Actor Jon Voight responded to the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, by calling for new measures to be put in place for gun ownership by credentialing people based on their “mental capacity,” among other things.
Voight’s remarks come after an 18-year-old Latino male stormed Robb Elementary School on Tuesday and killed 19 students before Border Patrol agents burst into the room and killed him.
Voight, a supposed conservative, espoused his left-of-center views on gun control in two separate videos posted to social media on Saturday in which he called for people to have to meet additional qualifications before being able to own firearms.
“It’s not about Left, Right, guns, no guns,” he said. “This is about brains that are dysfunctioning. This is mental. This is not about healthy human beings serving the country with arms to bear, or even the right of this Constitution for bearing arms. It is a right to use arms with proper purpose to defend one’s safety. We must not allow mental illness to take away our right to bear arms. This is about trusting the Constitution, our rights, our reason.”
“We’re living now in a world that has no remorse for wrongdoings because we are being led by the worst in office,” he continued. “We must identify every individual for their credentials, for their mental capacity to bear arms. There should be proper qualifications for gun ownership and proper testing. One should only own a gun if they are qualified and schooled.”
Voight’s remarks completely miss the fact that the shooter was able to legally obtain two firearms by completing ATF Form 4473. Those who have been committed to a psychiatric facility, have violent criminal records, or are a convicted felon are prohibited from owning firearms and the background check will flag those records.
There were certainly indications that the shooter had a history of violence that included making threats, hurting animals, and attacking people. He also showed signs of psychiatric issues in the way that he related to people by flipping from one extreme to the other, according to the those who knew him. He also reportedly said that he had “fun” cutting his face with a knife.
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