06-10-2013, 11:12 PM
(06-10-2013, 05:46 PM)Maggot Wrote: I go to some of my kids school functions with my Glock 17 and permit, they never know I have it. Only my wife.
I don't blame you.
We discussed in the Gun Control thread about how most of these spree killers were either known to be acting crazy before their rampages or had been diagnosed/treated for being mentally ill.
I think it was Jimbone who pointed out in that thread (or a related one) about how the drastic reduction in mental institutions starting a few decades ago (and the view that everyone can be effectively treated as an outpatient) contributes to the problem. I think John Zawahri is a prime example of what falls through the cracks.
It was reported today in the LA Times that when he was in elementary school his mother told a teacher about severe abuse at the home. She filed for divorce and a restraining order (didn't press charges so as not to inflame the abuser), the two boys apparently went back and forth between mom and dad, the kid ends up with some kind of juvenile crime record in high school, he's treated for mental illness as a young adult, and then he shoots his dad, brother, and strangers when mom's visiting Lebanon.
IDK. How does a parent make an adult take their medication or stay in treatment? How many of these guys are out there because they can't be forcibly committed? The number of these spree killings really does seem to be increasing. I don't like the idea of mental illness being a life sentence or some of the conditions that patients were forced to endure back in the day. But, it does seem like there's a gap in the system.
P.s. So far, haven't heard much ado about how he, as someone with with diagnosed mental illness, was able to acquire firearms - kinda surprised. Probably hear more about that soon enough.