Panel needed to review gun ownership

I want to throw an idea out for public reaction. Being a firm believer in Second Amendment rights, mine and others, I still would like a mechanism to deny those rights to people of unsound mind. We have had too many horrific cases of what can happen when mentally ill people get their hands on guns.

Let us setup a board similar in some respects to the old draft boards in every city or county. I would recommend choosing four members to sit on the board. I suggest a businessman, a blue collar worker, a health care worker and a representative from law enforcement. They would sit in judgment on the right to possess a firearm. That right to be assumed unless somebody raises the question of an individual’s capacity to act in a sane manner.

A person whose actions were brought to the attention of the board would be examined and the board would decide if that person was or wasn’t a danger to the community. I would expect that police and sheriff’s departments would be the one to bring most of the individuals to the attention of the board.

However, anyone including family, friends, neighbors, and certainly teachers should be free to do so. If three of the four board members believe that person was not mentally prepared to be a gun owner then he would be denied the right to own one.

GILBERT BARBEE

Sandpoint