| We recently had a situation in Northern Virginia where a mentally unbalanced 18year old with a criminal record escaped from a mental health facility and carjacked a vehicle. He later turned himself in and was released on bond. A couple weeks later he returned to the local police station with a hunting rifle, and AK47-like assault rifle and five handguns. He ambushed police officers in the parking lot during shift change, killing a detective and critically wounding two others before being taken down.
When police searched his home, that he shared with his parents and sister, they found an additional dozen weapons (shotguns, rifles, pistols and knives) in open sight around the house. There was no statement as to whether the guns were registered or licensed.
My first thought was the dollar value of the weapons. He was carrying around 5K worth of weapons with another 5-7K at home. Now even if the weapons were owned by the family, who would keep that kind of hardware in the same home with a mentally unbalance teenager with a criminal record?
Look, I own guns. My wife and children know how to safely use them although they haven't been fired in several years. I live a mile away from NRA headquarters and shoot at their range. At best a gun is a tool that can be used or abused. But there has to be middle ground that permits ownership but protects the community from this kind of nightmare scenario. |