Fairfax County just experienced the cold-blooded murder of a policewoman. It was accomplished by an 18 year-old who had just escaped from a mental institution. He had on him at the time, according to the Washington Post, "an AK-47-style assault rifle, a high-powered hunting rifle, five handguns and extra clips of ammunition … He squeezed off 70 rounds before the fierce gun battle with officers ended." It appears he was trying to kill as many cops as he could. Where did he get such an amazing armory? Money quote:
His father, Brian Kennedy, 49, works as a manager in the meat department of the Food Lion grocery store just outside Fairfax City. His mother, Margaret Kennedy, 44, works at a nearby For Eyes optical shop … Investigators are not sure who owned the guns but believe they belonged to the family. When police searched the townhouse later Monday, they found "plenty" more guns inside, Horan said. He said he thought the guns were legally owned."
A grocery store clerk in Virginia can legally own a vast arsenal of deadly weaponry. Was he planning on shooting quail with an AK-47-style assault rifle? I guess that’s what Glenn Reynolds would call his civil rights. Now, I’m sympathetic to the arguments against gun-control, but this kind of story gives me pause. I mean: surely common sense suggests that this kind of access to legal weaponry is, shall we say, "over-kill".
The Dish 