Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski
where have you seen anything about what guns he had? I see 2 handguns, but the reports seem so scattered as to not be reliable yet.
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I thought that this information was interesting. I didn't realize how much the population was armed.
I've worked on a few policies for trying to stop something like this, especially on the sharing mental health information side of things, and I've just come to the conclusion it's not really possible. If someone really wants to do something like this, it's pretty hard to stop them.
That said, two things come to mind. First, mental health. I have had occasion to ok the disclosure of health information in order to alert law enforcment of a relatively credible threat that came out of a mental health facility. I'm just glad my guy made it into a facility. One hopes that with expanded health coverage in the next few years, more people will be able to seek out the mental health services that they need, and PCPs will be able to refer out.
Second, strict liability on gun owners. I was thinking about this yesterday when I read an article about a
four year old in Houston who managed to shoot himself. Parents are probably horrified, but whoever owns that gun should also be liable. I don't care if the gun hurt someone by accident or self-defense or you shoot yourself in the groin when you put a gun in your waistband or whatever. Guns are inhernetly dangerous, and if someone gets hurt by one you own, you (or your estate) have to pay actual damages plus a gun punative. (I'd love for this to include cops.)
