Washington State is currently voting* on whether background checks need to be part of all gun sales including person-to-person, and sales at gun shows -- where anyone both tall enough and having enough cash can, apparently, buy themselves any gun they see.... For fifteen years, I have volunteered at a soup kitchen that serves many people with mental health problems. I have never been threatened or felt unsafe; nevertheless, I dont believe any of our mentally ill guests should be allowed to own guns. Paranoia, delusions, wild mood swings, and periodic breaks with reality are not qualities that are consistent with safe and responsible gun ownership. Im sure the 34,500 mentally ill people on this list are not all actively dangerous, but most of the mentally ill spree shooters had not done anything actively dangerous prior to their horrific acts. The point of the law is to keep guns out of the hands of people with a high potential for using them unwisely. I wonder how many NRA members would feel comfortable going to a shooting range or on a hunting trip with a paranoid schizophrenic? S W Hubbard, NJ, commenting in todays NYT. *We just got our ballots mailed to us. Weve got Weeks to vote. How cool is that?
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:15:04 +0000