Panels are needed to vet gun buyers

By Fred Beeman, Las Vegas

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The Roseburg, Ore., massacre screams for a revision of the Second Amendment, and that is coming from someone who was endorsed by the Hawaii NRA Group in 1986, when I was a candidate for the state House in Honolulu’s 32nd District. I got their support even after I publicly stated that “bad people should not have guns.”

I stand by that statement because I’m still in favor of most people having an unlimited supply of guns, as long as checks and balances are in place to deny those who are “inherently evil” from possessing them.

It would be worthwhile for each jurisdiction in the United States to have a four-person volunteer panel carefully examine and evaluate each gun permit applicant. The panel could consist of a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a federal or state/local (sworn) law enforcement officer and a member of the local NRA hierarchy. Those four people could make an intelligent determination about the mental/emotional suitability of someone to possess firearms.

I doubt any such panel, given the opportunity, would have approved the “celebrities” who gained their fame by slaughtering students and theatergoers.

But the reality is that it probably won’t happen, this year or ever. Following each future mass murder, the electorate will assemble and demand changes, politicians in both parties will publicly echo that “something must be done” sentiment, newspapers will feature editorials agreeing with the idea that changes are needed, and talk shows on radio and TV (with or without bombastic hosts) will tout what they think is the public mindset. Then, after things cool down, it’s back to the status quo.

I can tell you when constructive changes to the Second Amendment will occur. They will happen the same day a high-ranking NRA official has a precious family member who becomes a victim of gun violence.

One state enacted super-strict drunken-driving laws, but only after a legislator’s daughter was hit and killed by an impaired driver.