Tighter gun-buy checks advance - Response to Tech tragedy hopes to block criminals, mentally ill...

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH ^ | Aug 03, 2007 | PETER HARDIN

[neverdem]

WASHINGTON -- Two weeks before students return to classes at Virginia Tech, a Senate panel voted yesterday to strengthen the national instant background-check system for gun buyers.

Responding to the Virginia Tech massacre, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance a measure aimed at closing gaps in the national background-check system.

[2harddrive]

If he is sane enough to be allowed on the streets....he is sane enough to buy a gun, is he not? If he is THAT dangerous, shouldn’t he be locked up? After all....he may go for a knife...or a box-cutter.

[tiger-one]

More caving by the NRA

[NonValueAdded]

"Obviously there is no magic congressional response that will be guaranteed to prevent another horrific school tragedy," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt

"but we're not gonna let that stop us and are spending like hell so we look good," he should have continued.

[neverdem]

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association, Andrew Arulanandam, said his organization continues to "be supportive of the legislation that would add the names of those adjudicated as mentally defective to the national instant check list."

"More caving by the NRA"

How so? Seems to me that the grabbers just lost the NRA's support. We shall see, but someone dropping a dime, i.e. "tip lines about potentially dangerous students," is hardly an adjudication. It reminds me of Lautenberg's S. 1237 which would enable the Attorney General to designate anyone as a terrorist to deny an OK by NICS.

[snowsislander]

I think that we will end up with a stupid system that will any arbitrary medical or governmental entity to permanently bar any one person from owning firearms simply by declaring that person to be "mentally unfit."

I believe that the NRA is wrong to support on this bill.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association, Andrew Arulanandam, said his organization continues to "be supportive of the legislation that would add the names of those adjudicated as mentally defective to the national instant check list."

I agree with the Liberty Coalition and Gun Owners of America that this is a horrendously bad idea.

From a letter (it's in Word format) they have published: “Action to retroactively label people mentally defective without notice and a hearing is a violation of basic fundamental fairness and due process. Further, now declaring persons who in the past voluntarily submitted to mental health evaluation and/or treatment as mentally defective would deter people from seeking mental health assistance in the future. Finally, millions of Americans and veterans who might have undergone post-combat zone counseling or other treatment could find themselves unknowingly in violation of federal gun laws, or, lose their security clearance or employment.”

[Blood of Tyrants]

Whenever a tragedy like VT happens, you can count on ‘Rat knee-jerk responses and the NRA being stupid enough to think that the ‘Rats will be satisfied with the latest new restrictions.

[Joe Brower]

I note that the same $400 million dollars that the dems are happy to spend to infringe our God-given freedoms is the same amount they want to slice from the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, a much worthier endeavor, IMHO.

[ZULU]

Will Jorge sign it???

[beltfed308]

The citizens are more of a threat than the North Koreans right now I guess. I’m sure Richardson has assurances.

[Jasper]

Odd Angry Shot: Who Killed Our Kids - by John Conner

/jasper

[ExSoldier]

After Clinton did the same thing to over 90,000 vets in 1998, Congress passed a law that I think GW signed stating that the VA Hospitals are specifically prohibited from submitting any info on a patients mental health to any federal or state law enforcement agency absent a judges ruling. The law apparently has considerable teeth in the form of monetary relief to victims. That's what I was told by the Miami VA a couple of years ago. I forget the name of the laws that were hooked together.

[2nd amendment mama]

The NRA is ABSOLUTELY on the wrong side of this issue.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Association, Andrew Arulanandam, said his organization continues to "be supportive of the legislation that would add the names of those adjudicated as mentally defective to the national instant check list."

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, applauded the Senate committee.

Second Amendment Sisters have opposed this from the beginning. I can't believe that the NRA is on the same side as the "brady bunch" on this! The NRA has become "mentally defective". I stopped supporting the NRA a long time ago.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

So they simply declare us all insane.

[Travis McGee]

It’ll be very reasonable at first, and will grow to become a monster, with govt. commissar’s blocking millions from being able to buy or own guns.

If we haven’t learned this by now.....

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Does Hillary have rabies?

[Hardastarboard]

he may go for a knife

Funny thing about knives - they never run out of ammunition.

[wastedyears]

If they want a gun, they’ll find a way to find one.

[from occupied ga]

More caving by the NRA

Surrendering is what the NRA does best. They especially like pre-emptive surrender where they give up without ever having fought so they can say they didn't lose. Well technically they didn't, but the end result is the same.

[Shooter 2.5]

If your gun group is so good at accomplishing something, why don’t they stop this legislation?

I already know the answer to that but I’m interested in your opinion.