Hafter: Hold gun owners responsible when they contribute to crimes

Nine years, almost to the day, before a gunman murdered nine people on the campus of Umpqua Community College in Oregon, my daughter was killed. Her murderer, like the Oregon murderer, was mad at the world. Both killers had easy access to weapons.

My daughter’s murderer wrote entries on his social media page for more than a month, ranting about how the world had done him wrong, how he had been disrespected, how he would get back at the world. The Oregon murderer wrote a multi-page manifesto with similar themes. No one took notice. No one notified law enforcement, mental health agencies, physicians.

My daughter’s murderer and his estranged/ex-wife had no income; a respected businessman allowed these strangers to live with him for more than a month. The man in whose home my daughter’s murderer was living kept an unsecured, loaded weapon in plain view in the common living spaces. When he came home to find his car was missing, he realized almost immediately that the loaded, unsecured weapon was gone. He knew who took both. This was 10 days before my daughter was murdered. She was the eighth victim whose murder was attributed to that gun. The businessman said he wanted to give this killer the benefit of the doubt. So he did not report the missing gun or car.

The Oregon murderer lived with his mother. She mentioned his “strange” behavior to a neighbor, but there’s no suggestion of any other attempts to secure advice or help. How could she not know he was amassing weapons and ammunition? Her lack of responsible behavior, no matter the reasoning, enabled his behavior.

It is time to stop drinking the NRA Kool-Aid. It is time, past time, to take some real action. The Second Amendment is not omnipotent. The amendments can be and have been restricted. And our Constitution and its amendments most certainly do not excuse anyone of responsibility.

Tell your elected officials, local, county, state and federal, to support Lizzy’s Law, which would require gun owners to report the theft of their weapons.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Hafter: Hold gun owners responsible when they contribute to crimes."