Recluse. Loner. Shut-in. Those were some of the descriptions police say they have found best describe 53-year-old Eric Goods of Valley Cottage, who is accused of attempted murder in the apparently unprovoked shooting Tuesday morning of a neighbor who was taking his dog out for an early-morning walk.
That's the whole story really. No one knows what could have provoked the incident. One neighbor is walking the dog early in the morning, the other neighbor comes up behind and shoots him four or five times, no reason.
I'd like to suggest something, I don't know if anyone else has thought of it. Mr. Goods was stark raving mad. His mental condition could have been easily identified even in the most cursory exam.
The pro-gun crowd love to ask, "what law could have prevented this particular crime?" Well, how about licensing of gun owners which would require criminal as well as mental health background checks. The license would have to be renewed periodically. Do you think Eric Goods would have passed? I don't.
Of course, given the way the NRA and the gun lobby have law enforcement hamstrung nowadays, this is what we're left with.
Clarkstown detectives were still checking records late Wednesday to determine whether Goods legally owned the gun used in the shooting.
Is that pathetic or what? What's your opinion?
Please leave a comment.
The NRA hamstrings police in New York? One of the most draconian of the gun cintrol states? Are you serious?
ReplyDeleteIf it was a legally owned gun, that means that the man went through the New York pistol licensing process. He paid his fee and filed his application. After a 6 to 9 month average wait in which the state personally interviewed him, visited his home, notified his employer, checked his required references and asked the permission of a spouse if he had one, then he would be permitted to touch a gun and buy one legally.
You see, just like you always want, New York registers their gun owners before they are ever allowed to even handle a gun in a gun store or take a gun safety class. Isn't that your dream?
So tell us again just how the NRA is hamstringing law enforcement in this investigation? What exactly was the "pathetic" part?
"Well, how about licensing of gun owners which would require criminal as well as mental health background checks. The license would have to be renewed periodically. "
ReplyDeleteBecause we all know licensing periodic renewal has worked so well to keep mentally unfit people from behind the wheel of a car. No one has ever driven a car without a license.
Red Az, so you believe that we should not license drivers, just because there are some drivers who shouldn't be driving?
ReplyDeleteOr do you believe that having laws, and reasonable penalties, which define lawful conduct, are effective?
Are you in effect arguing for a totally lawless society, without consequences for any action? How anarchistic of you.
Your reasoning is foolish on the face of it; a few drivers who drive illegally does not negate the value of laws. Such laws define and provide penalties for improper conduct.
"Red Az, so you believe that we should not license drivers, just because there are some drivers who shouldn't be driving?"
ReplyDeleteNo. We should license drivers. But it we should be honest about why we do it: revenue. We license drivers to pay for roads, signs, traffic signals, street lights, etc.
Since the government isn't in the business of building gun ranges on every corner, paying them a licensing fee just for owning a gun (keep in mind, you don't need a license to own a car)makes absolutely no sense.
AztecRed is making a fundamental mistake, like they all do when comparing to cars. The regulations on cars concerning licensing of drivers, registration of vehicles, insurance, seatbelts, etc., has already resulted in a tremendous decrease in fatalities. Instead of 40K there's probably be 100K or 150K.
ReplyDeleteGuns have yet to be controlled properly. In their free-for-all state, they result in 30K+ deaths per year. That could easily be reduced by a factor of 3 or 4, just like cars, if only we'd regulate guns in the same way.