Quote:
Originally Posted by cologal
Yesterday my hometown suffered yet another senseless gun tragedy. In this case 4 people were killed including the shooter. I will post a link to a report by the Denver Post but paste a paragraph included in the report because this tragedy might have been avoided.
Bettis said she recognized the gunman as her neighbor — whom she didn't know by name — and that before the initial slaying she saw him roaming outside with a rifle. She called 911 to report the man, but a dispatcher explained that Colorado has an open carry law that allows public handling of firearms.
The rights of ordinary citizens are being pushed aside by the gun lobby! If the police had responded to this call 3 innocent victims might have been spared.
Colorado Springs gunman, victims ID'd; police quickly confronted, shot suspect - The Denver Post |
She should have said that he looked like he was getting ready to prey on people. I do not see any easy answers here but fewer guns accessible to the mentally ill would be some kind of a strategy. How you make these less accessible would vary from community-to-community. I would expect that more programs of various kinds in each community would help through the churches, libraries, YMCAs, YWCAs, schools, etc. Volunteer programs that emphasize more community involvement of people looking out for others. Make people with problems like this Colorado Springs man want to help others rather than hurt them. Add more gun safety programs as well. More involvement of the National Alliance on Mental Illness too so that people understand better about the problems involving those with various mental illnesses. Very few of the large number of people with some kind of recurring depression or more serious problems ever become violent.
https://www.nami.org/ https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Info...cs-Fact-Sheets
Giving people a reason to hope would help.
Why linking depression to violent crime could be a red herring | Shirley Reynolds | Comment is free | The Guardian
I do have a problem with the NRA in not helping to curb the flow of weapons onto the streets of the US. Some of these weapons do not belong anywhere but in some armory or in the hands of the police/National Guard/US Army. If there are fewer weapons of this sort out there, then the criminals too would have a harder time getting them as would people with murder on their minds.