Abstract
said President BarackObama while trying to console the nation in the wake ofthe January 2011 attempted assassination of Rep GabrielleGiffords in Tucson, Arizona. The shooting at a civic gath-ering left 6 bystanders dead, renewing the politically divi-sivedebateabouttheappropriateresponsetoviolence:bandangerousweaponsorprohibitdangerousindividualsfrompossessing firearms?The public overwhelmingly supports limiting access tofirearms for children, violent criminals, and persons withmental illness, which is consistent with the National RifleAssociation’sinsistencethat“gunsdon’tkillpeople,peoplekillpeople.”Childrenlackthecompetencyandmaturitytouse firearms wisely, whereas most convicted felons have ahistory of violence. Singling out persons with mental ill-ness,however,isfarmorecomplexbecausetheyrepresentabroadspectrumofindividuals,someofwhomalreadyhavebeensubjectedtosocialostracism,butthemajorityofwhomare not violent.TheUSSupremeCourt’srecentdecisionthattheSecondAmendmentconfersanindividual’srighttobeararmsren-dersitincreasinglydifficulttoenactgenerallyapplicablelawsregardingfirearms,butthecourtexplicitlysupports“long-standing prohibitions” on possession of firearms by indi-vidualswithmentalillness.
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