Person shoots, kills self at Casselberry shooting range

[Hugabear]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-shoot-straight-dead-042709,0,2960731.story

No, this isn't the story from a few weeks ago. This is a NEW shooting that just happened today at the same exact shooting range.

<snip>
Casselberry police identified a man who shot and killed himself at a gun range as a 26-year-old with a history of mental health issues.

Jason Kevin McCarthy. 26, of Winter Springs died of a single gunshot wound to the head about 5:40 p.m. at Shoot Straight, the same gun range where a mother used a rented gun to kill her son and herself April 5.
...
Shoot Straight suspended all firearms rentals after McCarthy's death, saying they will not resume until the state lets them conduct background checks on people who lease their guns, store attorney Joerg Jaeger said.

"If it costs us money, it costs us money. So what," Jaeger said of the store's decision to halt rentals. "The safety of individuals is more important," Jaeger said.
<snip>



This makes sense to me. Why not take precautionary measures? IMHO this should be mandatory for ALL shooting ranges. If we require people to undergo a background check to purchase a gun, we should require them to undergo one when renting one as well. Unfortunately, with all the problems we're facing nowadays, I have a feeling this won't be the last time we hear about someone going to a shooting range to kill themselves. Or maybe next time, they'll decide to kill someone else, perhaps even a random bystander, before turning the gun on themselves.

[thunder rising]

1. I know I'm not going to that range.

[Hugabear]

2. It could happen at ANY gun range

How could you ever know if the person next to you isn't some mentally unbalanced person, or someone with a long criminal history of violence? These people need to undergo the same type of background checks as someone buying a gun from a retail store.

[X_Digger]

3. How about a background check at..

pharmacies.. "before I hand you this prescription for a strong drugs, let me run a background check.."
car rentals.. "before I hand you these keys, let me run a background check.."
gas stations.. "before I let you pump gas, let me run a background check.."
hardware stores.. "before I sell you this drain cleaner, let me run a background check.."

[Occam Bandage]

6. Getting a prescription for painkillers is far harder than getting a gun.

[Hugabear]

8. Not for Rush Limbaugh

Sorry, had to go there. But your post is correct, for most of us, getting a prescription for serious painkillers is a lot harder than getting a gun. Not to mention the fact that nobody's going to ever take a bottle of prescription medication and KILL the person standing next to them, as a woman at this same shooting range did a few weeks ago.

[cliffordu]

11. Not in any junior high school in the states.

[babylonsister]

7. Oy. You're kidding?

Guns and those killed by them don't equate to any of the above.

[X_Digger]

9. Suicidal methodology.. pills, cars, drain cleaner, carbon monoxide..

Assuming that a background check that only checks to see if a person has been adjudicated mentally defective (the law language, not mine) will stop a suicidal person is just silly.

[Occam Bandage]

13. Background checks aren't to prevent suicides.

They're to prevent murders.

[X_Digger]

15. Then how would it have stopped this incident?

"History of mental problems" != adjudicated mentally incompetent

[Occam Bandage]

18. Nobody thinks or claims that background checks will stop all improper firearm use,

or even a significant proportion of it. The claim is that it would stop some, and that the benefit of that is greater than the mild inconvenience gun owners must go through.

[X_Digger]

20. And when it doesn't stop one..

..what will be the next step?

I'm not averse to having rentals pass an NICS check, I just don't see the utility. It's a fairly rare occurrence (let's say 10 per year) but it provides a false sense of security. When it fails, it will lead to more and more efforts that hurt the other folks who _don't_ go to a gun range to commit suicide (or murder their sons.)

[Occam Bandage]

21. "Someone might later implement a worse system" is not really a good argument.

I don't think a background check for a gun rental is "hurting" anyone.

[Occam Bandage]

12. I think the only one that's even remotely comparable in potential abuse would be

certain drugs, and in order to get those, you need to go to a doctor, who has your entire health record in front of him, explain your symptoms, undergo questioning, submit to tests, wait for those test results, then receive a document you take to a pharmacist, who then calls the doctor, puts your name, address, and the prescription in his company's database, then fills the prescription and hands you your pills, after which point he will send the information to your insurance company (as the doctor already has).

But to have a brief background check to ensure someone is neither insane nor criminal before giving them a firearm? TYRANNY!!!!!

[X_Digger]

14. Does your GP know if you've been seeing a therapist?

When my wife had problems sleeping, they handed her some loopy stuff without asking about mental health (she had been seeing a therapist the year before for depression.)

[Occam Bandage]

16. They would if they were competent,

unless you were a depressed liar who also had valid reasons for whatever pills they were giving you.

[malaise]

4. A few weeks ago

What about this?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5544268

[babylonsister]

5. Nice gesture. Too bad he didn't do it after the first two people died. nt

[Mnemosyne]

10. Actually, not as surprising as one would think. A more public suicide or attempt often attracts

at least one copycat attempt. It's even more common for another family member to attempt after a family member's suicide. Brothers tend to run highest chance of at least attempting it.

It happened here years ago at a local shooting range. She was about 25, iirc. There were several suicides and attempts in the month afterward, though not at the range, still with guns.

I find is astonishing that they didn't start doing checks after the woman recently successful with taking her son along, tried it there the first time.

Cool the company saying the people are more important than lost revenue though.

[Historic NY]

17. Their insurance just went threw the roof...renting guns or providing the suicide means

[L0oniX]

19. Most places only charge $5 for a back ground check. That's not much and ...

well worth it to keep out the idiots.