Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal – Dave Workman photo
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
The man identified as the killer who fatally shot two women and wounded several other people in a Lafayette, La., theater before taking his own life is being described by authorities as a person with past mental problems who was denied a carry permit in 2006.
According to CNN, John Russell Houser, 59, had a history of problems including at least one arrest for arson, and he was served with an eviction notice last year in Russell County, Ala.
Still, nobody can explain why he went into the Grand 16 theater and opened fire, killing 21-year-old Mayci Breaux and 33-year-old Jillian Johnson.
Self-defense activists have pointed to the “conduct policy” for the theater chain which specifically prohibits “possession of firearms or weapons of any kind regardless of whether openly or concealed, with or without a permit.” So-called “gun-free zones” have been under heavy criticism since the attack by a would-be terrorist on recruiting offices in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Associated Press reported that Houser was “mentally ill and so violent that his wife removed his guns from their home and his daughter and in-laws asked authorities to keep him away, court documents show.” The report also noted that his wife had filed for divorce earlier this year.
It was not immediately revealed where he obtained the handgun that was used in the attack. In all, according to the police, he fired 13 rounds.
Gun owners were also bracing for quick exploitation of the incident by gun prohibitionists. Coincidentally, just hours before the shooting, President Barack Obama had told the BBC during an interview that “If you ask me where has been the one area that I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient, common-sense gun safety laws.”
It didn’t take long for the rhetoric to begin. Anti-gun commentator Piers Morgan wrote in the Daily Mail hours after the shooting that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is “primarily responsible” for that state amending its gun laws in recent years. Jindal went to Lafayette and was there for a press briefing outside the theater where the investigation was still in progress, and again the following morning.
“This is a guy awarded an A+ rating from the NRA – meaning they absolutely love him for his pro-gun speeches and legislative behavior,” Morgan lamented.
“Jindal voted to stop gun manufacturers being sued for misuse of their weaponry,” he continued, “and he co-sponsored banning gun registration in Washington, D.C.
“Under his governance,” Morgan complained, “Louisiana has approved numerous pro-gun laws including allowing off-duty cops to carry guns in schools and civilians to carry concealed weapons into churches; and it has introduced a law levying fines and jail sentences on people, including journalists, who identify concealed-carry permit holders.”
Newsbusters reported that it took CNN Tonight only 12 minutes into its coverage of the Lafayette shooting to “invoke gun control and President Obama with panelists lamenting the lack of ‘sufficient common sense’ on guns, the need for a ‘more realistic interpretation of the Second Amendment’ and that the issue will go down in history as President Obama’s ‘biggest defeat’.”
