Shooting at the Government Center

Shooting at the Government Center - A woman with a history of mental instability shot two people inside the Hennepin County Government Center yesterday, killing one.

I have no intention of making light of this tragic shooting, but there's a point here.

The Hennepin County Court has defied state law and made the Government Center a "gun free zone", forbidding legal carry permit holders from the premises, huh?

No, shooter Susan Berkovitz wasn't one of them:

Berkovitz hasn't applied for a permit in Hennepin County, authorities said.

Wow. I'm sure the two victims feel much better knowing that.

No, indeed, amid descriptions of the incredibly lax security at the Government Center...:

"I could have had an AK-47 in a duffel bag and walked right into the building and up to the courthouse," [District Judge John Holahan] said.

...we're supposed to rely on government-provided security (from the county, in this case) to keep us safe once we step through those doors.

Well, most of us are:

An army veteran and hunter, [Judge Holahan] said he was so frightened by one man's death threats early last year that he got a permit to carry a handgun.

Apparently judges' lives are worth more than yours is.

You can't blame Judge Holahan. You can blame the Hennepin County Courts, who have defied state law and created a cocoon where the homicidally insane know that nobody without a uniform can really hurt them.

Posted by Mitch at September 30, 2003 07:01 AM