In Mother Maryland You Dont Write Books, Books Write You...

McLaw's case is one of displaying aberrant behavior. Several agencies and individuals came together to obtain a court ordered commitment for psychiatric evaluation. This was based on his actions including alleged harassment, alleged crimes (unspecified), behavior demonstrated through his letter to the school board (content unspecified), and obsession with the school's layout. His novels contributed to their concern as the subject material was school massacres. Even without knowing what crimes he's alleged to commit, or the content of the letter he wrote, I think government agencies responded appropriately given this set of facts while protecting his privacy.

Removing everything except his novels, if he had been terminated by the school board for writing about school massacres, I think he would have had grounds to sue for unlawful termination as they were aware of his books before the current episode. If he had been held without cause his civil rights would have been in violation. Of course they could have refused to hire him in the first place based on his writings or anything else that he told them.

So we have one guy that teaches kids, wrote fiction based on the massacring of kids, and sent a letter to the authorities which made them question his mental state being taken in for evaluation.

And that's draconian?

The only reason it is is because the Atlantic put its head up its ass to scream about 1st amendment issues, because of course as writers that's their concern. They didn't mention he wrote a psycho letter to the authorities, probably because the authorities didn't tell about it because they have to protect the guys rights concerning his mental state.

This is kinda of the way its supposed to work, isn't it? Make sure the guy isn't going to kill a bunch of people because we can't restrict his access to the weapons that could be used to kill a bunch of people. Certainly we can't take away his rights to buy semi-automatic weapons, horde ammunition, purchase tactical accessories and a bullet proof vest, right? Not until he's been evaluated and if found dangerous committed, and even then he'll likely get those rights back when he's released.

The NRA will make sure of that.

About the letter and the aberrant behavior:

And as for McLaw's being relegated to the gulag:

evenflow, what say you?

I say I got bit by a hyperbolic piece in an otherwise stand up publication, that there was a lot of confusion which led to other organizations searching out the truth. I think it's unfair that a man's life has probably been ruined by what does appear to be a lot of over zealous higher ups. I also think it's telling the way some people reacted to the initial storyline and that it confirms some previous assumptions about their worldview.

I think you and a few people didn't very carefully read the Atlantic's article. It was very flimsy, with lots of statements that indicated they were relying heavily on assumptions rather than confirmed facts.

The Atlantic has the kind of reputation that makes it easy to miss that kind of thing, but it's a mistake to think the three or four of us who were suspicious from the outset are okay with what the rest of you thought had happened. We just didn't see the evidence to back the story, and it didn't fit in too many ways for coincidence.

And flow was a little too eager to get us to express shock over restrictions on constitutional rights.

I gotta say, his parallel between the first amendment and the second is sound.

Some limits on speech:

• To incite actions that would harm others (e.g., “Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”).
  Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).
• To make or distribute obscene materials.
  Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957).
• To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest.
  United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968).
• To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration.
  Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
• Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event.
  Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986).
• Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event.
  Morse v. Frederick, __ U.S. __ (2007).[/S]

So gun ownership has limits too. Consequences from their misuse are pretty obvious and permanent in nature.

McLaw's novels could have had negative consequences if the people who hired him knew about them when he applied for the job as a teacher. I don't doubt the books were a contributing factor in the judge's decision to commit him. But no one is questioning whether he should have been prevented from writing and publishing the books.

Do you think there should be no consequences. Ever?

No there were a couple early on who acted as if the threat of school shootings outweighed all other concerns, regardless of the consequences.

Consequences for what, people's insecurity? There are limits on speech, there are limits on guns as well. Both are currently under threat.

Were the actions taken justified? Don't think so, but others were right to comment on the chilling effect things like this have on a free society. Is that what you want, a skittish populace, nervous about offending whatever powers that be who might be sifting through their every thought?

17th century New England called, they want their busybodies back.

The threat of school shootings doesn't outweigh other concerns?

Everything has consequences. Some are negative.

He's been committed by a judge based on "clear and convincing evidence." It wasn't a trivial decision. Without a court order the maximum is 72 hours.

Edit: from that cite, Maryland is a bit different. It was easier to get him in to be evaluated, but by now a judge has ordered it if he's still there.

