Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
January 29, 2013

The new social meme condemning guns has begun to permeate the mainstream with examples such as the recent arrest of a 22 year old father who posted a picture of himself and his daughter and a BB gun on Facebook. Police arrested the man saying that “the close proximity of the gun to the child created a substantial risk of physical harm.”

At a US Conference of Mayors, Jason Mattera, an investigative journalist was removed from the event after asking New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg if “in the spirit of gun control, will you disarm your entire security team?”

Mattera was briskly escorted out by security guards.

Bloomberg ignored Mattera’s question which prompted the reporter to ask: “Why can you defend yourself but not the majority of Americans? Look at the team of security you’ve got. And you’re an advocate for gun control?”

President Obama has had a scheduled meeting with the chiefs of police from Aurora, Colorado; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; and Newtown, Connecticut. Other participants in the meeting will be the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) and the Major County Sheriffs Association (MCSA).

MCSA wrote a letter to Vice President Joe Biden earlier this month admonishing the Obama administration for their stance on gun control. MCSA said: “A ban on assault weapons alone will not address the issues of gun violence we are facing in our country today. The issue we have is an access problem: individuals with severe mental illness should never have access to guns.”

The letter continued: “Mr. Vice President, we have an epidemic of untreated mental illness in the United States, manifesting itself in long lines in emergency rooms of folks waiting for psychiatric beds, dramatic increases in homelessness and victimization, a greater demand on police and sheriffs who, for all intents and purposes, have become front-line mental health workers, and — as we discussed last week – an increase in the number of acts of violence, including homicides, committed by mentally ill individuals who are not being treated. We need more resources and placement options for individuals and families that need our help before an act of violence, an arrest, or an attempted suicide occurs, as well as after. Law enforcement simply does not have adequate access to mental health records when responding to 911 calls and when admitting people to our jails; having more information would help us identify resources and treatment alternatives in appropriate cases.”