Oregon Shooter's Family says he suffered from Mental Health problems

[Foxclone]

If we, as a country, are insistent on allowing gun ownership as a fundamental right, the conundrum here is:

• How do we single-out/identify the people who should NOT own guns?
• How do we accomplish this w/o violating the rights of the rest of the population?

This is not trivial: anyone with mental health issues also has a right to medical privacy. So, unless we are going to allow forfeiture of certain medical rights as 'flags' to prevent or withdraw gun ownership rights, we have no chance at avoiding these types of incidents - they are just 'the cost of the right to bear arms'.

Perhaps one way we could accomplish this is by:

• A) requiring ALL firearms be registered in a national database
• B) allowing medical personnel direct access to that database as part of your health records

We have previously had the NRA fight against allowing physicians to ask about gun ownership with their patients; this is the opposite of what should be done.

If it is the mentally ill people we are worried about, perhaps it's time to link gun ownership/registration with medical files, so that we at least have a chance to get out in front of the problems. And if someone in a family has a mental illness, then we as a society have the right to remove those guns until there is a reasonable assurance the mentally ill family member has no chance to access them. Any physician would then have the ability to report an 'at risk' mental illness to local authorities in the event that family or individual had registered weapons in their household.

Thus, we do not restrict anyone from owning guns; but we put a limiter in place that precludes people with at-risk medical issues from owning guns, AT LEAST temporarily.

Or, are we all 'ok' with crazy people owning guns?

 

[Foxclone]

Such a sad sad situation for everyone involved. But the father of the shooter having known of his mental illness, never bothered to check his son for guns or other materials he could kill with?
Just curious.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Such a sad sad situation for everyone involved. But the father of the shooter having known of his mental illness, never bothered to check his son for guns or other materials he could kill with?
Just curious.

I'm not sure the father would have any reasonable right to check his 26 year old son for weapons unless the mental illness was to the point that the father was still considered a legal guardian.

 

[Foxclone]

But he can criticize the authorities for the problem. I am sorry, I am a parent and I would feel terrible if I had a child involved as the perpetrator of the victim. I would find fault first at what I could have done better to prevent it from happening. If you know your children well enough you would have a clue something isn't right and act on it.

 

[FranklinHawk]

But he can criticize the authorities for the problem. I am sorry, I am a parent and I would feel terrible if I had a child involved as the perpetrator of the victim. I would find fault first at what I could have done better to prevent it from happening. If you know your children well enough you would have a clue something isn't right and act on it.

I don't disagree with this, I was just saying he would have no legal right to do what you suggested earlier.

 

[22*43*51]

I'm not sure the father would have any reasonable right to check his 26 year old son for weapons unless the mental illness was to the point that the father was still considered a legal guardian.

Did they speak?

(phone rings)

Son - "Hello?"

Dad - "Hi son!" "What'ya up too?"

Son - "Just got back from seeing my shrink and now I'm cleaning one of my Glocks."

Dad - "Well, steer clear from no gun zones you little rascal you!"