Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions
Gun Laws
By
Rodney Dial
December 17, 2012
Monday PM
Something worth considering regarding the national debate about firearm / ammo restrictions: The one commonality present in most mass killings is the mental illness of the shooter. The number one way to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining firearms/ammo would be the creation of a national database that would be accessed by the dealer at the point of sale. Meaning, that if a person was treated in the past for mental illness, or flagged as unstable by the health community, the sale would be denied.
So why haven't we done this? In large part it is due to privacy regulations such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) signed by President Bill Clinton, which strengthened the security and privacy of health data.
Yes the same democrats/liberals who are now clamoring to take away the rights of the 99.9995% of Americans who own, and legally use firearms are doing so, in part to protect the privacy of those with mental illness. Ask any democratic representative who supports increased gun restrictions If they would support a mandatory database of all those treated for mental illness and you will see the hypocrisy in this debate for what it is.
Additional gun laws, restrictions on weapon types or capacities would be the functional equivalent of closing the barn door after the horses escaped. Law abiding citizens should not be penalized for the actions of a few or be subject to being out-gunned by the lawless in society.
An effective response would be a mental health database for gun sales and voluntary arming of teachers so inclined and able to demonstrate proficiency.
If you need more proof this is a mental health issue, and not a gun issue, consider what is occurring in China that has one of the world s most strict gun control/bans:
China statistics:
The 2004 Jia QingYou (Bus Driver) case, in ShanDong. 27 primary school students stabbed.
The 2004 Liu HongWen (Teacher) case, in HuNan. 4 primary school students killed, 12 wounded; with a meat cleaver.
The 2005 Yang GuoZhu case, in JiangSu. 28 kindergarten students stabbed.
The 2006 Bai NingyYang case, in HeNan. 3 kindergarten students killed, 14 others wounded; Locked into the classroom and burned.
The 2005 Liu ShiBing case, in AnHui. 18 middle school students SHOT WITH SIX RIFLES.
The 2005 Xu HePing (Janitor) case, in BeiJing. 1 kindergarten student killed, 14 wounded; by knife.
The 2005 Yan YanMing (Student) case, in HeNan. 9 high school students killed, 4 wounded; by knife.
The 2005 Ma JiaJue (Student) case, in YuNan. 4 university students beaten to death with a blunt object.
The 2006 Abduhalik Muzht case, in XinJiang. 2 middle school students killed, 3 others wounded; by sword.
The 2006 "Yang Xinlong" case, in Henan. 1 elementary school student killed, 19 taken hostage; by knife.
The 2007 "Su Qianxiao" case, in Guangdong. 1 primary school child killed, three wounded; with a knife.
The 2008 "Chen Wenzhen" case, in Guangdong. Two middle school students stabbed to death.
The 2009 "Xu Ximei" case, in Guangdong. Two preschool children killed, three children and one adult injured at a primary school; with a knife.
The 2010 "Zheng Minsheng" case, in Fujian. 8 primary school students killed, 5 wounded; by knife.
The 2010 "Chen Kangbing" case, in Guangdong. 15 primary school children and one adult injured; by knife.
The 2010 "Xu Yuyuan" case, in Jiangsu. 28 children attacked, 5 seriously injured, 2 critically; by knife.
The 2010 "Wang Yonglai" case, in Shandong. 5 kindergarten students and one adult injured; first by hammer, then doused with gasoline and set fire.
The 2010 "Wu Huanming" case, in Shanxi. 7 kindergarten students and 2 adults killed, 20 wounded; by knife.
The 2010 "Hainan Institute of Science and Technology" case. 10 men wounded 10 students; by knives.
The 2010 "Fang Jiantang" case, in Shandong. 3 kindergarten students and one teacher killed, 20 wounded; by knife.
The 2011 "Minhang District" case, in Shanghai. 8 preschool children slashed with a box cutter.
The 2011 "Wang Hongbin" case, in Henan. A young girl and 3 adults killed, adult and child wounded at a daycare center, with an axe.
December 15th, 2012. What was supposed to be another day of learning at an elementary school in central China instead turned to one of terror, as a man slashed 22 children and one adult with a knife ABC News .
Rodney Dial
Ketchikan, AK
Received December 1 , 2012
- Published December 17, 2012
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