http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599204144800#mwpphu-container

The issue I have with this whole situation is the man was never diagnosed with any kind of mental problems. There is a public " perception " that he is " mentally " ill and that is dangerous for all of us!

When my rights are threatened because I write weird poems or say things that don't fit with the public perception of what is acceptable or " normal " that scares the hell out of me.

By default anyone doing a mass shooting is mentally ill. I've owned guns and have never shot anyone so I have to say that it's an individual problem. Beyond that, why aren't laws against incitement and agitation to violence enforced against individuals and organizations? This behavior is not protected by the 1st amendment.

I am with D on this one. Nowhere have they found concrete evidence of this man being dx'd with anything as of yet (someone correct me if I am wrong) Yes he probably did slip thru the cracks but thats the fault of the mental health system and truly has nothing to do with our right to bear arms . I wont ever personally own a gun - I would loose a limb rather quicly I am affraid but I do own a lock blade knife for protection and nope sorry I dont ever want that right to do so taken away from me based solely on my dx. Now having said that it is a very thin line between those that should be allowed to own a gun and those that should be kept away from them whether they have a MI diagnosis or not. Obviously the system needs revamped lets just hope it happens in the correct way for once

i agree with @bpstorm!!

22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was allowed to buy the murder weapon in the first place. Beyond the clearly delusional nature of online videos ascribed to him, Loughner was suspended last year from Pima Community College apparently because of mental problems. According to the college, he was told he could return only if he obtained "a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the College does not present a danger to himself or others." The Army also denied Loughner's application for unspecified reasons. It's unclear what other organizations or agencies might have been aware of Loughner's dangerous mental state. Still, he passed a background check, and late last year legally bought the 9-mm Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun allegedly used in the shootings."


so people clearly new SOMETHING was up but you know how easy it is to fake being "normal" in front of people who dont really know who you are i know i do it perfect
i like to call that "THE FAKE MASK"

Descriptions one of Loughner's high school classmates posted on Twitter only added to the mystery. "He had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in '06, & dropped out of school. Mainly loner very philosophical," @caitieparker tweeted. "As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy." And, most ominously, "He was a political radical & met Giffords once before in '07, asked her a question & he told me she was 'stupid & unintelligent.'"

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2041427,00.html#ixzz1Ae2IZUZN

This is my take on it. I have a mental illness and would be okay with a gun because I know me. I know that I couldn't shoot a bird let alone another human being or my self. However my husband who also has a mental illness does NOT under any circumstances need a gun or to even have access to a gun or any weapon for that matter.
He recongizes that and would never attempt to own another one because he knows it would be a dangerous thing.

I think that yes we have a right to bear arms, but just because we have that right doesn't mean we all need to exercise that right. I think that everybody needs to go through a mental consult in applying for a license to buy a gun.

I think you should be applauded Atwater for recongizing your limitations and making a responsible decision for yourself. After all we are all responsible for our own decisions and actions

I agree with Tommy on the fact that anyone who opens fire in a public location with intent to kill or arm another person, isn't well mentally, whether it is lifetime mental illness or a temporary break.

I'm with Tommy on this, there's something wrong with you if you randomly start shooting people, AND there should be enforcement against those groups and individuals who hide behind the 1st amendment as they incite violence, hatred, bigotry, and outright murder. But I also think the "right to bear arms" is outdated and no longer a needed part of our governing laws. We have organised military and law enforcement now, so people should just get over that part, in my opinion.

The accumulation of weapons is a threat to civil society, yet society continues to encourage people that safety is in the hands of the one with guns. It's hype, and people are stupid for buying into it - who needs 2 guns, or 10 guns, or even more.

The McVay kid (I'm assuming he shares his Mom's surname) had how many guns in that house? And people are surprised he shot his mother in the head? Yeah, okay...safety measures, right?

Ugh! I live in a place where (I just learned yesterday from a police dispatcher) at least one shooting murder goes unreported at least twice a week, and you can buy nearly any gun you want at Walmart.

The easy access to guns needs to end, and we need to support gun control, and when my Nana passes on (hopefully decades from now) and her gun collection passes to me, I'll leave it right in its cabinet.

"Should the mentally ill be allowed to own guns?"

In the UK that would be an odd question, because unless you need one for work, it's hard to own a gun here, mentally ill or otherwise.

