Not that you asked

It's a new week, but unfortunately, it's the same old news. In Louisiana another nutcase shoots up a theater, and in Texas another African American dies in police custody. Let's take them in that order.

It is almost physically painful for me to write this, but in the case of the Louisiana shooter, we don't need new laws, but we do need to fix the laws we have. In this case, and in the South Carolina church shootings, the mandatory waiting period and background checks should have prevented both shooters from getting a gun legally.

In South Carolina some paper shuffler sent the shooter's file to the wrong department. That's how he passed the background check. That kind of incompetence should cost someone their job. In Louisiana the background check could only cover the shooter's criminal record, not his history of mental problems. That's because the HIPAA Act protects the confidentiality of a person's health records. HIPAA should be amended to allow access to mental health records for anyone trying to buy a gun or get a conceal carry permit.

No matter what laws we enact or amend, nothing is going to keep bad or crazy people from getting guns. That's the price we pay for the right to own guns, and the vast majority of us want to keep that right. The best we can do is make it harder for people who shouldn't have guns to get them. The vast majority of us also approve of waiting periods and background checks, but in return we expect them to work. I know it's a hassle for the rest of us, but so is getting on an airplane.

As for the woman who died in that Texas jail, she never should have been there in the first place. Changing lanes without signaling should never result in jail time. The officer clearly overreacted to the situation.

On the other hand, the woman didn't do herself any favors with the way she reacted. I can understand that she was upset with being pulled over for such a minor offense, but being a smart a** to a cop at a traffic stop is never a good idea.

Whenever you get pulled over by the police, the best thing you can do is be polite, even apologetic, and comply with his orders. If you are white, that could be the difference between getting a ticket or just a warning. For a minority, it could literally mean the difference between life and death.

If this woman had acted differently, the worst that would've happened was she would have gotten a ticket. Instead she chose to be antagonistic. Still, the situation should never have escalated to the point where she had to be arrested. That's the fault of the officer. I doubt that was the first time he had faced a foul mouthed motorist. It comes with the job. He should know how to handle it.

Meanwhile a woman is dead. The facts about her death may not be clear yet, but it is clear that she shouldn't have been in that jail in the first place.