Heavenly intent

Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital is a Catholic institution just outside of Philadelphia, part of the ministry of the Sisters of Mercy. They do much good work, and have done so since the order’s founding in Ireland in 1831.

But bad things can happen to good people, and the Sisters were recently visited by one Richard Plotts. Mr. Plotts has been charged with murder in a sad case which, saints be with us, might have been much worse.

But while heavenly intervention may have had a hand in stopping Plotts’ violence, it was the earthly determination of Dr. Lee Silverman that ended the threat. The facts are simple.

Richard Plotts has a twenty year criminal record including a federal bank robbery charge. Plotts tends to violence and was banned from an emergency homeless shelter for such acts. He had been seeing Dr. Silverman, reportedly, on and off during his entire criminal career for help with violence and mental health issues. (Voluntarily or court-ordered has not been established).

On a recent summer afternoon, Plotts arrived at the hospital an hour early for his appointment with Dr. Silverman. Silverman took Plotts into his office accompanied by Plotts’ caseworker, Theresa Hunt. Loud shouting was heard, followed by multiple shots.

Prosecutors say that Plotts shot Ms. Hunt in the head, killing her instantly. Dr. Silverman took cover behind his desk, then came up with his own firearm, hitting Plotts three times. Plotts, seriously wounded, was then restrained by staffers heroically rushing in to help.

The peace of the institution was shattered, as were the lives of Theresa Hunt’s loved ones.

But it could have been much, much worse. Plotts had thirty nine more rounds in his pocket. "We believe [Plotts] was going to reload that revolver and continue to kill," said District Attorney Jack Whelan.

Those are the facts, but there is more.

• The hospital has a policy prohibiting all but on-duty law enforcement officers from carrying weapons on the premises. 
• This policy is not enforced with armed guards and metal detectors.
• Richard Plotts, a felon, carried an illegal weapon into the hospital.
• Dr. Silverman possessed a concealed weapon, legally permitted, but in violation of hospital policy.
• Theresa Hunt was unarmed and trusted her institution to protect her.

There is much to digest here on philosophy and the various rights of individuals and institutions. It touches on many of the central issues of the gun control debate. Here are some questions to consider.

Do the Sisters of Mercy, a religious organization pure of heart and with peaceful intent, have the right to ban weapons from their hospital campus? Of course they do, just as any of us can ban weapons from our homes or businesses.

Was the ban effective? Obviously not. It is a pluperfect example of a “pretend weapon-free zone.” Real weapon-free zones require metal detectors and armed guards. All who enter a weapon-free zone must consciously give up their right to self defense. So it makes a great difference whether such zone is pretend or real.

Did the Sisters owe a duty to protect Theresa Hunt because of the weapon-free zone they had established? No, she entered it willingly.

If guns could all be magically vaporized, would that have made Richard Plotts peaceful? Unlikely. He has a long history of crime, violence, and mental health issues. There are other means to wreak havoc on the undefended, and he surely would have exploited them.

Did Dr. Silverman have the right to carry his weapon into the hospital? Not according to policy, and he could be fired for that offense. But the hospital has said that it is welcoming him back, and the DA stated that he likely saved many lives in addition to his own.

Difficult questions, but it comes down to this – do we have an individual right to self defense? And, if so, a right to the means to do so? Collectivists tend to argue no, individualists, yes. What do you think?

In this one case, a good guy with a gun did, indeed, stop a bad guy with a gun.