Oakland Cop Shooting

The recent killing of four police officers in Oakland seems to have brought the gun grabbers out of the woodwork. I reading through the "news" papers from the area, there is a call to further restrict 2A rights in Kalifornia due to this tragedy.

One thing that I notice missing from the ruckus is any mention of culpability for Lovelle Mixon, the shooter or for the Kalifonia parole board that put him back on the streets and threatened the well being of all citizens.

A bit of background for those who do not follow the news from the left coast; Lovelle Mixon was a convicted felon. He served 5 years of a 6 year sentence for assault with a firearm. Mixon gained parole in October of 2007 only to be considered possible suspect in a homicide in Alameda County in February 2008. This status caused Mixon to spend another 9 months in prison before being released again on November 1, 2008 because no charges were filed in the murder case.

Between his last release and February 18, 2009, Mixon apparently performed as a parolee should and reported on a regular basis. Come the middle of February, Mixon had disappeared from the control of his parole officer and was considered a parolee-at-large and a warrant is issued for his arrest.

Attempts were made to locate Mixon and return him to prison before the March 21st events that led to the killing of three officers.

Let's examine where this system broke down; First, Mixon was apparently a repeat offender at the time he was returned to prison during a murder investigation. He was subsequently released again from prison only to disappear from radar three months later. As a convicted felon, he was already prohibited from even touching a firearm under current laws.

As a parolee, Mixon became the responsibility of the state Board of Parole who is responsible for making sure he behaves himself. This process failed as he managed to disappear from their control within three months of his release.

It is apparent that Mixon should not have been on the streets to begin with. The Parole Board should not have released him after he was arrested under suspicion of murder. He should have served the remainder of his time of the original sentence. Both times that Mixon was released on parole, he was in trouble within three months, the first time as a suspect in a murder, the second as a parole violator. Apparently, the parole system in Kalifornia does not work and should be revisited.

Finally, let us not forget that current laws prohibited Mixon from having any guns in his possession. Laws that he chose to ignore and in the process managed to take the life of four officers. Additional laws would not have kept Mixon on the straight and narrow. He was a criminal and, as such, had a history of disobeying the laws currently in existence. Disarming law abiding citizens would not have prevented this tragedy in any form. Mixon would have procured a gun by whatever means were available to him.