Maryland[edit]
In Maryland, any person may request, via an Emergency Evaluation form, that another individual be evaluated against their will by an emergency room physician for involuntary admission. If the judge concurs, he will direct the police to escort the individual to the hospital. A licensed physician, psychologist, social worker, or nurse practitioner who has examined the patient or a police officer may bring a potential patient to the emergency room for forced evaluation without approval from a judge. The patient may be kept in the hospital for up to thirty hours. If by then two physicians, or one physician and one psychologist then decide that the patient meets the Maryland criteria for an involuntary psychiatric admission, then he or she may be kept inpatient involuntarily for up to ten days. During this time, an administrative law judge determines if the following criteria for longer civil commitment are met:
​

• • a person has a mental illness;
  • a person needs inpatient care or treatment;
  • a person presents a danger to themselves or to others;
  • a person is unable or unwilling to be admitted voluntarily;
  • there is no available, less restrictive form of care or treatment to meet the person's needs.

"If the judge concurs" they may be evaluated for up to 30 hours. It's more restrictive than the federal standard. After that two doctors have to sign off for up to 10 days. Longer requires a judges order.

This is the issue. Mental health and committal. Not 1st amendment rights. And not 2nd amendment rights no matter how much flow pouts about the threat of school shootings (really!).

The laws changed dramatically in the 70s. Before then committals were common. I don't know what the criteria was but it was probably as simple as a doctor's orders. Mr. McLaw has to be bat-shit-crazy for 2 doctors and a judge to sign off at this point and it must be "clear and convincing evidence." No ambiguity. This is why there are so many crazy homeless people.

From that cite:

Germany[edit]
In Germany, there is a growing tendency to use the law on legal guardianship instead of mental health law for justification of involuntary commitment or treatment. The ward's legal guardian decides that he/she must go into mental hospital for treatment, and the police then acts on this decision. This is simpler for the government and family members than the formal process for commitment under mental health laws.

Germany[edit]
The German guardianship law was completely changed in 1990. Guardianship was renamed to 'care-taking' (Betreuung). When a person of full age who, as a result of mental disease or physical, mental or psychological handicap is incapable of managing his own affairs, a guardian can be appointed (article 1896 Civil Law). An adult guardian is responsible for personal and estate matters, as well as for medical treatment. However, the ward has full capacity with all human rights such as those to marry, vote or make a will. Every guardian has to report annually to the guardianship court (Betreuungsgericht).
​

No room for abuse there, Packard, is there?

Yes, largely due to it being based on almost nothing, and the largely out of proportion reaction to it.

By holding him in confinement without charge and permanently staining his reputation in a way that makes future employment in almost any profession, let alone his chosen profession, essentially impossible. Yeah, the authorities are really looking out for his interests, huh?

Right, because being confined to the mental ward of a hospital doesn't restrict his access to weapons of any kind, let alone firearms. Nope, that evil NRA guarantees he'll have a gun strapped to that straight jacket with him in that padded room. Man, your obsession with firearms and the NRA is hilarious.

Evidently a judge and a qualified psychiatrist disagreed.

Perhaps because he named real people in his fictional account of massacring a school, sent a letter that had suicidal overtones and was clearly indicative of saying farewell to his school district, and had a scale model of the school in his barn.

This combination of factors would lead any judicious person to question that man's intent.

If he's suicidal yes, they are looking out for his interests as well as those around him. And the fault of this being widely publicized is specific to the journalists who misunderstood the situation and used it to grind their own axe. If he is held for evaluation and released, it isn't even something that would come up on a job application.

The case being made famous by the media is what is going to keep him from working again.

Your lack of reading comprehension is what is hilarious.

Try again.

First of all, there's ample room for abuse there. Secondly, you're getting mixed up; the rules you're quoting are for people who have already been ruled legally incompetent. Thirdly, those rules do not introduce chilling effects in general, making this less of a general free speech issue than the case the original story seemed to be about.

I'm curious: Were you under the impression that I had some obligation to consider Germany's laws defensible?

Not at all. Thanks for responding. I felt you were critical about the mental health laws of this country being open to abuse. It's very difficult to have a person committed here. There has to be clear and certain evidence they are an immediate danger to themselves or others. We may never know the full story (and shouldn't).

On the chilling effect. The books were secondary. I don't think anyone would be discouraged from writing school violence fiction based on McLaw's experience. They might chill on writing inappropriate letters to the school board after becoming a teacher and exhibiting bizarre behavior.

