Anything to be said at this point about the heartbreaking massacre in Newtown, Conn. last Friday has most likely already been said.
That said, there appears to be growing sentiment in favor of restricting or the outright banning of ownership of automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
One reader made two points about automatic weapons: first, they are made for one specific purpose, killing people, and second, if you can’t hit your target in two or three shots, you don’t need a weapon that will fire off 40 rounds in a few seconds.
Of course, the NRA types will fall back on their tired reasoning that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. That trite expression no longer holds water. It may be people who want to kill people, but the weapon is the enabler, the tool that makes killing faster and more efficient.
But the roots of the Newtown tragedy go far deeper than the mere debate over weapons.
Clearly, something must be done to restrict the availability of automatic weapons but this country, this state, and we as a society must also address the lack of availability of care for the mentally ill among us.
To leave these people with nowhere to turn, to leave them wandering the streets wrestling with their personal demons, is nothing short of criminal.
The fact that we may have never encountered someone suffering from mental disorders does not imply that they’re not just around the next corner. In fact, if we are perfectly honest with ourselves, there probably have been times when each of us has struggled through periods of depression, insecurity and uncertainty.
In August of 2009, it was announced that the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital (NOAH), the only public hospital in the city with a dedicated mental health ward, would be closed on Sept. 1.
Gov. Piyush Jindal, through his then-secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals Alan Levine, said the facility would be integrated with Southeast Louisiana Hospital 40 miles away in Mandeville on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in a move to save $14 million.
“You don’t prevent people from committing crimes by building more jails,” Levine said. “Similarly, you don’t prevent people from having mental problems by building more beds; all it is doing is cycling people in and out of beds.”
A mere three years after the closure of NOAH, Piyush announced the closure of Southeast Louisiana Hospital, leaving residents of southeast Louisiana, the most heavily-populated area of the state, without a state mental health facility.
Jindal said Southeast patients would be transferred to East Louisiana Hospital in Jackson and Central Louisiana Hospital in Pineville.
Where, one must wonder, will they go when Jindal closes those hospitals?
When a facility is shut down, many patients refuse to move to a new location and they often cease taking their medication, which only exacerbates an already serious problem.
Take the 2008 case of Bernell Johnson. Described by relatives as paranoid schizophrenic, and recently released from a mental facility, Johnson was approached on a New Orleans street by police officer Nicola Cotton because she thought he fit the description of a wanted rape suspect.
Suddenly agitated, he turned on the 24-year-old officer who was two months pregnant. During a struggle, he grabbed her weapon and emptied it on her. Once it was over, a calmer remained by her lifeless body until other officers arrived. Should he have been released when he was? Probably not but the point is, he was wandering the streets, untreated and unmedicated.
This is not to bestow pity on those who for reasons known only to their own twisted logic, decide to go on a killing rampage. It’s difficult to get past the anger and heartache to the root cause of the carnage. That’s human nature.
But not everyone suffering from mental issues is a killer. I once saw an elderly black man walking along the side of the U.S. 190 in Denham Springs and stopped and offered him a ride. When he was in my car, I asked where he was going and he told me he was trying to get back to his halfway house in Baton Rouge.
The only problem was, we were traveling away from, not toward Baton Rouge. As I drove, I tried to get more information from the obviously confused old gentleman. During the course of his ramblings, he happened to mention that had not heard the voices in his head for several days now. For the first time, the idea that I may have made a serious mistake entered my mind.
When I reached my road, I turned off the highway and suggested he proceed back toward Baton Rouge. Instead, as I drove away, I noticed he was walking in the same direction as I so when I reached my home, I called the police and suggested they pick him up and try to get him back to where he belonged.
They told me they’d already picked him up because a nervous resident called when she spotted him wandering in her neighborhood. He was harmless, but completely disoriented and he instilled fear in certain others.
Mental illness is very real and it affects many who cannot afford treatment. Accordingly, it is incumbent upon the state and society to ensure that treatment is readily available to those who so desperately need it.
