Well, there’s been another horrendous mass shooting here in America, the Land of Opportunity. Another nut-job with a gun walks into a school and executes innocent people. Why? What I hear, he was anti-government, anti-religion and apparently anti-humanity. He was kicked out of the military and was once turned away at a firearms academy because he seemed “weird” to the instructor. He had been in trouble all his life and had been treated for mental illness. How can a known wacko obtain a gun and ammunition?
Who’s to blame for turning this mentally unstable person into a mass murderer? Since he was born in England and lived in California before moving to Utah, we can’t blame the Confederacy. There are no apparent ties to ISIS or another terrorist group. He was infatuated with guns and killing, but so are most men who like the taste of venison and dove. So, I ask, why was this nut and hundreds just like him allowed to obtain weapons and ammunition to carry out their assaults?
Before anyone starts cussin’ me, let me set y’all straight on my view on gun control. I am not promoting gun control. I have guns, and there are numerous critter carcasses drawing flies that can vouch that I know how to use ‘em. So I will never preach about gun control. What I want is gunman control. Most mass shooters have a history of mental illness, and yet they are allowed to own guns. Some have walked into stores and purchased guns and ammunition shortly before their killing sprees.
After 9-11, the government implemented a “No Fly List” for people who might be a threat to Americans on airplanes. There’s no telling how many wackadoodles have been caught by airport security. We seldom hear about what could’ve happened when some crackpot gets caught beforehand. We hear about the ones who slip through the cracks, grab a gun or make a bomb, and set off to commit mass murder.
One issue that hampers law officials in keeping an eye on potentially dangerous mental cases is the HIPAA Law. Information on mental patients is not available to firearms retailers. Oh, write a few bad checks, and every retail store has you on their hot check list. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a “No Buy List” available to gun dealers to show them who aren’t eligible to purchase a box of ammunition? How about a list like the one for fraudulent credit cards that pops up on a cash register that informs the cashier that this guy’s a nut and you should contact the police immediately?
I know this might not be the solution to keeping guns out of the hands of lunatics, but we have to do something, folks. As of Oct. 2, there have been 296 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. President Obama is frustrated over the lack of concern over mass shootings. Lebron James is angry over the shooting of a five-month-old child. Southerners are upset about our heritage being blamed for one incident when there were 295 other mass shootings scattered from Maryland to Oregon.
Some folks want stricter gun control. Others are calling for better mental health care. Arming college students might help with security or might increase the number of school shootings. I know there are a mess of people with licenses to carry handguns, and some of them are probably crazier than a rank mare. Heck, I personally know a few gun-packin’ folks who aren’t playing with a full deck. I don’t think they are capable of mass murder, but I wouldn’t want to find them all liquored up and then bad-mouth their mommas.
Hey, I sure don’t have a solution to ending this rash of mass shootings. Maybe my “No Buy List” idea might help. I do think we should stop blaming long-gone leaders of the Confederacy, cops, the federal government or religious groups. This is a widespread problem afflicting all Americans. We have to take guns out of the hands of crazed killers, not away from sane, law-abiding citizens.
Clint Younts has a wide array of guns that he totes, but only to keep the coyotes, possums and skunks at bay.