second amendment, schmecond amendment.
My philosophical question of the day: As a result of the Virginia Tech shooting last week, I read today that Congress is considering a bill that would keep people with "a history of mental illness" from getting a gun. Now, this is an interesting issue for me, because I think we need stricter gun control, and I don't think the framers of the constitution had semi-automatics in mind when they composed the 2nd amendment. But, if we insist on sticking to the letter of the 2nd amendment and letting anyone who wants an Uzi own one, is it really fair to prohibit someone with depression from exercising their 2nd amendment right? I mean, it will all depend on the language of the bill, but these people are legislators, not mental health professionals, and I'm thinking the wording will probably end up a little muddy. Anyway, my point is, I hope someone eventually realizes that the best way to keep semi-automatic weapons out of the hands of the unbalanced is to keep semi-automatic weapons out of the hands of everyone.
posted by stefanie @ 11:22 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Bear in mind that the framers of the Constitution also thought it was ok to own other human beings as well as preventing women from having anything to do with government.
I think the Constitution should be a living document. I for one find the mainstream interpretation of the 2nd Amendment to be horrid.
Also, Mr. Cho lied when he went to get the gun. One of the questions on the sheet he filled out asked if he had been in a mental institution. If a sheet of paper is the only thing standing between someone and a gun, then something is wrong.
On a lighter note, how's Phoenix?
Like Stef said, without a trained psychologist making the distinction, people could be discriminated against based on a previous diagnosis of anorexia, depression or OCD, none of which is predictive of violence. Plus discriminating against people who have been diagnosed with any mental illness adds to the stigma those people already have to deal with, making their lives even more difficult and perhaps even exacerbating their symptoms!
Dan I totally agree with you too. There needs to be some sort of agency that can verify the claims on those pieces of paper.
I wish that prohibiting the sale of guns across the board would prevent things like this but we all know that prohibiting the sale of guns just prevents regular people from owning them, criminals will find a way: be it by getting guns illegally or in extreme cases by improvising new weapons. It's a scary state of affairs with no easy answer.
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