Tragically, the lack of access to mental treatment and the easy access to deadly weapons converged in Newtown last week. As horrific as it was, it could have been even more catastrophic had the killer’s rampage continued.
We can only hope that sanity will prevail on the federal and state levels and both these problems—gun control and mental treatment availability—will be addressed without the accompanying political posturing that goes with so many debates these days.
Common sense must be the new order of the day. We can accept nothing less.
And finally, next Tuesday morning, when you are watching your children squealing and laughing in the mountain of Christmas presents and wrapping paper that surround them next to the tree, take a little time to remember those 20 little angels and their six protectors who never got a chance to celebrate with their families. Take a moment to remember the anguish their parents and family members must be suffering at that very moment, knowing that presents, already bought and wrapped, will never be opened by the intended recipients.
And then take a very long moment to hold your own children just a little longer and a little tighter. And don’t forget to tell them you love them, over and over.
Louisiana Voice 
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
First of all, I believe it was 1919, not 1929. But if you go back and read my post you will see that I was referring specifically to automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Again, if you can’t hit your target in two or three shots, you have no need for something that will spray 40 rounds in a matter of seconds. Moreover, your argument is skewed in that your shotgun or hunting rifle or pistol will be of little help if they come for you with tanks, cannons and bombs. I’m fully aware of all the arguments against gun control and, believe it or not, once subscribed to those theories. But the simple truth is we can no longer allow such easy access to automatic weapons (and again, I said automatic weapons).
Besides, if the government really wants to control us today, it’s done legislatively; it doesn’t even have to be by force.
Excellent post! I enjoy everything you write and am especially impressed with the thoroughness of your research.
You have a lot of fans in Louisiana. Keep fighting the good fight for all of us. We’re behind you even if you’re not aware of it, and many of us are classified state employees.
Merry Christmas!
I can only assume that Piyush figures that if he is allowed to roam free, that no one else can do more harm than he and should be free, too.
As a school administrator, I worry about what will happen when mental health services will no longer be available for my students. It is not unusual in a typical school year for several of my students to spend time in mental health treatment facilities. I have two students there right now. Our governor has no idea what he is doing when he closes these facilities. I worry daily about gun access to students as well as afults. More guns do not make me feel more safe. Just the opposite. I come from a family of hunters and agree that if you can’t hit an animal in a couple of shots, you are not really a hunter. It is time to rethink our policies about semiautomatic weapons and high capacity magazines. It is time to rethink our state policy about mental health facilities.
The mental health situation in this nation, especially in this state is deplorable. As a parent of a middle school child I have firsthand experience with the lack of availability in this state. You cannot find anyone to treat your child because insurance for the most part will not cover it. State resources are unavailable.
Thanks for a great article Tom. I agree with Independent Thinker’s thoughts and also feel we should either eliminate or strictly regulate gun shows as anyone who can breathe can buy any kind of gun they want. Jindal has made it almost impossible for most to receive mental health care through closures and yet not one peep of condolence from him for the latest victims of gun violence. Need more proof that Jindal cares nothing for La. citizens? Now his latest cuts eliminate funds for hospice care. If you have ever had a family member in need of hospice care you know what an utterly dispicable act this is. This petty man, whose ignorance of suffering by our citizens is exceeded only by his ego, will stop at nothing for the enrichment of himself and the corporate entities he serves. DISGUSTING!
Last Friday was a tragedy and things have to be done to keep weapons out of the hands of mentally ill people. Unstable people should not have access to these types of weapons. I want to make a few corrections about the access to machine guns and such in the article.
First to Bob in BR, bringing up the gun show debate. As a licensed dealer i am required to conduct a background check at the store and at a gun show. There is no gun show “loophole” as many people try to promote. Now an individual can buy a weapon from another individual in Louisiana without a background check at any location i.e. garage sale, gun club, gun show or ad in the newspaper. I could see a requirement that all weapons be transferred through a dealer (and there are many benefits to that for all parties), but to enforce that would be tough. So rest assured that at a gun show dealers are business as usual.
