Date: Sat, Sep 28, 2002, 12:11pm (CDT+5) From:
rkeller@unix01.voicenet.com (RodKeller)
Governor, Sign Laura's Law
Los Angeles Times
September 28, 2002
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-laura28sep28.story HELPING PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS
By press time Friday night, Gov. Gray Davis still had not signed "Laura's law," an important bill that would let judges order outpatient treatment for seriously mentally ill people who can't fathom the gravity of their condition.
The deadline is midnight Monday.
Davis had pledged to do everything in his power to protect Californians from crime, so supporters of the bill had expected him to embrace the measure. It would enable some of California's most vulnerable people, including many who live on sidewalks or alongside freeways, to get help before they harm themselves or others. But opponents of the legislation have grown particularly vocal in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, for instance, a subgroup of the Church of Scientology, which opposes virtually all psychiatric treatments, sponsored a rally at the Capitol against Laura's law--named after a 19-year-old killed by a man whose mental illness had been left untreated.............(more)