Posted on 04/12/2007 3:03:20 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Last month, Troy police denied Anthony LaCalamita III a permit to buy a handgun.
But there was nothing to stop LaCalamita, 38, from buying a shotgun last Friday at Target Sports in Royal Oak.
Police say the general accountant, who had been fired last Thursday from his job with the accounting firm Gordon Advisors, used the gun Monday in a shooting spree that left a secretary dead and two executives wounded.
So how could LaCalamita be denied a handgun permit but easily buy a shotgun a short time later?
The answer lies in the different requirements for purchasing the two types of guns.
Michigan and all but four other states Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey don't require a permit to buy a shotgun or rifle. Instead, buyers have only to pass a criminal background check performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
There apparently was nothing in LaCalamita's check that kept him from buying the shotgun, despite what his estranged wife's attorney said is a history of depression and mental health problems. The application for the background check includes a box asking if the buyer has any mental or psychological problems, but anyone can simply mark ``no.''
And Michigan, unlike some states, doesn't forbid selling guns to someone with mental health problems. Arkansas law forbids the sale of any type of gun to anyone who has been committed involuntarily to a mental institution, among other bans.
An employee at Target Sports who declined to give his name Thursday said the FBI told the store it could proceed with the sale after the instant background check was completed.
When LaCalamita requested a handgun permit last month from the Troy Police Department, the check was much more extensive.
Although the department's spokesman, Lt. Gerry Scherlinck, said he couldn't comment on why the Troy police chief turned down LaCalamita's request for a handgun permit, he added that the department looked at records that went beyond arrests or convictions that might have shown up in an FBI check.
``Theoretically, you could have a clear criminal history but still have contacts with law enforcement that would not rise to the level of an arrest or conviction,'' Scherlinck said. A police chief ``can use those contacts to deny a permit whether or not those involved arrests that might show up on a criminal history.''
Michigan is among a dozen states that require handgun buyers to obtain a permit, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C., and the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action in Fairfax, Va. A call was left with the institute Thursday afternoon.
LaCalamita was arraigned Wednesday on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of intent to commit murder, three counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of fleeing and eluding police.
A shotgun was retrieved from his car, and a receipt for a Remington 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun was found Monday by police in LaCalamita's Troy apartment.
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, said he'd like to see more background checks done by states rather than the FBI. Only 15 states do their own background checks on long guns buyers, while 26 do their own checks...
Well, he could’ve used a hammer or a crowbar, a baseball bat or a steak knife to get the same end result. No permit required there, either. *SHRUG*
But having to kill people you know ‘up close and personal’ by hand is so ‘icky.’ ;)
Exactly. It’s your typical knee-jerk MSM hit piece.
Well, Duh. Anyone can do that, right? /sarc
I’m 46. I don’t know Michigan’s laws regarding capital punishment. But I’ll bet that I’ll be dead and buried of natural causes before Mister LaCalamita ever has a real punitive action performed on him.
Shooter has an appropriate name: Anthony the Calamity
Using a 12 gauge is not exactly a pristine affair either, especially at typical "office" ranges.
Sounds like the process for getting a permit to purchase a handgun is "may issue", rather than "shall issue". The gun grabbers, while they would prefer "no issue", like the former because it allows the corrupt police chiefs, sheriffs and other political types, to issue to the "right people", their friends and celebrities, while denying to the "wrong people", everyone else, unless the "wrong people" make a substantial campaign contribution to the proper politicians.
It sounds like Michigan's pistol permit system is a violation the state Constitution, which reads:
“Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.” Article 1, sec. 6
Handguns are better for self defense than defense of the state, but can be used for either. A 12 gauge is useful in both contexts.
The application for the background check includes a box asking if the buyer has any mental or psychological problems, but anyone can simply mark ``no.''
The AFT 4473 form asks if you have been "adjudicated mentally defective". (The key word being "adjudicated".)
That is a bit different than simply asking if the buyer has "mental or psychological problems".
And Michigan, unlike some states, doesn't forbid selling guns to someone with mental health problems. Arkansas law forbids the sale of any type of gun to anyone who has been committed involuntarily to a mental institution, among other bans.
If someone has been committed involuntarily to a mental institution, then that person must have been adjudicated mentally ill, in a court of law.
In other words, they were given due process. Their rights were not arbitrarily stripped from them, simply because they sought medical treatment for depression, etc., at some point in the past.
The author of this article is deceptive and dishonest.
Just like any other hoplophobe on a mission.
Not really. In FL we have this thing called the 'Baker Act' were in I can have you involuntarily locked up for 72 hrs for a mental evaluation. No due process needed.
Held for evaluation is not the same as being committed.
Well, I don’t know if it would stop a gun purchase but it does go on your record that you were ‘Baker Acted’.
That's interesting.
It may be like having an "arrest record", but no conviction(s).
I suppose. I just know that I have read news accounts stating that ‘xx has a record of being baker acted...’.
I always thought it a strange and frightening law.
MI has been shall issue for permit to purchase and concealed carry since 2001. there must have been something substantial in the check they ran.
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