In Maryland it appears easier to have someone clinically evaluated against their will. But a judge still has to order it, not "anybody." Once 30 hours have past, 2 doctors, or 1 doctor and a psychologist must agree to further evaluation for up to 10 days. Beyond that requires a judge. The judge's decision must be based on clear and convincing evidence, not ambiguities or opinion.

I'm open to "exploiting" school shootings and other firearms misuse to legislate additional controls on guns and the people that buy them. Sorry, the kids deserve better than, "Shit happens." I guess that makes me hysterical.

If the above is an accurate description of events, then yeah, the Atlantic really blew it. They're one of my favorite publications but I guess you can't win them all.

Assuming the above description is accurate, is there really anyone here who DOESN'T think the guy needed to be checked out?

I agree.

But unfortunately there's a powerful lobby in the country that makes sure we don't have sane gun laws because they are refighting the civil war in their heads or are afraid that the gubment is going to throw them in chains.

Fear is very powerful force. Look at what happened to gun costs and ammunition after the latest massacre of innocents.

Fear and hysteria seem to have a greater impact on gun owners, don't they? It makes sense.

This is exactly the point of contention, not an argument or defense of their actions.

Purely speculation on your part.

And if potential employers call up this school they're going to hear all about everything that went down, or in all likelihood, they'll simply know about it from the reports. Having the police put the school on lock down while they do sweeps for weapons is not something that just goes away quietly. This was a complete overreaction on their part.

What's hilarious is the obvious axe you have to grind.

School shooting in the US since 1996. By my count that's 59.

School shotings in the rest of the world since 1996. 17.

The US has 5% of the worlds population, give or take.

That means if we didn't have our head up our ass, and handled this as well as everyone else did, the number of school shootings would be less than 2.

We are more than 30 times worse than the world average for this.

Onoz indeed. There IS a huge problem here. One, we are horrible at protecting our kids. Two, there's a lot of paranoid numbnuts that think if we force people to take handgun trainin that leads directly to the 3rd Reich. Because they equate the moral center of the Federal government with Hitler.

In other words, complete fucking idiots.
.

Feb. 2, 1996
Moses Lake, Wash.

Two students and one teacher killed, one other wounded when 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis opened fire on his algebra class.

Feb. 19, 1997
Bethel, Alaska

Principal and one student killed, two others wounded by Evan Ramsey, 16.

Oct. 1, 1997
Pearl, Miss.

Two students killed and seven wounded by Luke Woodham, 16, who was also accused of killing his mother. He and his friends were said to be outcasts who worshiped Satan.

Dec. 1, 1997
West Paducah, Ky.

Three students killed, five wounded by Michael Carneal, 14, as they participated in a prayer circle at Heath High School.

Dec. 15, 1997
Stamps, Ark.

Two students wounded. Colt Todd, 14, was hiding in the woods when he shot the students as they stood in the parking lot.

March 24, 1998
Jonesboro, Ark.

Four students and one teacher killed, ten others wounded outside as Westside Middle School emptied during a false fire alarm. Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot at their classmates and teachers from the woods.

April 24, 1998
Edinboro, Pa.

One teacher, John Gillette, killed, two students wounded at a dance at James W. Parker Middle School. Andrew Wurst, 14, was charged.

May 19, 1998
Fayetteville, Tenn.

One student killed in the parking lot at Lincoln County High School three days before he was to graduate. The victim was dating the ex-girlfriend of his killer, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis.

May 21, 1998
Springfield, Ore.

Two students killed, 22 others wounded in the cafeteria at Thurston High School by 15-year-old Kip Kinkel. Kinkel had been arrested and released a day earlier for bringing a gun to school. His parents were later found dead at home.

June 15, 1998
Richmond, Va.

One teacher and one guidance counselor wounded by a 14-year-old boy in the school hallway.

April 20, 1999
Littleton, Colo.

14 students (including killers) and one teacher killed, 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had plotted for a year to kill at least 500 and blow up their school. At the end of their hour-long rampage, they turned their guns on themselves.

May 20, 1999
Conyers, Ga.

Six students injured at Heritage High School by Thomas Solomon, 15, who was reportedly depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend.

Nov. 19, 1999
Deming, N.M.

Victor Cordova Jr., 12, shot and killed Araceli Tena, 13, in the lobby of Deming Middle School.

