A Gun Shop Owner Who Went Beyond The Call of Duty

But it wasn't enough. From the July 23, 2007 Denver Post:

Aaron Snyder, the man killed at the state Capitol last week, was turned away from a Fort Collins gun shop in late March after he admitted he had struggled with delusions and depression.

Snyder wanted to rent a handgun and learn how to shoot it at Rocky Mountain Shooters Supply on March 30, but he was rejected after he noted a history of mental illness on the store's background check form, said the shop's owner, Tim Brough.

Snyder also told the store manager, Bill Cates, he needed to learn to shoot because he "was the divine leader of the nation and as such should know how to use a gun."

Cates suggested Snyder come back at a later date and take a handgun safety course first so Cates could determine whether he had severe problems.

Snyder later successfully purchased a handgun from Sportsman's Warehouse in Thornton.

Cates did the right thing. But involuntary commitment laws have been so emasculated that if Cates had called the police and described this conversation, it would have been a waste of everyone's time. In 1960, Snyder would probably have been questioned at some length and hospitalized for a while. Instead, Snyder was free to continue walking the streets, until he learned from his mistake in admitting why he wanted a gun.