Second to Tom, there is no easy access to machine guns. You just don’t walk into a store and walk out with a machine gun or other NFA device. Machine guns are highly regulated and require multiple forms and approvals by both Louisiana State Police and ATF to transfer. These include sign off by local police or sheriff and fingerprints. There is a tax paid for all machine gun transfers to individuals and the process currently takes 6 months or more to complete. We are a machine gun dealer/manufacturer. Also since the creation of the 1934 National Firearms Act that regulates not only machine guns, but silencers, short barreled shotguns and rifles, destructive devices and items know as AOWs (Any Other Weapon), there has been one illegal use of a registered machine gun. That’s pretty good stats. By the way, in Louisiana you can own any of the weapons I just mentioned, with proper paperwork.
Certain semi automatic weapons were classified as “assault weapons” simply based on aesthetics. Function of these are nearly identical to the semi auto hunting rifle that has been around for 50+ years. It just doesn’t have the “features” that define it as an assault weapon. I keep using the term “features” because that was the definition the feds used when the 94 crime bill was introduced. Manufacturers simply modified the weapon to conform to the correct amount of “features”. One manufacturer even changed the name of their AR-15 to PCR-15 (Politically Correct Rifle).
The thing I want to see is better mental health, better structure for knowing who is allowed and not allowed to own a firearm and better education of firearm owners. What happened in CT is not a fault of gun owners or manufacturers, it is the fault of a mentally ill person.
You call them machine guns, a term I never used. I am talking about automatic and semi-automatic weapons and they are indeed far too easy to get in this country. Your so-called machine guns may be illegal but they exist in abundance right here in Baton Rouge and in New Orleans and just about anywhere else. The NRA spokesman today advocated training and arming teachers. Why, so a child can go into her desk, retrieve the weapon and kill a classmate? Keep it locked up? Fine. I’m sure the next shooter to invade the school will wait for her to retrieve her gun so she can defend herself.
Someone said if a kid on the playground hits another kid with a rock the answer is not to give all the kids rocks.
I reiterate that the problem is two-pronged: easy access to guns by the wrong people and the lack of access to mental health treatment. On the latter point, at least, we agree. But the problems must be approached in tandem.
I think arming teachers is stupid. Wayne and I don’t see eye to eye. Put police in schools if they want to but don’t put teachers in classrooms with weapons. Keep weapons away from where kids can get them. I agree with you on the other point; don’t allow easy access to weapons that were legally purchased in the first place. Now back to your use of automatic and semi automatic weapons. Semi auto is semi auto, one fire per pull of the trigger, automatic is multiple rounds with a single pull of a trigger, hence a machine gun as defined by ATF. The 2 are very different. Machine guns are legal in Louisiana and most other states, after a lengthy background check.
To Landry’s Guns thanks for your input as that is how things get done. The only part of these gun shows I object to is there appears to be no attempt made to determine booth holders are actual dealers. I wish they were only actual dealers that followed the proper protocol for gun selling. However they are many instances throughout the country, which are documented, that show how anyone can walk into these shows and come out with any weapon they desire. This needs to be stopped. You know the reason why so many guns are sold at shows is because of the public knowledge they will face no scrutiny there. Our entire family either are or used to be hunters. I support anyone’s desire to own a pistol for personal protection. I, like a majority in this country including rank and file NRA members, support a ban on sale of assault weapons and extended round magazines. Never in my life have I seen anyone hunting with an AR15 and doubt I ever will. It’s obvious now that the NRA is not interested with the opinion of it’s membership, if it ever was, but rather with protecting the largest and most lucrative arms industry in the world. If you are an NRA member maybe it is time to question the motives of this organization that represents not you but industry interests.
A couple of points I have to agree with you about. First, the majority of vendors at gun shows are not dealers. I can remember being at a show with 200 tables and let’s say 100 of those were guns, not ammo or bullets and stuff. Less than half of the gun sellers were dealers. Something needs to be done about that. Either require – like some shows – mandate all transactions go through a dealer, or at least require a business license to sell in there, in the case of ammo and non guns.
