Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shot in AZ

[bstrawse]

Not that we should expect anything different - the issue to the NY Times is AZ's gun laws & Republicans:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opini ... ml?_r=1&hp

But he is very much a part of a widespread squall of fear, anger and intolerance that has produced violent threats against scores of politicians and infected the political mainstream with violent imagery. With easy and legal access to semi-automatic weapons like the one used in the parking lot, those already teetering on the edge of sanity can turn a threat into a nightmare.

It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats. They seem to have persuaded many Americans that the government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people.

Read the rest at the link above.
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[carver952]

The government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people.

Just a few months ago, someone else was saying something about punishing enemies.
http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/25/obama ... s-the-gop/

[DeanC]

This is bizarre. She is a subscriber to Jared's Youtube channel. Look down on the bottom left under subscriptions. He is "Classitup10": http://www.youtube.com/user/giffords2

[Hobotorium]

This guy was a nutjob by any measure. This article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... 79cbf6f758 seems to confirm that this was a long time in the making and not the result of recent politically charged messages. The guy was crazy in every sense of the word and should have been locked up in the crazy house years ago.

[Pezhead]

Supposedly failed drug test when he tried to enlist.

[Heffay]

I wish they wouldn't take mental health issues and use them to attempt to expose flaws in completely unrelated topics.

[RobD]

Joe Zamudio had a concealed gun, and ran towards the shots... He saw that Loughtner was subdued, the Glock was locked open, and helped restrain him until police came.

[hammAR]

I wish they wouldn't take mental health issues and use them to attempt to expose flaws in completely unrelated topics.

But they are interrelated by law:

But, according to The Washington Post, on Nov. 30, Loughner legally purchased the Glock 19 semiautomatic pistol that law enforcement officials say he used to shoot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at an event Saturday outside a busy supermarket in Tucson, Ariz., killing one of her aides, a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and three retirees.

And that has revived the debate about gun ownership laws throughout the nation, but particularly in Arizona, which has some of the weakest gun control laws in the country. State laws there permit any law-abiding citizen over age 18 to buy a gun.

"At some point we need to ask the question: How did this man with this history of mental instability end up with this weapon," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said on CNN's "State of the Union" today.

"How did he go through the process and end up with this gun and this ammunition?"

As long as medical records, especially mental health records, are regarded as private information and privileged communication between patient and provider, then some individuals with shall we say "behavioral peculiarities" will be able to obtain at least some sort of weapons legally in almost all US jurisdictions.

The choices, as I see them are these:
1. Complete and total access to individual medical and mental health records by virtually anyone for any purpose, or
2. Severe limitations on gun ownership.

There may be some middle ground somewhere, but practical application seems to be a tremendously daunting task. It seems impossible to have both access to weapons (at levels we are used to in the US) AND restrictions to gun ownership based on physical or mental conditions. It also seems that - as usual - the loudest voices are screaming "solutions" that are polar opposites from each other, making compromise and workable solutions that much more difficult, and unlikely, to be seen and heard.

[Magnum Mikie]

This guy was a nutjob by any measure. This article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... 79cbf6f758 seems to confirm that this was a long time in the making and not the result of recent politically charged messages. The guy was crazy in every sense of the word and should have been locked up in the crazy house years ago.

No doubt this guy is a nut...........makes me wonder how he obtained a PTC. Arizona must have not do a thorough back ground check.

[photogpat]

This guy was a nutjob by any measure. This article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... 79cbf6f758 seems to confirm that this was a long time in the making and not the result of recent politically charged messages. The guy was crazy in every sense of the word and should have been locked up in the crazy house years ago.

No doubt this guy is a nut...........makes me wonder how he obtained a PTC. Arizona must have not do a thorough back ground check.

I don't think anyone has referenced him having a PTC yet -- Arizona doesn't require them...does AZ require a permit to purchase a handgun like MN?

[RobD]

No doubt this guy is a nut...........makes me wonder how he obtained a PTC. Arizona must have not do a thorough back ground check.

No such thing in AZ.... Constitutional Carry state... Not that it would have mattered... Murderers don't usually worry about gun laws.

[Magnum Mikie]

IIRC, it was mentioned on FOX News. I don't recall who mentioned it however. Apparently, this guy bought a handgun in November. I wish I had the source to back it up. Maybe someone else will chime in!

Yes, as of July 2010, no permit required as long as you can legally own a firearm. http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/arizona.pdf

I wonder if AZ requires a PTP when buying a handgun as this guy bought one in November.

[John S.]

IIRC, it was mentioned on FOX News. I don't recall who mentioned it however. Apparently, this guy bought a handgun in November. I wish I had the source to back it up. Maybe someone else will chime in!

I heard five weeks ago, why did he pass a background check???????????????

I assume even with no PTC states have background checks to purchase, at least I hope so!

[Pinnacle]

Who cares about anything other than you cannot stop a determined assailant from taking action, it just so happens that he was using a gun, and not a screwdriver.

This guy seems unbalanced and unreasonable and exhibited irregular and threatening behavior as documented by other students ihis classes at Pima CC as well as teachers. People were scared of this guy, he snapped and went on a killing spree.

Te deeper issue and the 800# gorilla in the room is how mentally Ill people are treated, picking up on the signs and paying attention to Patterns of behavior prior to the tragic day. Sometimes, people do act on their whims. Threats and threatening behavior needs to be addressed.

Scaring people in class where the teachers were afraid of being shot, and documented this long before the event, seems that there was no follow through on the mental health evaluation.

This guy was strange, irrational, threatening, and obviously has some mental illness that was untreated, all of the signs were there, nobody listened.

Acting like a douche is ok, being an asshat is ok, threatening people is not ok, scaring people is not ok, mental health issues are very serious, and should be taken very seriously.

[carver952]

He was able to buy a handgun in November because AZ does an instant background check at the time of purchase.
People at the community college had reported his behavior, but he was not on any watch list or warrants,
he had no gross-misdemeanors or felonies, so the check came back clean.
He went to walmart and bought 100 rounds of FMJ, to fill 3 magazines (31 or 33)