I just had a conversation with my cousin.

[Skidmore]

Her son committed suicide in a bedroom in the upstairs of her home about 3 years ago yesterday using a gun that the family owned. She was letting me know how depressed she was on the anniversary and in the same breath launched into a diatribe of how terrible this massacre was and it shouldn't be used to talk about gun control. After all, guns are tools and it's people who kill. I bit my tongue until it almost bled. Chances are that she and her husband wouldn't have had to clean their son's brains off of the bedroom wall if they had gotten rid of the guns in their home.

I've been reading the threads about mental illness and guns and I've not been able to put my thoughts into writing that would reflect anything but anger and frustration with the absolutely pathological mindset of some gun owners. I don't think I can carry on a reasonable conversation with my cousin for a while without blurting out the obvious to her. I wanted to, but it just didn't feel right at the moment. I need to be calm first and I couldn't be.

[hlthe2b]

1. I have to give you credit....

while of course you were right not to add to this woman's obvious problems, damn, I would surely be missing half a tongue in doing so.

I have to wonder if she is holding on to this denial as a coping device against recognizing she and her husband may have enabled his act, rather than really believing this spew.

[Skidmore]

2. Thanks for saying this because I've been feeling pretty

badly about my whole interaction with her.

[sufrommich]

3. I have an aunt in Canada who put this on her Facebook:

[IMG][/IMG]

She's what I call an extreme catholic,it takes everything I have not to remind her that using her logic,God was OK with pedophile priests sexually abusing kids while in God's house.

[0rganism]

5. how does she explain the recent shootings at Amish and Christian schools?

Even if her God is so limited He can't squeeze His divine presence into our public schools, there are still a few recent massacres He could have prevented, were He so inclined:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_school_shooting
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/04/02/several-shot-inside-oakland-christian-school/

[Skidmore]

6. I've seen that thing posted more than once on FB and it is usually

by people who are posting garbage about protecting gun rights too.

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. The disconnect is amazing.

Maybe they need that disconnect otherwise they would blame themselves for having the gun in the house.