Shooter legally owned a gun…what does that say about our society?

By Joseph Abraham, Editor-in-Chief

It was a rough week in Chapel Hill.

It started with the passing of legendary basketball coach, Dean Smith, who transcended not only the game of basketball, but was also an activist for racial equality. While it was sad to see Smith go, he has been sick for a long time. The events that occurred after were far more tragic.

The murders of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Yusor’s sister Razan, were devastating news to the community. It is still unclear if Islamophobic sentiment motivated the shooter, Craig Stephen Hicks, to kill the three—all practicing Muslims—execution style. The current report is, however, that they were shot over a parking dispute.

Whether Hicks committed an act of domestic terrorism or thinks the proper way to handle a parking dispute is to shoot the other person in the head, something is seriously wrong with this man.

The most shocking piece of information to me is that he had a legal concealed weapons permit.

Personally, I am no fan of guns, but I do respect those who believe in the Second Amendment. What I am continuing to lose respect for is how easy it is for people to get them.

If Hicks had illegally obtained a firearm, then there is nothing the system could have done differently. However, it seems there is not enough emphasis on evaluating someone’s mental health.

According to www.usacarry.com — a website that provides the requirements by state for applying for a concealed weapon— North Carolina does mention mental health.

The requirement reads, [Person applying for a gun] “… is not currently or has not been adjudicated or administratively determined to be lacking mental capacity or mentally ill.”

If a physician had deemed someone like Hicks mentally ill, he would have been denied the right to a firearm.

But why doesn’t the law require applicants to sit down with a psychologist or some kind of trained mental health worker?

The application process also mentions that people’s legal histories are checked. It is required that an applicant has not been found guilty of a violent misdemeanor, and has not been convicted of an impaired driving offense within three years of their application date.

While this system may have been effective before modern technology, with the easy access law enforcement has to social media, why is it not required their Facebook and Twitter accounts are also checked?

If there was a more lengthy background check, and a mental health evaluation required before an applicant could get a gun permit, perhaps someone like Hicks would have been denied his permit.

Last spring, I wrote about a law passed almost two years ago in the state of North Carolina. It allows concealed weapon permit holders to bring their guns on public university campuses as long as the firearm is stored in a closed compartment or container in their car.

The tragedy in Chapel Hill is inexcusable. While it occurred off campus, the shooter should not have been legally allowed to own a weapon.

How many of these tragedies have to occur before the weapons permit policy is made stricter in our state?