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It was pretty much inevitable that discussions about the NIU shooting would turn to gun control. And turn they have.
A group of NIU parents are calling for tighter gun control laws, as is Rep Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago). Mayor Daley asked "Why do we love guns in America?," and Neil Steinberg complains that "the prospect of any kind of meaningful gun control in this country is as impossible a dream as perpetual motion."
There's a new law coming down the pike that requires health care professionals (healthcare amateurs remain unencumbered) to report patients "exhibiting suicidal, threatening or assaultive behavior," according to the Sun-Times. Might that discourage some people from seeking help, though--the idea that their behavior may be reported to the police?
All the guns Steve Kazmierczak used were purchased legally, and none is considered an assault weapon. Kazmierczac had a valid FOID card, which is a Firearm Owners Identification Card. According to the State, there are 1.2 million valid FOID card holders in Illinois, and the application process is pretty straight-forward. These are some of the questions:
2.Have you ever been convicted of a felony? 3. In the past 5 years, have you been a patient in any medical facility or part of any medical facility used primarily for the care or treatment of persons for mental illness? 4. Are you addicted to narcotics? 5. Are you mentally retarded? 6. Are you subject to an existing order of protection which prohibits you from possessing a firearm? 7. Within the past 5 years, have you been convicted of battery, assault, aggravated assault, violation of an order of protection, or a substantially similar offense in which a firearm was used or possessed? 8. Have you ever been convicted of domestic battery or substantially similar offense (misdemeanor or felony)? 9. Have you ever been adjudicated a delinquent minor for the commission of an offense that if committed by an adult would be a felony? 10 Are you an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States?
Kazmierczac's history of mental illness did not disqualify him from obtaining a FOID card and subsequently purchasing firearms. And as much as we'd love for there to be a law that bans potential murderers from buying guns, does a blanket law that bans anyone with any history of, say, depression really make sense? [Neil Steinberg, ABC 7, Trib, FOID card info, S-T]
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shitstorm in 5-4-3-2.........
All I will say is that it is illegal to own guns in Chicago. This is a clear violation of the 2nd ammendment and will be struck down. There is also not one more piece of gun legislation that can be effective without enforcement of the current gun laws. Anything passed (see the Brady Bill), will be a failure without enforcement of our current laws, and once there is enforcement there will be no need to pass further legislation and restrictions.
And...I'm outta here before this topic gets ridiculously flaimed
Ok....I understand the seriousness of the situation and feel very badly for the victims and their families. I would never want to experience anything like that and can't imagine what these people are dealing with...
But....I'm growing extremely tired of seeing every shooting become a gun control debate. I've been reading that all of the NIU shooter's guns were purchased legally with a FOID card. Maybe this is a mental health issue.
How about the fact that all of these shootings happen in gun free zones? The shooter had time to reload. Maybe if someone had a gun they could have shot back. How about the killings in Tinley Park? Maybe if there was another gun in the store those women wouldn't have been killed. Criminals are going to have guns regardless of the law, might as well have some law abiding citizens with them as well.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away
Maybe this shooting should reopen the how many whack jobs are walking around not recieving the treatment they need debate.
The papers showed the tats this asshat got recently he had some apparent issues. No I am not anti tattoo.
Yes the NRA needs to moderate and accept that assault weapons are unneccasary, background checks are neccasary and no one needs to be buying multiple weapons at a time, but besides that ILL has some very tough gun laws. Crazy people do crazy shit. The responsibility is all on the asshole shooter
Getreal and fed up are so dead on with their p.o.v's...
Guns aren't the problem.It's the people who get their hands on them that make it an issue.
When I was younger I was taught how to shoot.I was raised around guns.My father was a police officer and would take me to the range all the time.He had multiple,loaded,high-powered firearms all over the house.I even had a handgun up until I was 22.
I was taught at a very early age the seriousness of guns and the damage they can do.I was taught to believe guns are a means of security and a hobby.All of that must've sunk in because I've never shot random people.
It's about being responsible and not being a complete fucking psycho.It's not about taking guns away from responsible citizens.No amount of "gun control" will rid this country of nutjobs.
"gun free zones"
Has anyone every known that they were in a "gun free zone". "Entering gun free zone", what a joke.
Criminals are going to have guns regardless of the law, might as well have some law abiding citizens with them as well.
The shooter was a law abiding citizen who got the guns legally.
Ha ha ha, Joey the Clown! I though you wuz in da joint.
Glad to see some reasonable positions here. As horrible as tragedies like the NIU shooting and the Tinley Park shooting are, we should be thankful as hell these fuckers didn't blow themselves up. I'm a hell of a lot more worried about bombs than guns.
i was always under the impression that if you were checked into a psych ward, you were ineligible to get a gun card for 5 years.
however, what i don't quite get is how these things are checked. for all my paranoia about all the things 'the man' knows about me, this is one area i suspect the man doesn't actually snoop around in anyone's records too hard or too long.
A2
I am in the joint...but I'm Joey the Clown remember.
Whatever Joey wants,Joey gets.
And Joey wanted chicagoist.
No the shooter was a criminal because he brought a gun into a gun free zone. That made him a criminal the minute he stepped on campus for carrying a concealed weapon. People who obeyed the law had no guns on campus and therefore were defenseless.