A sad Chicago connection to the shootings in Arizona

[cassiesmom]

I just heard on news radio that the little girl who was killed in Arizona on Saturday was the granddaughter of Dallas Green- former Chicago Cubs general manager in the early '80s (and responsible for getting us Ryne Sandberg). She was there to meet the Congresswoman because she had just been elected to her student council.

One thing I would like to know- if the shooter had a history of mental illness, how was he able to purchase the gun? (or did they not know he had such a history)

[Freedom]

I saw that. What I found . . . chilling, I guess? -- is that she was born on 9/11/2001. Also, she was featured in the book, Faces of Hope, which was a book with one baby born in each of the 50 states on that date.

As for your question:

Gun dealers don't know anything about medical history which is kept private.

[pomtzu]

I too remember Dallas Green from when he was manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. My heart goes out to him and all of his family at the tragic and senseless loss of his beautiful granddaughter. May she rest in peace.


Sandie - aren't there waiting periods when applying to buy a gun, so that a thorough background check can be conducted? I think most states have at least a 2 day wait - but then I could be mistaken.

[lvpets2002]

Yes the shooting was so Tragic & Horrible on those lives.. The way I understand it is that this guy was normal most of the time & just would have outburst at times.. Now the College he was going to was the ones that finaly kicked him out of college & told him to go get some medical help.. His college room-mate told the same story.. So I guess the guy was acting normal when he bought the gun && then went crazy again.. Its just blows my mind to no end with all of these shootings.. These people were just inocent people that did not do nothing to deserve this guy shooting them.. I Pray for all the families to have to deal with this..

[lizbud]

One thing I would like to know- if the shooter had a history of mental illness, how was he able to purchase the gun? (or did they not know he had such a history)

I read a interesting article today on just that subject. Often wondered
about this myself.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...00.html?hpt=T2

[phesina]

Thanks for the link, Gretchen. I just looked at the article. It gives very thoughtful coniderations to pro-gun-rights arguments as well as anti-, concluding very wisely (in my opinion):

If there is anything that both sides should be able to agree on, it's that unstable individuals should not have access to any kind of weapon, much less the so-called fourth-generation semiautomatic Glock 19 that Loughner bought.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...#ixzz1Afz81wOd


I do have to say, though, I especially liked this paragraph:

Gun-rights supporters see a different moral to the shooting. "It shows more than ever why people need to have the tools of defense," says Charles Heller, founder of the Arizona Citizens Defense League. As for additional gun-control laws, Heller says, "It doesn't need to be any more illegal than it already is to shoot a Congresswoman in the head."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...#ixzz1AfzaHztP

Yeah, right.. If that little 9-year-old girl had only been packing heat.. if Rep. Giffords had.. if the other victims had.. there would have been no deaths, no injuries (except for the bad guy, of course)!

[Bonny]

The gunman Jared now has Judy Clark as his lawyer. They don't mentioned his parents? Jared was fixated with Ms Gifford. The people that grabbed Jared & took the gun away were very brave souls. Mr Hernandez saved Ms Gifford's life. There were a lot of good people in a bad situation doing the right things to help each other. God Bless Them All

[smokey the elder]

God Bless all the civilians that have stepped up to the plate over and over since 9/11; also the Angels who are going to block the Westboro protesters from the little girl's funeral.

The political discourse has become so shrill and distorted. What ever happened to being willing to agree to disagree on things? Now it's become so polarized and personal. I even see it here to some extent, but people keep it toned down for the most part.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Yeah, right.. If that little 9-year-old girl had only been packing heat.. if Rep. Giffords had.. if the other victims had.. there would have been no deaths, no injuries (except for the bad guy, of course)!

As this article points out - it was almost worse...Friendly Firearms

It is difficult in such a chaotic situation to tell the good guys from the bad guys...

[cassiesmom]

No easy answers on the subject of gun ownership.

I heard a comparison on the radio of the perpetrator in this shooting to the man who killed 6 students at Northern Illinois University almost two years ago (it'll be two years on Valentine's Day). Similar situation- bright young man, good student, promising future except for mental health issues. It's just very sad that these kind of shootings keep happening.