Dem Senator Floats Revived Gun Control Package Centered On Mental Health

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

CAITLIN MACNEAL – MAY 25, 2014, 12:16 PM EDT

In the wake of the University of California Santa Barbara shooting that left seven dead, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Sunday called on Congress to revive the failed gun control package introduced following the Sandy Hook shooting.

“That gut-wrenching, heartbreaking statement is a reminder of how we felt in the wake of Sandy Hook on Dec. 14, a year and a half ago when it seemed like we were on the verge of potentially legislation that would stop the madness and end the insanity that has killed too many young people, thousands — tens of thousands — since Sandy Hook," Blumenthal said on CBS' "Face the Nation," referencing the statement one of the victim's fathers gave following the California shooting.

“I hope, I really sincerely hope, that this tragedy, this unimaginable, unspeakable tragedy, will provide an impetus to bring back measures that would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people who are severely troubled or deranged like this young man was," Blumenthal continued.

While the Democratic senator discussed the need for background checks, he proposed potentially centering the legislation around mental health in order to bring conservative lawmakers on board.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/blumenthal-gun-control-mental-health

[PoliticAverse]

1. What specifically is Blumenthal proposing? n/t

[Duckhunter935]

3. He did kind of back off on the gun side

when asked what in the bill would have prevented this. He did not give an answer on that. He ended up saying we should work on the mental health aspect and I think all of us agree with that.

[Ed Suspicious]

6. We should also work on changing the culture back from gun owners fearful for their lives and 2A

rights, back to sportsmen with a healthy respect for firearms.

[villager]

2. We already know that cowardice and industry lobbying will prevail

n/t

[thesquanderer]

4. And of course, the only time it comes up is immediately after a tragedy

and sadly, we don't seem to be running out of tragedies.

[JDPriestly]

5. I've changed my opinion on gun laws.

I don't think that more regulation of guns will stop the violence that much.

People who go on shooting sprees are desperate. They will find a gun. They will get revenge. They will act out on their anger no matter how much we regulate guns. They don't need sophisticated weapons, and there are enough weapons in our society now that those angry enough to kill will find one somehow when they want one.

Note that the Sandy Hook and Santa Barbara killers were not just angry. They were suicidal.

Better gun regulations targeting the mentally ill will also not stop the accidental deaths from guns. And what do you do about a household in which one member of the family has a gun and a different member is mentally ill. How do you keep the gun out of the hands of the person who is mentally ill without depriving other family members of the right to have a gun?

What we have to ask ourselves is why so many Americans are so angry?

The Santa Barbara killer had all kinds of help -- mental health help -- but he still could not interact with women. Such a simple thing. His problem was that he thought only of himself. He did not know how to listen to a woman so that she would want to be with him. He may have had a genetic or physical problem, but I think that his problem is quite widespread in our society and that it is a spiritual problem.

The Santa Barbara killer was unable to love, unable to love himself or others. That is a spiritual problem, the problem of feeling separate from others and the world. Religion does not always help to solve that problem.

There are no doubt many ways to solve the problem, but certainly one of them is teaching our children to help others who are in need. Reaching out to help someone else is an expression of love. If you practice helping others in a mindful way, you can increase your capacity to love others and usually you also increase your capacity to communicate lovingly with others.

It may be that the Santa Barabara killer had some biological problem that prevented him from being able to help and love others, but I wonder whether anyone encouraged him in that direction or whether he was never urged to reach out and feel his common humanity with people in need.

I suspect the latter.

[defacto7]

10. Your last 2 paragraphs

sum it up for me and I agree with your last line. The simplicity of it is profound. But these days profound simplicity seems trite, not cool, not authoritarian enough, not entertaining, and because kindness and understanding is not a breakable law that is punishable or an agreement that can be sued over most don't think it's necessary for a civil society and ignore its potential.

It may or may not solve the mystery of mass murder but society would improve over time and humanity would move toward peaceful existence and that would undoubtedly save many many lives.

Good post.

[JDPriestly]

13. In the situation in Santa Barbara, I'm guessing that kindness was missing

on the parts of people who interacted with Rodgers as well as with Rodgers.

A kind word can make such a difference to a person who feels left out. But he probably had trouble reading social cues and that scared girls who were kind away from him.

[defacto7]

14. There are broken minds that can't process certain concepts

He was probably one who had more wrong than just low level autism. Those people need kindnesses and time from close family members and professionals that can be extremely time consuming and if it isn't understood early, the proper attention isn't applied. It's a hard call.

Low level autism does have its problems with social cues and it takes a certain amount of education to understand how autistics think and act, how we learn. It's a two way street, aspies work on social adjustments all the time. For others, It's not a difficult thing to learn how aspies fit but children, teens and more need to be educated in it and reach out instead running away. Aspies can be very interesting people, we are just on a different wavelength, see things from a different perspective and can be.... abrupt. We work at that a lot.

I didn't mention it before but I am blessed with low level autism myself, but I think I have made a very good life out of a lot of misunderstandings and the challenge is not really a challenge anymore, it's become a way of finding what works for whom.

People just need to be kind to each other... that's the big picture.

[JDPriestly]

15. Yes. Thank you.

I was extremely, extremely shy, especially in high school. One girl told me she could not be my friend because her friends thought I was a snob. It was awful. Lonely.

I just could not talk to people. I got so nervous that I couldn't say anything.

My mother helped me out. She told me that people mostly like to talk about themselves. Just ask other people about themselves and you won't have to say much at all. That's what she told me. It worked.

[NutmegYankee]

7. Sounds like a win win situation.

UBC and mental health provisions in one bill.

[bossy22]

9. I don't think it will pass with a UBC provision

unless it is completely re-worked. Manchin-Toomey was a complete mess.

[AlinPA]

8. On guns for self defense and mental illness: I'm not a psychiatrist but I think these shootings

are (IMO many will agree) for revenge and hatred, and to some of the shooters it is for self defense - defending themselves with their guns from society who they believe is doing some wrong to them.

[24601]

11. But just being wronged isn't anything close to needing to defend yourself. This is more towards

identifying otherwise functioning people, for example hose with Asperger's, and determining they are too mentally anomalous to have a firearm.

[DeSwiss]

12. K&R

[Aristus]

16. "Unimaginable"?

We don't need to try to imagine it.

It's a regular occurrence here in Gunland...