Monday, February 7, 2011

Flagging Mentally Ill Gun Owners

California is leading the way, but it's not quite working yet.

By law, Roy Perez should not have had a gun three years ago when he shot his mother 16 times in their home in Baldwin Park, Calif., killing her, and then went next door and killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter.

Mr. Perez, who pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and was sentenced last year to life in prison, had a history of mental health issues. As a result, even though in 2004 he legally bought the 9-millimeter Glock 26 handgun he used, at the time of the shootings his name was in a statewide law enforcement database as someone whose gun should be taken away, according to the authorities.
The article goes on to explain how overworked the cops are and how their limited manpower makes following up on the database next to impossible.

I don't buy it. I think the local cops were never motivated to undertake this addition to their workload. No civil servant would take on more unless there was no choice, but perhaps with all the attention the problem is getting now, we'll see some changes.

In California they have the structure, they just need to work it better.

In the case of Mr. Perez, Lieutenant Cowan, of Baldwin Park, said he learned that state agents had been scheduled to visit Mr. Perez to confiscate his weapon — two weeks after the rampage took place.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

2 comments:

  1. So once you get these people flagged in the NICS, where they can't buy a gun from a licensed dealer, what exactly about the law stops them from going and buying one on the street, or using a straw purchaser, or stealing one, or killing people some other way?

    How does making it "harder" really make it hard enough?

    ...Orygunner...

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  2. Well, It wouldn't make it hard enough, but some of them will take no for an answer. They are, after all, law abiding folks for the most part.

    About the rest it's your tired old argument which I've completely beaten to death already. Since all guns in the criminal world started out lawfully owned, restrictions like this one and others will help to keep them there where they belong.

    "Criminals will always get guns anyway," is dependent upon gun availability which proper gun laws aimed at you legit guys will diminish.

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