BLAME RESTS WITH THE MADMAN

In the wake of the tragic loss of four RCMP officers shot and killed in
Alberta, politicians are quick to jump on the bandwagon. Blame is placed,
changes are promised. Simply because it looks good for our leaders to be
able to say they are doing something.

So blame becomes focused on marijuana grow operations. Some say the
solution is decriminalization, others call for tougher penalties. The
reality was even RCMP officials are now saying they were too quick to point
the finger at the alleged marijuana grow operation on James Roszko's
property. Lost in the shuffle was the other reason the police were there.
The alleged possession of stolen property. Stiffer drug laws wouldn't have
prevented these four deaths, neither would legalization of pot.

Then the focus has moved to gun control. Politicians in favour of tighter
gun laws wave that flag, while others point to Roszko's possession of an
illegal weapon as one of the numerous failures of the federal gun registry
program.

Roszko certainly shouldn't have been allowed to have weapons. He had a
previous record of firearms offences, including shooting at two people who
entered his property in 1999. Roszko shouldn't have had guns, but he did.
People who blatantly intend to disregard the law can often find ways to get
around it. Roszko clearly wanted to own a rifle and he was going to do
whatever it took to arm himself.

Would different laws have made a difference? Likely not.

Simply because when you are dealing with a person like James Roszko, you
are dealing with an unstable, sick individual with a hatred for authority
that burned so deep it outweighed anything else, including the value of his
own life.

Descriptions of the reclusive man point out he hated almost everyone, even
his own family. When he saw police attention focused on him, he decided he
was going to kill those officers. He ambushed them. He, in cold and
calculating fashion, shot each and every one. Those officers are dead
because of the twisted mind of one man. While it would be easy if political
leaders could make a law against that, reality just doesn't work that way.