Well Ain't This Special

I was going to write up a post about the moron whose family sued Glock because he stole the pistol from a friend by stealing the key to his lock box and then accidentally discharging said firearm into his leg trying to return it, but this is much better.

It would seem that 2 years ago this month, a deluded schizo named Erik Ayala went and bought himself a gun from a pawn shop. Two weeks later, he goes and shoots a bunch of exchange students for which he took the cowards way out by committing suicide.

In response to this, his family is suing EVERYONE involved. From the pawn shop that sold him the gun, to the nightclub where it happened because it was in 'a high crime area downtown', to the Rotary Club (yes the Rotary Club) which sponsored the exchange students 'because they dropped off at least one of the victims' at the nightclub in question. For $1.8 mill.

Aside from the lawsuit-happy bloodsucker representing the family here, let's take a look at that pawn shop situation for a second. The complaint points out that the perpetrator was mentally unstable and that the shop 'should have known he was a danger to himself and others. Really? Now, I've never worked in a gun store, but I do spend a lot of time in them. I've seen a wearing a plaid shirt, khaki pants, and bright yellow rain boots walk in on a 100 degree day to shop and trade firearms. I've seen birkenstock-wearing hippie types lean on the counter and talk about the latest 1911 clone to hit the store, and I've seen your average everyday working class stiff walk in and buy a (insert handgun of choice here). Not once have I ever seen the 'dangerous to himself and others' guy walk in and plunk down some bread for a new Roscoe.

How, exactly, is the counter monkey supposed to know that 'Dangerous to Himself & Others' is actually dangerous to himself and others? Oh, there's that whole NICS check thing, but that system is only as good as the information that gets reported to it. No, everything went according to the law. He filled out the form, the store clerk made the call, it was approved, and 'Dangerous to Himself and Others' walked out with a 9mm Gat. Maybe if the coworkers who noticed that 'DTHAO' had accompanied him to the pawn shop that fateful day, maybe none of this would have happened.

As it is, trying to discern the motives of someone buying a gun without a crystal ball and an open copy of their mental health records, is just so much pissing in the wind. This situation, much like the one in Tuscon, is more of an indictment of the system than of the dealer. Oh, and a bloodsucking personal injury lawyer...