Attorney George Lyon of our law firm appeared on Fox News' Washington, DC affiliate this evening to address gun control issues in light of today's murder of two TV journalists during a live broadcast near Roanoake, Virginia.
"Today's murder of two young TV journalists in Virginia by a deranged former co-worker -- who passed a background check for his gun purchase -- demonstrates not that we need more gun control laws, but that we need to examine our mental health system to better identify and treat potentially violent individuals," Mr. Lyon said.
He continued, "Calls for more gun control will do nothing to prevent future tragedies like what happened today. The murderer in Southwest Virginia passed a background check just like so many other perpetrators of recent mass killings."
Drawing on his experience as a firearms instructor, Mr. Lyon said "While I support being armed when out and about, it's likely nothing could have been done to prevent today's killing even if the victims had been armed. The murderer stalked these reporters and attacked them at a time they were most defenseless, in the middle of an interview. Events like today's nevertheless underscore that it is important to maintain situational awareness even when task fixated and to have the means to defend your life if attacked."
In closing, Mr. Lyon called for teaching America's youth that problems must not be solved with violence.
George Lyon is one of the original plaintiffs of the Supreme Court's landmark Heller decision. He is also a plaintiff in the Palmer case which compelled the District of Columbia to issues permits for carrying concealed firearms. He serves clients of our firm in a variety of matters, including firearms law, civil litigation, commercial law, and administrative law.