Should She Have Been Able to Buy a Gun?

" In January of 2017, a severely mentally ill woman was able to buy a gun, legally.  She had no record – nothing on a background check would have raised a red flag.  She told her ex-husband she'd bought it, and he inferred why.  He managed to get it away from her...that time.  Sometime between February 2017 and April 4, 2017, she acquired another gun, legally.  On April 4, she left her counselor's office, having just been recommended to check herself into inpatient rehab for depression; drove to a location close to her ex's house; and shot herself through the mouth.

Confiscating guns, restricting gun purchases by age, et cetera will not work.  It will only punish law-abiding and stable people.  Looking closely at how we define and handle mental illness would be a giant step in the right direction.  Looking closely at how we handle the mentally ill within the legal system would be a giant step in the right direction.  Do we have the courage to do it?"

[American Thinker]