Dec. 6, 1999
Fort Gibson, Okla.

Four students wounded as Seth Trickey, 13, opened fire with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at Fort Gibson Middle School.

Feb. 29, 2000
Mount Morris Township, Mich.

Six-year-old Kayla Rolland shot dead at Buell Elementary School near Flint, Mich. The assailant was identified as a six-year-old boy with a .32-caliber handgun.

March 10, 2000
Savannah, Ga.

Two students killed by Darrell Ingram, 19, while leaving a dance sponsored by Beach High School.

May 26, 2000
Lake Worth, Fla.

One teacher, Barry Grunow, shot and killed at Lake Worth Middle School by Nate Brazill, 13, with .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol on the last day of classes.

Sept. 26, 2000
New Orleans, La.

Two students wounded with the same gun during a fight at Woodson Middle School.

Jan. 17, 2001
Baltimore, Md.

One student shot and killed in front of Lake Clifton Eastern High School.

March 5, 2001
Santee, Calif.

Two killed and 13 wounded by Charles Andrew Williams, 15, firing from a bathroom at Santana High School.

March 7, 2001
Williamsport, Pa.

Elizabeth Catherine Bush, 14, wounded student Kimberly Marchese in the cafeteria of Bishop Neumann High School; she was depressed and frequently teased.

March 22, 2001
Granite Hills, Calif.

One teacher and three students wounded by Jason Hoffman, 18, at Granite Hills High School. A policeman shot and wounded Hoffman.

March 30, 2001
Gary, Ind.

One student killed by Donald R. Burt, Jr., a 17-year-old student who had been expelled from Lew Wallace High School.

Nov. 12, 2001
Caro, Mich.

Chris Buschbacher, 17, took two hostages at the Caro Learning Center before killing himself.

Jan. 15, 2002
New York, N.Y.

A teenager wounded two students at Martin Luther King Jr. High School.

October 28, 2002
Tucson, Ariz.

Robert S. Flores Jr., 41, a student at the nursing school at the University of Arizona, shot and killed three female professors and then himself.

April 14, 2003
New Orleans, La.

One 15-year-old killed, and three students wounded at John McDonogh High School by gunfire from four teenagers (none were students at the school). The motive was gang-related.

April 24, 2003
Red Lion, Pa.

James Sheets, 14, killed principal Eugene Segro of Red Lion Area Junior High School before killing himself.

Sept. 24, 2003
Cold Spring, Minn.

Two students are killed at Rocori High School by John Jason McLaughlin, 15.

March 21, 2005
Red Lake, Minn.

Jeff Weise, 16, killed grandfather and companion, then arrived at school where he killed a teacher, a security guard, 5 students, and finally himself, leaving a total of 10 dead.

Nov. 8, 2005
Jacksboro, Tenn.

One 15-year-old shot and killed an assistant principal at Campbell County High School and seriously wounded two other administrators.

Aug. 24, 2006
Essex, Vt.

Christopher Williams, 27, looking for his ex-girlfriend at Essex Elementary School, shot two teachers, killing one and wounding another. Before going to the school, he had killed the ex-girlfriend's mother.

killed himself.

Sept. 27, 2006
Bailey, Colo.

Adult male held six students hostage at Platte Canyon High School and then shot and killed Emily Keyes, 16, and himself.

Sept. 29, 2006
Cazenovia, Wis.

A 15-year-old student shot and killed Weston School principal John Klang.

Oct. 3, 2006
Nickel Mines, Pa.

32-year-old Carl Charles Roberts IV entered the one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School and shot 10 schoolgirls, ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old, and then himself. Five of the girls and Roberts died.

Jan. 3, 2007
Tacoma, Wash.

Douglas Chanthabouly, 18, shot fellow student Samnang Kok, 17, in the hallway of Henry Foss High School.

April 16, 2007
Blacksburg, Va.

A 23-year-old Virginia Tech student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed two in a dorm, then killed 30 more 2 hours later in a classroom building. His suicide brought the death toll to 33, making the shooting rampage the most deadly in U.S. history. Fifteen others were wounded.

Sept. 21, 2007
Dover, Del.

A Delaware State Univesity Freshman, Loyer D. Brandon, shot and wounded two other Freshman students on the University campus. Brandon is being charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless engagement, as well as a gun charge.

