Congress may act to keep guns from mentally ill
Rushlimbo
Posts: 832
These guys in Washington come up with some outlandish ideas. Keeping firearms from crazy folks ?! What a thinktank we have working for us.
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U.S. Congress may act to keep guns from mentally ill
By Thomas Ferraro
Sun Apr 22, 4:09 PM ET
Prompted by the Virginia Tech massacre, a U.S. Congress reluctant to tackle gun control may pass limited legislation to help keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill, lawmakers and aides said on Sunday.
"Given the horror that happened at Virginia Tech, I think there's a real chance of passing this," said Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat, told "Fox News Sunday."
A Republican leadership aide agreed, telling Reuters, "If there is a consensus, and it is in lieu of knee-jerk draconian measures, (the chances are) probably really good."
Congress was initially hesitant to respond to the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech on Monday with any vow to toughen gun-control, a politically divisive issue.
In fact, Democrats, who had earlier championed such measures, including a since expired 1994 ban on assault weapons, effectively abandoned the issue when they won control of Congress last year.
Yet after it was determined that the Virginia Tech killer had been admitted earlier to a psychiatric hospital and deemed "a danger to himself and others," lawmakers dusted off previously rejected legislation.
Seung-Hui Cho, a Virginia Tech student, took his own life after fatally shooting 32 others. He had bought two handguns in Virginia but his mental health had not made it to a federal registry.
The proposed bill would provide money to the states to help update the national instant-check background system with mental-health adjudications, which ban firearm purchases.
In the House of Representatives, Rep. Charles Dingell, a Michigan Democrat and gun-rights proponent, has teamed up on such legislation with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (news, bio, voting record), a leading gun control advocate.
Appearing with Schumer on "Fox News Sunday," Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), a Pennsylvania Republican, voiced support.
So did Sarah and Jim Brady, two leading gun-control advocates. They have helped lead the charge since Jim Brady was wounded in the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. He was Reagan's press secretary.
"We're not working to take handguns away from people. But what we do believe is that we need to curb the availability of these weapons to prohibited classes: felons, fugitives, and of course in this case, those who have been adjudicated mentally ill," said Sarah Brady who appeared with her husband on CBS's "Face the Nation."
A bill passed by Congress a decade ago and named for Jim Brady, required an instant background check for gun buyers.
"What we had here, unfortunately, as come out in the last day or so, is that the system did break down," Sarah Brady said.
(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai)
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U.S. Congress may act to keep guns from mentally ill
By Thomas Ferraro
Sun Apr 22, 4:09 PM ET
Prompted by the Virginia Tech massacre, a U.S. Congress reluctant to tackle gun control may pass limited legislation to help keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill, lawmakers and aides said on Sunday.
"Given the horror that happened at Virginia Tech, I think there's a real chance of passing this," said Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat, told "Fox News Sunday."
A Republican leadership aide agreed, telling Reuters, "If there is a consensus, and it is in lieu of knee-jerk draconian measures, (the chances are) probably really good."
Congress was initially hesitant to respond to the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech on Monday with any vow to toughen gun-control, a politically divisive issue.
In fact, Democrats, who had earlier championed such measures, including a since expired 1994 ban on assault weapons, effectively abandoned the issue when they won control of Congress last year.
Yet after it was determined that the Virginia Tech killer had been admitted earlier to a psychiatric hospital and deemed "a danger to himself and others," lawmakers dusted off previously rejected legislation.
Seung-Hui Cho, a Virginia Tech student, took his own life after fatally shooting 32 others. He had bought two handguns in Virginia but his mental health had not made it to a federal registry.
The proposed bill would provide money to the states to help update the national instant-check background system with mental-health adjudications, which ban firearm purchases.
In the House of Representatives, Rep. Charles Dingell, a Michigan Democrat and gun-rights proponent, has teamed up on such legislation with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (news, bio, voting record), a leading gun control advocate.
Appearing with Schumer on "Fox News Sunday," Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), a Pennsylvania Republican, voiced support.
So did Sarah and Jim Brady, two leading gun-control advocates. They have helped lead the charge since Jim Brady was wounded in the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. He was Reagan's press secretary.
"We're not working to take handguns away from people. But what we do believe is that we need to curb the availability of these weapons to prohibited classes: felons, fugitives, and of course in this case, those who have been adjudicated mentally ill," said Sarah Brady who appeared with her husband on CBS's "Face the Nation."
A bill passed by Congress a decade ago and named for Jim Brady, required an instant background check for gun buyers.
