Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
I was a firearms reference for someone a number of years ago. He’s a crazy maga pro Russia conspiracy theorist racist homophobic lunatic now but he was perfectly normal when I provided the reference.
Should I call the government back 8 years later and tell them there is something else they should know?
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Personally, I think that it's totally reasonable if not an obligation for you to "call the government" back on this guy, your instinct is correct. But I understand the hesitation.
Is there a number for that? Will they actually do anything about it? Would you know? Should they send in Captain Mental Health and the Emotional Regulationeers? Would authorities moving in to seize his weapons do anything other than reinforce his paranoia or whatever else is going on?
Of course it seems preposterous to do what feels right, given how things play out.
But really, I think you're correct and should try. The big thing is that it sounds like you're no longer comfortable enough to have this person in your life as a friend. If you're distancing yourself from them, that's kind of a huge flag, isn't it? Did you try to help him out of his spiral while he was on his way down?
This is a good example of why mental health support is such a challenge. Random friends and family aren't necessarily equipped to deal when things get real. I have mental health struggles, and can say that a lot of the system I've contacted is also not really equipped to help me much, either.
As for the suggestion of punishing people who provide character reference for someone who ends up committing violence with their weapons... I think that would only be applicable in cases where the reference provider was actively participating in the actions or knowingly covering up issues (lying) to help the person get armed, and that would be hard to prove.
Otherwise, what is the use of having three difference references and a process that reviews those? How often are applications denied? Why wouldn't the officers reviewing the applications be reprimanded for lax screening? Why wouldn't the person providing the reference be given some kind of non-jail consequence like losing their ability to provide references for x years, or losing access to their weapons for x years instead?