I suppose it is the size of the communities and the number of fatalities that make the killings around Geneva compelling and horrible. The populations of the three towns are only in the few thousands, like so many other small centers of population in the state. Scott Stantis' cartoon is as good a comment as any I've seen. Yesterday, The Governor offered his own analysis: we need to revisit the firepower available to law enforcement in the state's smaller communities, since the murderer had "assault" weapons (an SKS and a Bushmaster (pictured above, right), with magazines taped together; a shotgun; and a .38-caliber handgun) and the local police "only pistols".
Already groups that advocate more gun-control are using the shooting as an example.
Should we now provide high-powered "assault" rifles to the approximately 200 towns in Alabama with between one and ten thousand residents, roughly the size of the the communities in the center of the shootings? Would those weapons be kept in patrol cars, or at the police department? The first increases the potential for theft, the second delays getting them to the scene. The entire incident around Geneva was relatively brief. Michael McLendon set his mother's house on fire around 3:30 and then shot himself about 4:15. Is more firepower really an answer? Should we further limit access to those so-called "assault" weapons? The suspect had no criminal history, nothing to prevent him from buying a houseful of armament if he wanted. What do you think?
[UPDATE: There is a report that McLendon was unhappy with family members over ownership of a family Bible, and was trying to hire a lawyer because of the dispute.]
No Gun Control! Ever!
ReplyDeleteAs tragic and horrible as this event was/is, it is no justification for outlawing private ownership of firearms.
ReplyDeleteMore than anything else, it bespeaks the necessity of rigorous psychological evaluations for police officer candidates.
The deceased gunman Michael McLendon apparently attended, then flunked out of police academy. His unstable character of drifting from job to job, and his propensity toward harboring resentments is clear evidence of emotional instability.
Could he have been treated, and could such treatment have prevented this tragedy?
Perhaps.
Unfortunately, we'll never know.
Mental illness continues to be stigmatized, and those whom suffer sometimes get to their "breaking point" with devastating results.
But keeping firearms out of the hands of mentally unstable people, and rigorous psychological testing of police officers and trainees are but two potential solutions.
Though an almost trite adage, when firearms are outlawed, only outlaws will have them.
People have found and will find ways to kill others without firearms.