"What we had here, unfortunately, as come out in the last day or so, is that the system did break down," Sarah Brady said.
(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai)
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
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Comments
Amazing how the Bush doctrine on pre-emptive action is considered ok somewhere else but not so much at home.
I wonder what took so long for the powers that be to embrace this mind-numbing epiphany?
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
"No one cares about climbing stairs, Nothing at the top no more." Chris Cornell
Why oh why didn't anyone ever think of this before?!!?!
Arnhem 29th August 2006
London 18th June 2007
How about ...
That's retarded?!
Different cultures I guess.
Arnhem 29th August 2006
London 18th June 2007
Wow, that was just down right rude.
I'm not for banning the right to own firearms at all but they do need to do some serious work on the requirements and abilities of people to legally purchase them. Of course that isn't going to stop people from buying them illegally but seriously mentally ill people should not ever have been able to purchase a gun!
Really? I wasn't even trying either.
Arnhem 29th August 2006
London 18th June 2007
While I'm not sure where I stand on banning guns exactly, I do know this:
GUNS WERE BANNED ON THE VA TECH CAMPUS. Nevermind, mentally ill or properly licensed, NOBODY was supposed to have them so it doesn't make me real confident that any gun laws will be effective.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Why not?
Thier irresponsible use of language can kill too.
Yes, he was. He was actually on an inpatient unit previously and was at one point deemed "dangerous to self and others".
Responsible people do not pose a problem in terms of gun ownership. The problem of course being that many gun owners are gang members, mentally ill folks, and others who do not fit the definition of responsible.
Put the crazies on an island and there would be no problems. They could own guns and drive drunk (crazy drunk) and society as a whole would continue to prosper.
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
too bad they dont understand this theory when it concerns the USA PATRIOT ACT.
i have always liked your style
Is that the same thing as being officially ruled mentally ill? I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking the question.
But I also made a second point - that, by law he wasn't allowed to have that gun on campus so it doesn't seem that stricter gun laws are the answer since he was already operating under the strictest of laws as they were banned completely.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Yes, a professional makes the diagnosis and you're then technically mentally ill. There was no legal or court ruling at any point because he never went to trial for any reason (to my knowledge).
And I agree with your second point 100%. Stricter laws will not solve this problem.
Why are you discriminating against them? Don't they have the same rights as anyone else?
Everyone is exactly the same. We cannot judge. :rolleyes:
Eddie Murphy talking to Stevie Wonder in the car:
"You want to impress me? Take the fucking wheel, now that would impress me"
He was declared a threat to himself and others by a Virginia court and ordered to inpatient treatment at a mental health facility.
You second point is good but it also exposes the flaw in having different gun laws in this country. Take the state of New Jersey for example. We have some of the strictest gun laws in the country but yet we have a lot of crimes where fire arms where involved. The large majority of them are illegal fire arms, but the majority of these illegal fire arms where purchased in states where the gun laws are far more lax. There was a report published that stated that most of the illegal weapons where traced back to Virginia which has very laxed gun laws and is only a 5 hour drive from New Jersey. So a case can be made that by enforcing some what more stringent gun laws across all states you can signoficatly reduce the amount of illegal weapons on the street.
But, as things go, there are plenty of other things I'd rather spend my money on. Car mods, stereo upgrades, and perhaps a new mtn. bike are just a few things that immediately come to mind. Guns are cool, but they're nowhere near the top of my list.
Then there's the issue of home security. I'm a deep sleeper anyway. Besides, I'm really, really depressed these days. I think there's a distinct possibility that if I owned a gun, say, sometime late last year, I might or might have been around to post this ridiculous nonsense right now.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
A lot more blind people should be allowed to drive and fly airplanes...the discrimination really is absolutely terrible. I think all Public transit bus drivers should be blind.
Yes that would be the most logical thing to do to avoid discrimination.
.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
and if he hadn't been able to buy one, he wouldn't have had one on campus either. he WAS diagnosed as mentally ill.
though im still not sure how they can enforce this.
not quite. yes, it is almost impossible to enforce a campus ban becos you cannot tell who is carrying them. however, to carry them onto campus, you have to buy them somewhere first. if he had not been able to buy one (a MUCH easier and more enforceable law), then he wouldn't have been able to carry it onto campus. is this really so hard to comprehend?
that said, im not sure how they get mental health to show up on background checks. it's why i still think it's fucking stupid to do background checks.
take note folks. this is the response of a man trying desperately to recover some dignity after being made to look like the fool he is.