Neato Torpedo wrote:Actually, what I'd like to know is how someone deemed
too insane for community college managed to buy a semiautomatic weapon through purely legal channels. Blind people shouldn't drive and the mentally ill should not own guns.
the ACLU.
thats how.
Over the years, we have dismantled the mental health services in this country because A) its expensive, and B) the ACLU spent the 70's and 80's arguing in court, that most people in state institutions were capable of taking care of themselves.* Thousands were released, and in most cases these people ended up being the homeless that you see in most major cities. As it turns out, they weren't able to take care of themselves.
Over the years, less and less attention and funding was paid towards mental health services in this country, and most of these sick people go untreated. They mostly make up your homeless today.
How does this explain Loughner being able to legally buy a hand gun?
Well back when we had state hospitals, we as a society knew who the mentally ill were. Now we have nothing. We have individual police reports, from various different communities, if and only if, the mentally ill have been caught committing a crime. Thats how.
As an aside, but related, most people born since the 70's have been taught tolerance. Society hears it all the time. What that means is when we see the kid twitching in the corner during school, or laughing for no reason what so ever in the back of the room, we have been told to look away.
I think it's safe to say, no one did a thing for Loughner. He slipped through the very large cracks.
I read today, from a local Arizona blogger and no confirmation yet, that the Sheriff was very aware of Loughner in his community, and his staff had numerous run ins with him. The Sheriff went so far as to tell people that they shouldn't file charges, because Loughner was getting help. No help was given. Obviously.
* I have some personal experience with this. My aunt, my moms sister, was mentally ill. Aunt Leslie spent the first few decades of her life living at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino. Everything she needed was provided for, and she was constantly supervised. She was released in the late 70's, because she came under some ACLU ruling. (the specifics escape me, maybe i could research it, maybe i won't.) Since she was now an adult she could do what ever she wanted, so she left. Every few years we would get a phone call from Aunt Leslie, she would be living at some truck stop, or in someones barn. She would never come home no matter how much we tried. All the while, people were taking care of her, everywhere she roamed. She would always find somebody that would bring her in and care for her, but in the end, she would end up leaving. We haven't heard from Aunt Leslie in a decade or so. No clue if she is alive, or dead. Can't find any record of her. She could probably buy a gun.
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by Dan Lambskin » Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:35 pm 