I've always been puzzled by the whole right to bear arms thing. I may be wrong but this was because originally there was no standing army for the US - so they needed to have guns in case we came back over and tried to take america back. I think that is indeed how it was written in the constitution.

But what would i know?

interestingly Switzerland requires all it's adult men to have guns at home because they don't have a standing army either. They have a very high level of spousal shootings there. I suppose it's one way of stopping Heidi yodelling all the time.

But what would I know?

i am now a victim of a shooting...heidi, fish? lemme just say my nose will never be the same, and that hot coffee sometimes is a dangerous weapon.

It has more to do with the uncivil state of our political discourse.

I am pro-gun control. We really are just super-saturated with them, and I think it is unconscionable this culture of guns. Personally, I can not own a gun because I was involuntarily committed to a psych ward which precludes me from owning one in this state. However, I have never been homicidal. I have BP, not homicidal tendencies. Never in any of my manic states have I been a danger to anyone else by use of a gun.

And, yes, there has been no reporting that this man had a diagnosis of any kind. He had uncontrollable rage which at this point can be contributed to a plethora of reasons.

but, your post doesn't anger me; it's honest and raises some serious ethical questions.

I have bipolar and was a police office a correctional officer and juvenile officer but now I do not work- i was hard when someone pissed me off and upset me or lied to be or betrayed me from me thinking about those awfuls thoughts about what i would do to them if i saw them again- but i had to snapp back to reality and thiink i have a daughter a family - i cnt sit in jail and if i go to jail will they give me all of my medication- wow thats a lot to think about

I think in black and white too much to figure out gun laws. I know I could own a gun and I think we DO have a gun. I am not interested in them until it comes down to the zombies... But I am also happy to live in a "make-my-day" state or whatever that law is... That can backfire too though, horribly.

As for the kid himself - I sympathize lightly with him. My friend gave me such a cold stare when I said that, and slowly said in an angry voice, "He killed... a nine year old... child. Plus so many others."

Yeah. I get that. But OBVIOUSLY to do that, ya gotta have a few screws loose. I don't care about his specific DX, he's going to end up on the death row for it. I'm betting he'll live long enough to regret it. Sociopaths, psychopaths, they get very little sympathy from me, but even them, amongst the bipolar, depressed, schizophrenic and all the rest, I really do feel bad for those that commit crimes under stress and delusions.

Even still though, I'm so mad that he did that, so disgusted and disheartened. Every individual represents the human race in many ways - and he sure did cover the fucked-up and twisted spectrum of our over-all crazy species.

I think as a Canadian that the right to bear arms leads to an entitled attitude of the right to use those arms in any situation you want.

Ethically, I would never hurt someone, it just runs against the way I was raised, and my Christian values. You don't need a gun to hurt someone. For that matter, you don't need any weapon. You can hurt people with your fists, or wound them with your words.

I think that the heart of many is wicked and selfish. I don't know if this shooting was about mental illness, or entitlement. It will be interesting if the truth will ever be broadcast or even know as to the why to this question.

In Canada, literally no one owns guns, unless they are in the police or a farmer. If they own a gun, it must be registered and there are issues as to whether the gun registry has been effective. My personal belief is that no one should own guns. But kitchen knives are ok. LOL It comes back down to the person, and what they think the difference is between right and wrong. And we seem to be very short of that kind of difference generally in North American society these days.

I personally have been waffling back and forth about renewing my own pistol permit. My therapist said not to, that I dont need it. And he is right. Plus I have too many other bills I could pay with the $70. I get suicidal sometimes & I wonder if I would use a gun if I had one,I have thought of using my bb gun.I definitely dont need a gun or gun permit

From what I have read the guess is that he is Schizophrenic..... paranoid, conspiraciy theories abounding... the government is brainwashign people through it's control of our language and grammar... he refered to himself (and the unbrainwashed) as literate and said most people are illiterate (brainwashed)... etc... there are examples of blog posts and facebook posts he made of you look around. someone refered to him as the "back bedroom schizophrenic" meaning undiagnosed family secret.....

Unfortunately this is an example of when our level of freedom goes wrong.... he fell through the mental health cracks and even if it was suspected that he was ill no one could force him to get treatment until AFTER a tragedy such as the shooting happened. I don't like to think that I have fewer right because I am mentally ill but when I am sane I do know that I gladly give up many rights to keep my family safe and sound.... many are rights I don't need anyway, like the right to own a gun. What the hell do I need with a gun.