1. ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS
2. COMMUNICATE AMONG AGENCIES
Simple.
There ARE laws that a. Had they been enforced and
b. Had the involved agencies communicated with each other
MIGHT have prevented the shooting in Parkland FL.
The Gary Varvel cartoon, above, points all the fingers at the FBI.
But the FBI is not the only organization that should be criticized.
Add to the list, including – but probably not limited to –
- county school system
local law enforcement and courts
state Department of Children & Families (DCF)
The alleged shooter's parents are dead. He had been taken in by a schoolmate’s family only a few weeks previously. Could the parents, when they were alive, done anything, seen a pattern of violence developing in their son? Now it’s a question that never will be answered.
If half of the comments about the “alleged” shooter are true, then, under Florida law1, he could not legally own a firearm – not a rifle and not a pistol.
One of the young adult’s crimes, having a firearm on school property, is a third degree felony in Florida.
According to the Florida Gun Charges and Penalties web site2,
- Possessing or discharging a weapon at a school-sponsored event means that the defendant exhibited a dangerous weapon or firearm in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner, in the presence of at least one person, at a school sponsored event or on the grounds of a school. This crime is a felony of the third degree, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, up to 5 years of probation, and up to $5,000 in fines. A claim of self-defense is also a defense to this charge. (Emphasis mine)
The problem is, was the person (a) arrested and (b) convicted.
If there was a conviction, then Florida law is very clear. A convicted felon is barred from owning a firearm (and several other weapons, including stun guns).
It is not sufficient that a person be arrested and convicted of a felony, the information must be provided to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE is supposed to review all gun purchasers’ backgrounds.
- Granted, there is no waiting period to buy a long gun (rifle, shotgun) in Florida. There is a three-day waiting period for pistols. Despite being able to walk out with a long gun, it still can be confiscated by law enforcement at any time.
Even if adjudication is withheld, Florida law still would prevent the shooter’s gun ownership: Adjudicated delinquent or received adjudication withheld as a juvenile for a felony charge and person is under the age of 24.
Apparently DCF, which has a history with the 19-year-old, felt he was mentally competent. State law would have prevented gun ownership had DCF taken court action (Adjudicated mentally defective or involuntarily committed by a judge ).
The Broward County school system apparently did nothing but shuffle the now 19-year-old from school to school. He recently was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the shooting took place, and transferred to an alternative school.
The FBI, by its own admission, failed to act.
However, as one person on the Varvel site3 commented,
- Why didn’t the FBI arrest him before the shootings? Because he hadn’t broken the law yet. Were there ways that he could have been stopped beforehand? Yes, but Conservative lawmakers claim that ANY of those ways infringes on the rights of Law Abiding Citizens.
Had the juvenile authorities – from the police to the courts – done their job and communicated with the FDLE, the shooting might have been prevented.
Had the FBI shared its information with the local office, AND had the FBI shared this information with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (which provides police services to Parkland), and the Broward County School system, the shooting might have been prevented.
There is no need for new laws.
There is nothing the nation’s president can do (even when a high school kid tells reporters “We’re not going to him, he has to come to us” – a bit of chutzpah). He could, of course, issue an executive order, but it probably would be quickly overturned by the judiciary as his previous executive orders have been overturned.
The AR-15 used in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was a semi-automatic – not an “assault rifle” that may be fired single shot (as the shooter’s gun), in three-shot “automatic” mode, or in full automatic mode – that could be used as a hunting rifle. “Semi-automatic” simply means that cartridges are stored in a magazine that pushes a new cartridge into the chamber when the chamber is empty. Fully automatic weapons are illegal for private ownership in the U.S.
If any new law might be in order, its a limit on the number of cartridges a magazine can hold. In the Parkland case, the shooter is said to have had a number of low capacity magazines. California already has a 10-round magazine maximum.
BOTTOM LINE
Rather than new laws, enforce the ones already on the books and insist that law enforcement and related agencies (e.g., DCF and similar and school systems) SHARE THEIR INFORMATION.
9-11 (2001) happened largely because the FBI failed to share information WITHIN ITS OWN ORGANIZATION as well as local law enforcement. Apparently 9-11 was a lesson NOT learned by the FBI.
What could the president do? Fire the FBI director? He’s already fired one. The problem within the FBI is at the rank and file level. Directors believe they direct, but local office bosses control what the agents do – or don’t do.
As with the U.S. State Department, presidents, directors, and department secretaries are too far removed from the trenches to have much influence.
1. http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FPP/FAQs2.aspx
2. http://tinyurl.com/y9xunzpe
3. http://www.gocomics.com/garyvarvel
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
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