Sophie’s got a gun….

I was interviewing a lawyer yesterday who does a lot of work on behalf of the mentally ill, and we were talking (because what else has anybody been talking about this week, in Arizona, anyway?) about gun control. And I asked him if he thought we should make people get mental evaluations before they can buy guns.

Good question, he said. He’s not so sure about that. But he does think the gun laws here are too lax. For example, he told me, you can’t get a gun if you’ve been committed, but plenty of very sick people have not been committed.

Maybe people with guardians shouldn’t be able to buy guns, he mused, then explained: Often the courts appoint guardians to protect seriously mentally ill and other vulnerable people; that means they can’t have a driver’s license in Arizona, he explained, but it doesn’t mean they are prohibited from buying a gun. 

Interesting, I replied, not making the connection right away, and asked, give me some examples of other people who have guardians.

Well, he said, someone with Alzheimer’s might have a guardian. Someone with developmental disabilites, and –.

A lightbulb went off over my head.

Wait a minute, I interrupted. You mean to tell me that a person with Down syndrome can buy a gun?

Well, yes, he said. Legally, they could.

I hung up feeling sick. Even my husband, the staunchest gun rights advocate I know (and yes, this has led to some ugly debates) has been heard to say (with love) that he’d never want to see Sophie holding a loaded gun.

HOW CAN THIS BE?

Yes, I realize that even in a place like this, a certain amount of self-policing goes on. Chances are that no one would ever sell Sophie a gun. But they might. And although the chances are even slimmer that she’d actually use it — both because she is a nice person and because I doubt she’ll ever have the strength in her fingers to pull the trigger — I could certainly see her buying a gun for a friend. A friend with a long rap list who wasn’t allowed to buy a gun. Not that I can really see Sophie making friends with a felon, but — you get the picture.

The picture (along with the tune) that I can’t get out of my head.

I’ve had so much food for thought over this past week that I need to go on a serious information diet. I wish Project Runway’s new season would start already. My head hurts.

Sophies’ got a gun….