Its been reported this morning that 14 year-old Jaylen Ray Fryberg used a legally purchased handgun in shooting 5 fellow students, killing one, and seriously wounding 4 others, including 2 cousins. Jaylen Fryberg defied the usual portrait of a troubled loner, though time may reveal a different picture. What we do know is that primarily relying on the availability of mental health diagnostic and treatment services and the NRAs call for everyone to become a good guy with a gun to prevent mass shootings are policy prescriptions carved out of political cowardice! Only strong national gun control laws are the answer to measurably diminishing these tragedies. I wrote two blog posts on this subject after the haunting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. Here are two excerpts from, Sandy Hook: Acting On What We Know @ www:afrankopinion.net For those who state that guns are not the problem and that the focus should be on the early detection of mentally unstable individuals who may become homicidal, here’s what we know. It is impossible to predict with certitude that a mentally unstable individual will act out their homicidal thoughts. This assumes that we know that they possess homicidal intentions in the first place. We know that people generally find it exceedingly difficult to inform mental health professionals or law enforcement authorities about friends, neighbors, classmates, fellow workers, or even family members that they suspect may need help. And we know that mental health services are often neither available nor effective. For those who believe that securing our schools either with armed personnel or body scanners is the answer, here’s what we know. There are an infinite number of public places that would need such protection as the mass shootings that have occurred over the last 10 years have demonstrated. However, let’s pretend for a moment that mass shooters are only interested in schools and that every community and school board in every state agreed to either armed security or metal detectors in their schools. Could you have one without the other? Wouldn’t you need armed personnel at the ready in case an unauthorized gun was detected? Try to imagine a society where everyone is armed to the teeth, much less the cost - what stupidity.....what cowardace.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 17:11:50 +0000
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