Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Whose rights to infringe?

With today's emphasis from the Virginia Tech aftermath being on the documented mental state of the killer, is the USA ready for a world in which being mentally ill could be a bar to certain activities (such as purchasing a gun) or even grounds for detention without having committed a crime? Look at the trouble that the British government is having with its Mental Health Bill, which would impose related restrictions -- and that's in an environment where worrying that mentally ill people can walk into a shop and buy guns is not a problem.

UPDATE: There is in fact some confusion about whether Cho should have been able to buy a gun, because of his documented psychiatric problems.

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