In the WTF department of today's gun control dialogue, the state of Georgia may
come out as the leader of the pack when it comes to crazy:
ATLANTA
(AP) -- While some states
push to tighten gun control laws after the Connecticut school massacre,
lawmakers in gun-friendly Georgia want to ease rules preventing some mentally
ill people from getting licenses to carry firearms.
"Simply being hospitalized doesn't make a person a criminal or a
threat," said Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, the bill sponsor, in a
statement. The legislation now heads to the state Senate.
But we can rest easy that as Georgia goes, does NOT go the rest of
the nation:
Politico:
Three senators potentially facing tough
re-election challenges next year introduced NRA-endorsed legislation Wednesday
that would bar more people from buying guns due to mental illness.
At the head of
the gun control debate, Sen. Lindsey Graham from neighboring South Carolina,
has noted that he owns an AR-15, opposes most gun control legislation, but stops
when it comes to matters of the mentally ill.
"We need to fix this major flaw in the
system," Graham told reporters Wednesday. "There are lot of emotion around the
gun violence issue, but I am hopeful this is one area where we can find tremendous
bipartisan support to fix what I think is a gaping gap in our law."
Even the NRA
endorsed the measure.
So why is Georgia so dead set on giving guns to potentially dangerous people?
Possibly because the mentally ill issues is only part of the larger scheme of
the Georgia gun debate: the overall plan of mastermind organization
GeorgiaCarry.org would allow guns to be carried in churches, bars and college
campuses. However, the mix of alcohol, sex and immaturity, as one state
representative put it, creates a worrying piece of legislation.
The Five-Year Rule
The National
Council of State Legislatures has
the breakdown on state and federal laws concerning possession of firearms by
the mentally ill. Some state laws state that a five-year rule applies:
[District of Columbia] Section 7-2502.03 requires
that the Chief [of police] confirm that the applicant:
- Within the 5 years immediately preceding the application, has not
been acquitted of any criminal charge by reason of insanity or has not been
adjudicated a chronic alcoholic by any court;
- Within the 5 years immediately preceding the application, has not
been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to any mental hospital or
institution. (DC)
Ironically,
it's the gun-lovin' state of Texas that has the most specific rules determining
gun possession fitness, covering everything from bipolar disorder to
"antisocial personality disorder" - the latter which could include a
substantial portion of the state.*
The Federal law is less specific:
Under 18
U.S.C. - 922(d), it is
unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or
ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that
such person "has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed
to any mental institution."
GeorgiaCarry.org
Possibly the scariest part of the Georgia situation is the organization
GeorgiaCarry.org. It's contentious website is headed with: "The Leader In
The Fight To Reclaim And Expand Our Right To Bear Arms." It further
proclaims its distrust in politicians who have not voted to put firearms into
the hands of every two-year-old in Georgia:
We are not interested in "access" or being "inside players." We will not
protect or make excuses for politicians who say they are our "friends" and then
demonstrate otherwise by voting against us.
Some Right-wing leaders have whispered "Civil War" over the issue of
gun control, while GeorgiaCarry.org fairly screams it: it wants absolutely
everyone carrying a gun no matter who they are. Adam Lanza could have walked
into the organization and asked for anything he wanted - and get it, no
questions asked.
So could Jared Loughner, and James Holmes.
* The secessionist-possible state seems to dislike anyone who is not a Texan
these days.
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