Oct. 10, 2007
Cleveland, Ohio

A 14-year-old student at a Cleveland high school, Asa H. Coon, shot and injured two students and two teachers before he shot and killed himself. The victims' injuries were not life-threatening.

Feb. 8, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A nursing student shot and killed two women and then herself in a classroom at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge.

Feb. 11, 2008
Memphis, Tennessee

A 17-year-old student at Mitchell High School shot and wounded a classmate in gym class.

Feb. 12, 2008
Oxnard, California

A 14-year-old boy shot a student at E.O. Green Junior High School causing the 15-year-old victim to be brain dead.

Feb. 14, 2008
DeKalb, Illinois

Gunman killed five students and then himself, and wounded 17 more when he opened fire on a classroom at Northern Illinois University. The gunman, Stephen P. Kazmierczak, was identified as a former graduate student at the university in 2007.

Nov. 12, 2008
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A 15-year-old female student was shot and killed by a classmate at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.

Feb. 5, 2010
Madison, Alabama

At Discovery Middle School, a ninth-grader was shot by another student during a class change. The boy, whose name was not released, pulled out a gun and shot Todd Brown in the head while walking the hallway. Brown later died at Huntsville Hospital.

Feb. 12, 2010
Huntsville, Alabama

During a meeting on campus, Amy Bishop, a biology professor, began shot her colleagues, killing three and wounding three others. A year earlier, Bishop had been denied tenure.

March 9, 2010
Columbus, Ohio

A man opens fire at Ohio State University, killing two employees and wounding one other. The shooter had recently received an "unsatisfactory" job evaluation and was going to be fired on March 13.

Jan. 5, 2011
Omaha, Nebraska

Two people were killed and two more injured in a shooting at Millard South High School. Shortly after being suspended from school, the shooter returned and shot the assistant principal, principal, and the school nurse. The shooter then left campus and took his own life.

Jan. 5, 2011
Houston, Texas

Two people opened fire during a Worthing High School powder-puff football game. One former student died. Five other people were injured.

May 10, 2011
San Jose, California

Three people were killed in a parking garage at San Jose State University. Two former students were found dead on the fifth floor of the garage. A third, the suspected shooter, died later at the hospital.

Dec. 8, 2011
Blacksburg, Virginia

A Virginia Tech police officer was shot and killed by a 22-year old student of Radford University. The shooting took place in a parking lot on Virginia Tech's campus.

Feb. 10, 2012
Walpole, New Hampshire

A 14-year-old student shot himself in front of 70 fellow students.

Feb. 27, 2012
Chardon, Ohio

At Chardon High School, a former classmate opened fire, killing three students and injuring six. Arrested shortly after the incident, the shooter said that he randomly picked students.

March 6, 2012
Jacksonville, Florida

Shane Schumerth, a 28-year-old teacher at Episcopal High School, returned to the campus after being fired and shot and killed the headmistress, Dale Regan, with an assault rifle.

April 2, 2012
Oakland, Calif.

One Goh, a 43-year-old former student at Oikos University, a Christian school populated by mostly Korean and Korean-Americans, opened fire on the campus, killing seven people and wounding several others.

December 14, 2012
Newtown, Conn.

Adam Lanza, 20, killed 20 children and six others at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. He killed his mother, Nancy, at her home prior to the massacre at the school. Lanza committed suicide after the rampage. The shooting was the second deadliest in U.S. history, behind the 2007 shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute that claimed 32 people.

October 21, 2013
Sparks, Nevada

A middle-school student shoots and kills Michael Landsberry, a math teacher at Sparks Middle School. The student then shot himself in front of other students.

May 23, 2014
Isla Vista, California

A gunman, identified as Elliot Rodger, kills six people and wounds 13 others in Isla Vista, Calif., a small town near Santa Barbara. He stabs three men in his apartment before driving to locations throughout the town where he kills three students from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before the rampage, Rodger, age 22, posts a video called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution" on his YouTube Channel and writes a 137-page manifesto. In both, he expresses his anger over being rejected by women and his plans for revenge.

June 5, 2014
Seattle, Washington

A man armed with a shotgun opens fire at Seattle Pacific University, killing one student and wounding two others. The suspect, Aaron Ybarra, 26, is not a student at the college. He was subdued by a student security guard and taken into custody.


