Vet suicide focuses on wrong issue

The Olympian has done a horrific misdeed by printing an Associated Press article Jan. 15 on a veteran suicide in 2014. The article focused on the gun used, which just happened to have been resold by law enforcement officials after a confiscation in a previous crime. The sale is in accordance with Washington state law and regulations.

The gun didn’t kill the vet; Mr. Juhl killed himself. It’s only by happenstance that Mr. Juhl acquired a weapon that was sold by the government that was involved in a previous crime. It’s far more likely he’d purchased one on the open market. But that wouldn’t have made much of a story.

Focusing on the gun is wrong. Robin Williams tragically committed suicide after realizing he had Parkinson’s disease. He hung himself with a belt. Should we now ban belts? Should we trace the history of the belt? Had the belt been previously used in a successful or attempted suicide?

No, the real problem is the highly ineffectual, incompetent, hide bound, bureaucratic and inefficient Veterans Administration. These vets need the services promised them when they signed up to defend this country. The fact that about 20 -22 vets commit suicide every day clearly indicates there is a much larger problem, which is the lack of care by the VA, yet one more government run program that is failing miserably and costing many lives. Lives that have defended this great country.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Vet suicide focuses on wrong issue."