Don's Tuesday Column

                  THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson  Red Bluff Daily News   11/21/2017

    Was it preventable? Why’d it happen?

Amidst the grief in all of our hearts, and the sincere prayers for healing of bodies and souls, two items from the news inform the way I look at the mass murder inflicted on innocent residents of Rancho Tehama. The reported long-overdue demise of the sick, demented mass-murdering mastermind, Charles Manson, reminds us that evil exists in our world. It is evil, not reckless disregard or crimes of passion, that all-to-often takes its toll on undeserving people.

In Manson’s case, well-to-do members of Los Angeles’ entertainment community were simply enjoying the warmth of friendly companionship in their own homes. In Rancho Tehama, children were simply going about their school day and other residents were walking or driving on the roads we share with a reasonable expectation of safety and responsible use by others. Monsters among us do their evil deeds, usually without warning or announcement.

The other relevant item came from a late July issue of the Daily News, which reported on the annual “Fire with the Force” shooting event organized by the Tehama County Republicans and the Tehama Shooters with participation by local law enforcement. It was a “friendly competition” (unfriendly sorts are to be avoided, shall we say) involving both hand guns/service weapons and long guns. Timing and marksmanship earned awards; camaraderie was free.

The reason I found the article relevant was that it illustrated that guns of all sorts are simply tools when responsibly put to use for a variety of purposes: hunting, skeet shooting, competition, casual “plinking,” and self-defense. We’ve seen that the evil among us will use any tool at their disposal to inflict harm: kitchen knives, fertilizer, cars, trucks, poison.

It is not surprising that someone with evil intent inflicts death and injury by design or stealth; it is both unexpected and shocking that such malintent extends to the wanton destruction of lives for no logical reason. And yet, in spite of the absence of warning (which can provide an opportunity to prepare a defense), we often do find some precursors suggesting danger.

Because the legal and natural possession of firearms is both a right as well as a regulated privilege, we have such events as shooting competitions, home self-defense and restrictions on the purchase and carrying of guns. Those rights can be revoked for cause; it’s not the Wild West.

This brings us to the need for a calm, dispassionate review—without regard for protecting the reputation of parties, individuals or agencies—of what led to the killer in Rancho Tehama having guns when, by all reason and law, he should not have had them. We should be willing to ask retrospectively 1) if existing laws, rules and policies could have been applied, 2) if they could have been applied more aggressively and 3) if there are any proposed laws or policies that, had they been in effect, would have kept guns out of his hands or facilitated their removal.

Knee-jerk calls for banning types of guns, or even all guns through the (constitutionally necessary) repeal of the Second Amendment—and Australian-style forced buy-back of the weapons—are pointless exercises in futility. Why? Because only law-abiding people will obey such measures. This local killer, for instance, was already in violation of restrictions on his fabricated weapons. He was likely prohibited—if my reading of the reported applicable laws is correct—from retaining his guns after both his prior-but-yet-unprosecuted violent crimes, and the restraining order, which likewise prohibited his gun possession. Someone please correct me.

As I see it, someone (or ones) in the law enforcement hierarchy should provide satisfactory answers to the public on the issues, without muddying the situation over turf-protecting or “arse” covering. Specifically, 1) Why was he allowed to be out on bail? 2) Bail being required, why was it set at a level whereby he could raise it? 3) Are the predictable protests and motions by defense lawyers so insurmountable that setting bail at, say, a million dollars (to assure his incarceration) is simply out of the question? Such bail levels have been set before.

4) Was gun possession in fact disallowed in his legal situation and under the restraining order? 5) If his situation prohibited possession, is it policy (or even allowed) for deputies to physically seize his guns with or without a warrant? 6) Is there any objection by gun-rights groups to such seizures? I’m not aware of any and such objections should be dismissed.

It may require an independent panel to get these questions answered; but answers are required lest we all shrug and accept that it couldn’t have been prevented and won’t be prevented in the future. That is unconscionable and inexcusable. Most importantly, do applicable state laws and policies tie the hands of law enforcement and the district attorney such that this could happen again in spite of the best intentions of our “blue” community?

I want—Tehama County residents deserve—answers; things must change regarding the issues I raised above. It breaks my heart that the equanimity and expectation of public safety by Rancho Tehama’s residents has been ripped up and torn asunder. Lives have forever been destroyed while many who survived and are healing will never be the same; the horrible impact on an extended section of the community is massive and for the worse.

All of that being said, if “the system” not only failed but also is incapable of being changed, citizens have the constitutional right, even the duty, to see to their own defense. Yes, that means buying guns, learning how to use them when needed and applying for a permit to carry them. The Rancho Tehama School performed admirably in their lock-down response; anyone tsk-tsking over school personnel having the means, with firearms, to protect students as a last resort earns my contempt. They blithely bandy about gun control blather while condemning innocents to death by ideological fanaticism.