The Virginia Tech shooting is something that i have deliberately tried to avoid writing about since it happened last week. First, i felt that i didn't want to draw any unneeded attention to the issue because I felt it was indeed a sensitive one. Secondly, I feel that the news and media have , in some ways have gone too far as to what they have been reporting. In fact, at times, it seemed that they would report any and all details, no matter now foolish, about the infamous Seung-Hui Cho [gunman]. Thirdly, i believe that if anything, the attention should be focused on the victims and their families in their time of need - especially in taking the time to celebrate the lives of those lost, and to embrace those survivors who were involved. However, once i saw this headline on CNN's website: "Legal Loophole gives mentally ill access to guns," I felt like I couldn't avoid it.
According to the article, "Under federal law, anyone who has been judged to be a danger to himself or others because of mental illness, as Cho was, should be prohibited from buying a gun."
So what happened?
"A deadly information gap"
"...his mental status never went in the system."Now, i pose the question again... how did this happen? Well, if you ask me, despite the obvious answer outlined in the article, it comes down to a complete and utterly unacceptable oversight on the part of the legislators who drafted the Virginia law. It's because of situations like these that those laws are put into place to begin with right? Those gun laws are implemented as a safeguard - to protect the innocent against the potentially mentally ill who might decide to go out and purchase a gun. But what are they good for if the state law is not in compliance with federal law?
It looks like the State of Virginia has some housekeeping to do... Now, i don't mean to put the blame on anybody in particular, but its just so sad that something like this has to happen in order for the lawmakers to catch these mistakes and discrepancies between federal and state laws... What can we do? What do the lawmakers want us to do?
Hell, maybe if we paid them more money they would have gotten it right. Right?
2 comments:
first let me say, how terrible this whole incident was. i pray for all those. then i say the laws exist to keep people from getting guns when they are mentally ill. the problem was the shooter was not considered mentally ill by law, though he had written stories of someone who was obviously distrubed, he was not considered mentally ill "enough" to be required on his license and id. the gun shop owner has even received death threats, its interesting how people are greatly sadden by the act of taking inocent lives, yet they are willing to kill the shop owner, the is hypocritical because he was inocent and sold the gun without violating any laws. either way, my prayers go out to all those effected by the tragedy, hopefully the healing can begin.
guns dont kill people, dangerous minorities do
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