Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal calls for all states to adopt stricter gun control laws for the mentally ill after a mass shooting in Lafayette last Thursday left nine innocent moviegoers injured and two dead.
The tragedy at Grand 16 Theater last week was the third of its kind to occur in this country in the past two months. Jindal spoke to the press last Thursday, using the disaster to promote tighter gun control and highlighting the fact that the gunman would not have been able to purchase a weapon in Louisiana.
Despite the fact that the gunman had a history of domestic violence and mental illness, he was able to legally purchase a Hi-point .40-caliber handgun from a pawnshop in Alabama. He used the weapon to injure nine moviegoers and kill two women before shooting himself. A motive has yet to be determined.
Jindal, who has an A+ rating from the NRA (National Rifle Association), is astounded that Alabama’s background checks don’t include information on mental illness.
“I think every state should strengthen their laws,” Jindal said on CBS show Face the Nation. “Every state should make sure this information is being reported in the background system. We need to make sure that background system is working. Absolutely, in this instance, this man never should have been able to buy a gun.”
Louisiana restructured and tightened its gun control laws a few years ago. Governor Jindal maintained that under current Louisiana laws, Mr. Houser (the murderer) would not have been able to purchase a gun.
“Look, every time this happens, it seems like the person has a history of mental illness,” he added. “We need to make sure the systems we have in place actually work.”
The Westboro Baptist Church, an organization Mr. Houser admired, plans to picket the funerals of the two individuals killed by the gunman. Jindal will have police in place at both funerals. He assured the public that protestors will face arrest.
Bobby Jindal is Vice Chairman of the Republican Governors Association and one of sixteen GOP candidates seeking the nomination for next year’s elections.