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09 January 2011 By Bill Quigley Question: How does a mentally
unstable man who was kicked out of school and had
run-ins with the law buy an assault weapon? The weapon reportedly used in the
mass murders in Tucson was an assault weapon - a Glock
19, semi-automatic pistol, with an extended magazine.
That weapon was illegal to sell in the US from 1994 to
2004 under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. It is now
legal to sell and own. The National Rifle Association
reports there are tens of millions of assault weapons
is private hands in the US. The federal background check for
people purchasing such weapons only prohibits selling
such weapons to people who have been legally
determined to be mentally defective or found insane or
convicted of crimes. This man had not been found
legally mentally defective or convicted so he was
legally entitled to purchase an assault weapon. In
Arizona he was legally entitled to carry the weapon in
a concealed manner. The US has well over 250 million
guns in private hands according to the National Rifle
Association. That is more, according to the BBC, than
any country in the world. In one year, guns murdered
17 people in Finland, 35 in Australia, 39 in England
and Wales, 60 in Spain, 194 in Germany, 200 in Canada,
and 9,484 in the United States according to the Brady
Campaign. Does the US really need tens of
millions of assault weapons and hundreds of millions
of other guns? We already put more of our people in
prison than any country in the world and we spend more
on our military than all the rest of the world
together. How fearful must we be? Question: Why is there so little
talk of terrorism? Apparently when a mentally
unstable white male is accused, terrorism is not the
first thing that comes to mind. When Clay Duke, a white male,
threatened Florida school board members with a gun and
shot at them before shooting himself, in December
2010, he was mentally imbalanced. When Michael Enright, a white
male, was arrested for slashing the throat of a Muslim
NYC cab driver in August of 2010, his friends said he
had a drinking problem. When Byron Williams, a white
male, was arrested after opening fire on police
officers and admitted he was on his way to kill people
at offices of a liberal foundation and a civil
liberties organization, in July 2010, he was an
unemployed right wing felon with a drinking problem. When Joe Stack, a white male,
flew his private plane into a federal building in
Austin, Texas, in February 2010, he was angry with the
IRS. When a white male is accused of
mass murder, terrorism is not much talked of rather it
becomes a terrible tragedy but not one where race or
ethnicity or religion need be examined. Now, if the accused had been
Muslim, does anyone doubt whether this would have been
considered an act of terrorism? US Muslims could have
expected increased surveillance and harassment at home
and the places where they work and worship. They
could have expected a Congressional inquiry into the
radicalization of their people. Oh, Representative
Peter King (R-NY) has already started that one! Bill is Legal Director of the
Center for Constitutional Rights and law professor at
Loyola University New Orleans. Contact Bill at
quigley77@gmail.com |
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