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Originally Posted by JustJess
A few questions, without many answers in this rather brief article:
1. Mental illness, anyone? I think that's pretty clear that he's gone off the deep end. He was seen measuring his lawn.
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Many people are obsessive/compulsive. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a mental illness, otherwise we'd all be declared incompetent. My hangup is dirty dishes, when they are supposed to be clean. I've been known to yell at my kids for not checking the dishes before they put them away and pulling them all out and washing them by hand. Does that make me a homicidal maniac?
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Originally Posted by JustJess
2. Gun control questions arise - let's infer that this guy was high-functioning. No mental illness history, or else he would not have been able to get the gun permit, correct? But clearly he's got issues that have developed into a serious problem. What do we do about these situations? How do we regulate idiots from being able to own guns? Do we require classes/training first?
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short answer - you can't. People can, and do, flip out. Also, gun permits are not required for shotguns/long guns. This COULD have been prevented, but I have to place some blame on the kid and the parents of this kid. They KNEW this guy had an obsession with his yard, knew it for 5 years. That does not justify the murder though. This guy seriously overreacted and deserves the death chamber or life without parole. A tragedy on all counts.
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Originally Posted by JustJess
I know that the real problems are with illegal gun owners - perpetrators of crimes are not concerned with permit laws. But it's these people, using their guns for crimes like this, that are clouding what might be a clear cut issue. While I wish for harsher penalties for perpetrating a crime with an illegal/unlicensed gun, it's things like this that make me not want regular people to own guns either.
What do you suggest, as REAL WORLD possibilities, as an answer to cutting down on crimes such as this?
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senseless crap happens, thats life. MAYBE, if more people had taken an interest and helped to mediate, it could have been avoided. I really don't know.