excerpts:
The state gave Elliot Rodger, who’d been mentally ill for years and openly posted threats to the public on YouTube and Facebook, a gun license that allowed him to buy semiautomatic guns that helped him to slaughter six innocent people.
It’s time America looks up to Canada, where anyone can own a gun — but licensing is properly managed with a process that takes weeks, requires applicants to show up in person and includes background checks and a personal safety-training course.
There are mass killings in Canada, including two mass stabbings this year by mentally ill persons, but far fewer than in the U.S. A big reason why is that Canada provides mental health care (and drugs and financial support) for all its residents, and enforces proper gun controls to protect the public. Canada catches mentally ill people in its health care net, because it has one.
Too many Americans have no access and cannot afford help or medications.
The right to bear arms by militias, established in the 18th century, has been stretched and corrupted by litigators and inept judges to effectively allow anyone anywhere in the U.S. to use semiautomatic weaponry at will. Americans aren’t so much more violent than Canadians. They are just far more likely to use guns
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/america-gun-culture-madness-article-1.1810661
