Shooting Debate Moves to Tucson Gun Show
TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 16, 2011— -- Flags were flown at half staff at the Crossroads of the West Gun show on Saturday outside Tucson, exactly one week after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was critically injured at a political gathering with constituents. Six people were killed and 12 others were also wounded.
"Is this an uncomfortable time for you to start this gun show in Tucson?" ABC News' David Wright asked.
"Clearly it's a difficult time, our hearts reach out to those impacted by this tragedy," said Bob Templeton, the event's organizer. We're all part of this community. Gabrielle Giffords was a friend of gun rights. A gun owner herself and an advocate for 2nd amendment rights," said Templeton.
Several thousand people packed the Pima County Fairgrounds, just 13 miles from the shooting site. Many carried unloaded handguns and rifles as they looked at tables with ammunition and shotguns.
It's unclear if the shootings experience will change Giffords' views on gun control. However in Washington, various lawmakers are already proposing new laws to safeguard lawmakers and keep guns from the mentally ill.
Since 1968, federal law has prohibited the sale of guns to individuals declared mentally ill. But diagnosis is not enough – a court has to order treatment, which never happened in accused gunman Jared Loughner's case.
However, many states impose even tougher restrictions. Some states, including Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Carolina, refuse guns to people who have voluntarily committed themselves to psychiatric treatment. Others require potential gun buyers to waive all rights to privacy of their mental health records. Some require potential buyers to obtain their license from law enforcement, forcing a face to face interaction.
"If the shooter in Tucson had gone to any law enforcement authority, and they had spent any amount of time with him, just seconds with him, they would have been suspicious," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence.