AR15 rifles do have a place for hunting. I killed a deer several years ago with an AR. I knew I needed open sights and multiple shots at a close distance and that is just what I got. I know of prairie dog hunters that will swap uppers for a heavy stainless 24″ barrel to take them out. Ballistic-wise, the .223 cartridge is a varmint round.
And the NRA…well I support things like Friends of the NRA sponsoring local shooting sports and education of kids with programs like Eddie the Eagle. I don’t care for the NRA ILA. Too damn radical and I don’t feel they represent what I expected my Life Membership in the NRA stood for. Wayne Lapierre can be a dangerous person.
Thank you sir for your comments. I openly listen to all sides and I agree we all need our voices heard.
Two quotes that sum it up for me.
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”
“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
Both from Ronald Reagan.
As long as you are quoting Ronald Reagan, here’s another: “With the right to bear arms comes a great responsibility to use caution and common sense on handgun purchases.” (Ronald Reagan, on March 28, 1991, as he endorsed the Brady Bill.)
Just listened to Wayne Lepreier NRA MADMAN recommend further arming our schools and not a word about the killing weapons he sells. I have suggested to Neil Riser the lead legislator on our 2nd Amendment lunacy to be the first in the nation to lead the charge to get rid of the semi and automatic weapons so that we can protect our right to have a hunting weapon or a 6 shot personal wpn. I doubt that I get a response. Lewis Unglesby was 100% right on the Jim Engster show this am. ron
We don’t need guns and armed officers in our schools. We need resources for our students to be able to become productive citizens. We need resources for our mentally ill students to continue to get help from the mental health workers. Jindal has interfered with access of these resources. I am tired of hearing talk from people in media to promote MORE guns as the answer. They are selfish and uninformed. They peddle fear to promote their guns. The status quo is NOT acceptable. I don’t want your guns in my school. It’s that simple.
We are former NRA members, many years ago as their rhetoric became more radical we decided to cancel membership…..all conversations need to be heard…..it is a multi layered problem….. permissive/denial parenting, easy access to killing machines , and inadequite access to mental health treatment…..far to often the mentally ill quit taking the medicine that keeps them functioning, and then the demons return, and we get these horrendous acts of mass murder……..Obviously Wayne LaPierre hasn’t spent any time in a classroom lately, or he would understand that armed teachers is a “dumb###” idea……..
In the event of a tragedy, the solution government always comes up with is to pass new laws. The problem with new laws is that there is no guarantee those bent on breaking laws will obey the new laws any more than they are obeying the current laws. When it comes to firearms, the USA has more laws than you can shake a stick at and it still doesn’t prevent people from being irresponsible, criminal or just down-right evil in the use of guns. The perpetrator of the tragedy in Newtown broke any number of gun laws that were already in place to commit his bloodletting. Those who believe new laws on controlling guns will prevent any future tragedies are deluding themselves with the promise of “feel good” legislation. I suppose out-and-out confiscation of firearms might prevent some future tragedies but the logistics for such action is simply impossible to comprehend let alone successfully carry out. There is also the unintended consequence of removing the means of protection from a largely peaceful population but leaving a violently predatory criminal population fully armed in a victim-rich environment.
A few misconceptions should be considered–Landry’s Guns cleared some of them up already (particularly about gun shows) but I’ll toss in a few points. I read repeatedly that “assault weapons” (defined differently depending on whose point of view is being expressed) are only meant for killing people, they are not used for hunting, they are not accurate enough to use for target shooting and the only people who want them are political extremists, the mentally deranged and criminals. The fact is that the often-referred-to AR-15 is one of the most, if not THE most, popular rifle being sold in the USA and has been for several years. It actually is used for hunting by a large number of people and the 5.56mm round (also known as the .223) has been around for a long time and considered one of the more accurate small caliber cartridges in use. The guns can be highly accurate and well-tuned AR-15s are often used in target competitions. And, for a lot of people, these guns are just plain fun to get out and shoot tin cans and paper targets for recreational purposes. There are millions of hunters and recreational shooters who use this type of firearm safely and responsibly and to define them as political extremists, head cases or criminals is insulting and offensive.