Everyone is profoundly saddened by the murder of four Lakewood PD officers this weekend, as well as the slaying of SPD officer Timothy Brenton on 10.31.09.
Amidst the grief and chatter, however, a few important points may have been missed. While Mike Huckabee is being vilified for granting clemency to Clemmons, one hears little discussion of how mental illness is a factor in the criminal justice system.
Likewise,how many questions have been raised about how the alleged shooters obtained their guns? Absent indications otherwise in the case of Monfort (details are still too sketchy w/Clemmons), it appears that it was perfectly legal for him to assemble a small arsenal in his apartment.
Calls will doubtless be raised for "tougher" policies on crime. Will anyone ask about the wisdom of our gun laws? Or how about the utility of channeling the mentally ill and chemically dependent through the undiscriminating funnel of the crimninal justice system?
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