Starting in the 70s, the ACLU-sponsored court fights over civil rights for mentally ill persons started to unravel the safety net.
Still, in 1981, John Hinckley was not seen as mentally ill, just weird. His obsession with Jodi Foster before the attack on Reagan was seen as pathetic, not dangerous.
Today, despite all the advances in medicine and psychology, we don't know of any way to predict the future actions of the Hinckleys and Adam Lanzas of the world. Everything is a guess.
The spate of vicious knife attacks on children in China is proof that restricting firearms will just push people to knives, hammers, tire irons, etc.
Still, in 1981, John Hinckley was not seen as mentally ill, just weird. His obsession with Jodi Foster before the attack on Reagan was seen as pathetic, not dangerous.
Today, despite all the advances in medicine and psychology, we don't know of any way to predict the future actions of the Hinckleys and Adam Lanzas of the world. Everything is a guess.
The spate of vicious knife attacks on children in China is proof that restricting firearms will just push people to knives, hammers, tire irons, etc.
