stopped him, either. He was hearing voices.

He had been on the Army base, making threats, and the ARMY sent him for mental health treatment but the Army didn't remove his weapons. How could his parents, his brother, or anyone else be blamed for not stopping him when even the Army and the law enforcement agencies felt their hands were tied?

[John1956PA]

18. Robert Card was a loose cannon.

No, it was not tenable for any individual to stop him. My only point is that his family background may have contributed to a mindset of hatred and weaponry. The Waco tragedy in the mid 1990s helped bring bring the militia movement to the forefront. RC's parents own hundreds of acres on which the family home is situated. (The parents still live in that home.) The house in which RC was making his residence at the time of the massacre is located on that large tract of land owned by the parents. I am offering for discussion the possibility that the WACO tragedy galvanized the parents, who, in turn, indoctrinated young RC (then about twelve years old) with a militia and right-wing mindset. In his adult years, RC had two failed marriages. The wife in one of those marriages obtained a restraining order against him. Within the past year, he lost his job at the recycling plant. I could be wrong, but I suspect his upbringing contributed to his massacring lives yesterday.

[pnwmom]

20. Well, the whole state of Maine has a gun culture that could have contributed, too.

That's why they don't have a Red Flag law.

[NickB79]

10. Not all states have red flag laws, unfortunately

In fact, less than half of US states have them. Without such laws, the family taking his guns would literally be theft that he could have them arrested for.

And there's no guarantee the shooter wouldn't have either shot his family if they took matters into their own hands, or just bought new guns.

[pnwmom]

11. Exactly. The brother (the only "family") would have been risking his life

to confront his psychotic brother about his weapons. Card purchased the gun he used in 2023 but I don't know if that was before or after his hospitalization this summer.

[ecstatic]

12. I've only seen people blaming politicians and law enforcement

which is 1000% appropriate.

[WarGamer]

17. 100%