General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I have a diagnosed mental illness. [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)Not to make light of your situation--that was a tough upbringing and a difficult life for you and your poor mother, who didn't deserve that shit.
I agree with you. He didn't need any damn guns.
I also don't think that gun ownership is a "right" and everyone should have them on demand--but try selling that POV in this country. We don't let "everyone" drive, after all. We don't let "everyone" practice surgery. Hell, we don't let "everyone" own a dog or a cat without getting a license, either. And it's not just "the mentally ill" who should get a finger pointed at them; it's drunks, people who are drugged to their gills, it's people with hot-tempers and nasty, confrontational attitudes, it's people who are lazy and sloppy and inattentive; they don't have a "right" to get stupid or clumsy or exercise poor judgment and kill people. How to sort 'em out without violating medical privacy, though? That's the conundrum. And because of that, nothing will be done. There will be a lot of talking, and nothing will come of it. Until the next time some asshole with a gun kills a dozen or more people for no good reason. And then there will be more talking. And nothing will come of it. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But, like I said, this culture is ingrained with the whole "guns are a right" POV, when what ought to be "rights" are decent educations, access to health care, a healthy breakfast for growing children, safe streets, and warm homes in winter.