Worldwide:

March 13, 1996
Dunblane, Scotland 16 children and one teacher killed at Dunblane Primary School by Thomas Hamilton, who then killed himself. 10 others wounded in attack.

March 1997
Sanaa, Yemen Eight people (six students and two others) at two schools killed by Mohammad Ahman al-Naziri.

April 28, 1999
Taber, Alberta, Canada One student killed, one wounded at W. R. Myers High School in first fatal high school shooting in Canada in 20 years. The suspect, a 14-year-old boy, had dropped out of school after he was severely ostracized by his classmates.

Dec. 7, 1999
Veghel, Netherlands One teacher and three students wounded by a 17-year-old student.

March 2000
Branneburg, GermanyOne teacher killed by a 15-year-old student, who then shot himself. The shooter has been in a coma ever since.

Jan. 18, 2001
Jan, Sweden One student killed by two boys, ages 17 and 19.

Feb. 19, 2002
Freising, Germany Two killed in Eching by a man at the factory from which he had been fired; he then traveled to Freising and killed the headmaster of the technical school from which he had been expelled. He also wounded another teacher before killing himself.

April 26, 2002
Erfurt, Germany 13 teachers, two students, and one policeman killed, ten wounded by Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, at the Johann Gutenberg secondary school. Steinhaeuser then killed himself.

April 29, 2002
Vlasenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina

One teacher killed, one wounded by Dragoslav Petkovic, 17, who then killed himself.

Sept. 28, 2004
Carmen de Patagones, Argentina Three students killed and 6 wounded by a 15-year-old Argentininan student in a town 620 miles south of Buenos Aires.

Sept. 13, 2006
Montreal, Canada Kimveer Gill, 25, opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon at Dawson College. Anastasia De Sousa, 18, died and more than a dozen students and faculty were wounded before Gill

Nov. 7, 2007
Tuusula, Finland An 18-year-old student in southern Finland shot and killed five boys, two girls, and the female principal at Jokela High School. At least 10 others were injured. The gunman shot himself and died from his wounds in the hospital.

Sept. 23, 2008
Kauhajoki, Finland A 20-year-old male student shot and killed at least nine students and himself at a vocational college in Kauhajok, 330km (205 miles) north of the capital, Helsinki.

March 11, 2009
Winnenden, Germany Fifteen people were shot and killed at Albertville Technical High School in southwestern Germany by a 17-year-old boy who attended the same school.

April 7, 2011
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil A 23-year-old former student returned to his public elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and began firing, killing 12 children and seriously wounding more than a dozen others, before shooting himself in the head. While Brazil has seen gang-related violence in urban areas, this was the worst school shooting the country has ever seen.

April 30, 2009
Azerbaijan, Baku A Georgian citizen of Azerbaijani descent killed 12 students and staff at Azerbaijan State Oil Academy. Several others were wounded.

March 19, 2012
Toulouse, France Mohammed Merah, a French man of Algerian descent, shot and killed a rabbi, two of his children, and another child at a Jewish school. Police believe he had earlier shot and killed three paratroopers. Merah said he was a member of Al Qaeda and that he was seeking revenge for the killing of Palestinian children.



Read more: Timeline of Worldwide School Shootings | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html#ixzz3CdY0QYNb

Right.

But 'random asshole on the interwebs' doesn't equate with 'trained professionals in some of the most difficult and exclusive professions in our country.'

Smart people know the difference.

Well, the highly trained professionals agree with me.

The random assholes on the interwebs I don't care about so much.

Seems to me they had reasonable cause to consider this guy a threat.

And again - if you want to consider these mental health issues instead of access to weapons issues, you are going to need to be proactive about checking for threats. It can't work any other way and expect there to be a positive reduction in the number of mass shootings.

As far as calling up the school, there's strict liability issues in what most employers can hear. If they knew people in the school they might get it from back channels. Otherwise they would likely simply hear that the guy wasn't eligible for rehire.

Of course, now its all over the news.

Well, I certainly am aware at how horrific our safety record is in this country compared to any other in the 1st world, and wish we could do better.

I don't consider a homicide rate 5x that of the developed word acceptable. Not because it might impact me - because it definitely IS impacting others.

And if you do, then you clearly are willing to watch innocent people die because of your own paranoid fantasies.

Arguably, the most zealous among gun rights activists thrive on a society ruled by fear and hysterical overreaction.