LEWISTON, ME—In the hours following a violent rampage in Maine in which a lone attacker killed at least 16 individuals and injured numerous others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded Wednesday that there was no way to prevent the massacre from …
Thank you. “Ban guns” is a knee jerk reaction that clearly doesn’t get anywhere. Red flag laws sound nice, and I think mental health is a huge common factor in these shootings, but they lower the standard for taking away a constitutional right. Imagine if you could remove any right just as easily by shortcutting due process. I’m reminded of the false “me too” accusations that destroyed lives on several occasions. By the time it gets walked back the damage is done.
The justice system has systems in place for people who are dangers to themselves and others, but the burden of proof is higher. It can be changed to act quickly but it needs more people working those cases to meet that burden of proof.
But yeah I agree that in the meantime removing people from isolation is huge. People need to see that there is more than what the algorithm serves you and that the extreme fringes are just that. They don’t represent millions of people just living their lives in more reasonable parts of the political spectrum.