Here’s a news flash for you. Lafayette mass shooter John Russel Houser had a history of mental illness. Who could have possibly seen that coming? As ABC News is reporting, “The gunman who opened fire inside a packed movie theater in Louisiana Thursday night allegedly threatened his family and was involuntarily committed to a hospital in Georgia seven years ago, according to documents filed in court.” . . .
In April 2008, Houser’s family members filed a temporary protective order against him, according to court filings. …
Houser’s wife allegedly “became so worried about the Defendant’s volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence,” according to documents.
So from the reports, what we have here is Herr Houser — a certifiable, Hitler-admiring, family outcast who couldn’t legally own firearms — walking into a gun-free zone and opening fire. Because of his involuntary commitment and order of protection, he couldn’t legally own firearms.
But the fact that he defied the law and committed murder and mayhem is somehow evidence that what we really need to combat these black swan events is still more gun control laws that would only encumber sane, law-abiding individuals who want to avail themselves of their natural, civil, Constitutional right to armed self defense.
Do we have that right?