Email exchange

Every so often, I get an email from a friend, discussing gun control and violence. I thought I would share this one:

On 9/17/2013 8:56 PM,  Bill wrote:

Chuck, Jim,  the information that I have so far gleaned from the media is that the D C Shooter was a mentally unstable man who was permitted to own and use guns.  He was legally armed when he killed those innocent victims.  The information seems to be structured to advance an ideology.  It hasn't been easy to get detailed information, so whatever I have has been sketchy at best. I would like to know your opinions on

 

1) what happed, and,

 

 

2) how can this sort of tragedy be minimized, and,

 

 

3) is new legislation necessary?

 

 Mike,

this is big news here.  Did this make the news in the UK, and if so, what is the thinking about it?

 

 

 Please "respond to all"

 

ps:  other comments welcome also

 

Thanks

 

Bill

My response:

 Bill, as far as I can see, the guy came on to the base with a shotgun, attacked and disarmed two security people to get handguns, and proceeded to go shooting. Reports say many of the base personnel were armed - but evidently, not where it mattered.

There is no way to "minimize" this kind of crime unless we allow the government to institutionalize every person who ever showed any signs of anger or instability.

I believe that the proper legislative approach is to repeal all the failed "gun control" legislation, and allow the American people to exercise their rights as per the basic law of the land, the Constitution. Step one.

Next, we must dismantle the painstakingly built up framework of welfare and the dependency on government it fosters. This will be a long bloody fight, as so many Americans are hopelessly addicted to the system.

At the same time, we must somehow instill the values of a bygone era in the children of America, so that they grow up knowing how the system is supposed to work and that no one advances by stealing the bread from another in this country, but only by their own hard work and moral grounding.

I don't see either of these happening in our lifetimes.

One thing that has been ignored by the media and those mental giants in Washington is the fact that most, if not all,  of the perpetrators were either under treatment with psychotropic drugs, or had "gone off their meds" shortly before the incident. As many of these drugs carry dire warnings about suicide and other side effects, perhaps all such treatment should be carried out inside a secure facility until the patient is recovered, or for life if such recovery cannot be guaranteed. I fear this kind of power in the hands of our present "leaders" - remember the Soviet Union routinely used :mental hospitals" for "rehabilitation" of political dissidents.

The rise in violence in this country tracks the dismantling of our mental health infrastructure, the rise of inner-city welfare, and the destruction of family. I know that correlation does not prove causation, but both issues are worth looking into.

Chuck