American Generalization: Mass Shooters

The most extensive argument many have argued toward violent video games affecting one’s behavior can simply be described as that many shooters were fans of violent video games before committing the shootings. A common example people making this argument raise are the Columbine shooters, who were big fans of the video game Doom. While many believe that Doom’s excessive gore and violence led the two teens to perpetrate the mass shooting, that is not the case. What those who argue against video games fail to realize that those who commit these crimes had a history of other conditions. After many mass shootings, researchers often discovered in autopsies that the suspect had a long history of aggression or mental health problems that gaming was not responsible for. Patrick Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson, writers for US News, wrote

“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This is a well known statement that is oftentimes considered true. However, it is not completely true. Someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness. Gun laws pertaining to those suffering mental illnesses should be more restrictive. Weapons such as guns make committing an act of violence, especially when there are multiple victims, much easier. It is difficult to assess the probability of a person to commit a violent act that harms anyone including himself/herself. Therefore, gun laws need be monitored very closely and made more consistent throughout each state in order to prevent violence that could

After a mass shooting event, the public’s focus often shifts to gun control, as well as the state of our mental health system. “Research suggests that mass shootings can increase mental health stigma, reinforce negative stereotypes that people with mental illness are dangerous and violent,

Next time there 's a mass shooting, don 't jump to blame the people with a mental illness and the people responsible for them. Look first at the NRA services that gave them the guns that caused the chaos and death, and the laws in the state where the shooting took place. People are so angry at the fact that criminals with an mental illness kill people and blame them. When really the gun is the reason why people die. Sure they pulled the trigger, but considering that

Gun control has been a continued issue amongst politicians and civilians in the United States. The U.S. has a homicide rate twenty-five times the average of any other developed country in the world. Specifically, mass shootings have been in the limelight as of late due to the deadliest Las Vegas, Nevada shooting, along with Orlando, Florida, and Newtown, Connecticut being in the recent past. Aim has been set on the mentally ill for these mass shooting, and our gun control laws because of this. America agrees gun laws need to be strengthened, but how to do so is the problem ahead. The target should not be on the mentally ill due to their miniscule effect on gun violence.

Metzl, Jonathan M., and Kenneth T. MacLeish. “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of

Has the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill led to the increase of mass shootings experienced in the US? According to Lankford, several reports suggest that up to 60% of offenders of mass shootings in the US since 1970, exhibited symptoms including depression, delusions, and acute paranoia prior to the commission of their crimes. Further statistics have shown that since 1982, there have been at least 71 public mass shooting across the country; with 34 of these mass shooting having occurred since 2006. A recent analysis of the database by researchers at Harvard University corroborated by a recent FBI study concluded that mass shootings have been on the rise. More than half of the cases involve school or workplace shootings, 12 and 20

Mental Health is the root to numerous problems in America, how your brain deals with certain situations determines how sick or healthy our minds are. Based on a Washington Post-ABC News Poll of 808 adults, 57% agreed that the mass shootings were due to mental health issues whereas 28% said that it was due to inadequate gun control laws (SHEN). Almost 30% additional people thought that it was a mental health issue instead of a gun control issue. Since a larger portion of adults believe that mental health is the root to mass shootings a mental health test need to be complete on anyone who wants to carry or purchase a weapon.

In the US mental illness is not given a high priority and is highly stigmatized so people aren’t always willing to get the help they need for fear of judgment. Mental illness is often a factor in mass shootings, so general attention to this would be beneficial. However, this isn’t to say that all mass shooters do have a mental illness; many people live their day-to-day lives dealing with a mental illness, so the stigmatization of mental illness and also the bad representation of people with mental illnesses becomes dangerous. Though this is most likely not unique to the United States, better communication between adults and students is vital in preventing school shootings. Often the perpetrators felt they were wronged in some way and were not receiving the help they needed. Also, gun control plays a big role here as well. It is far too easy for young people to gain access to a parent’s weapon or to acquire their own. In light of many tragedies in the United States, I believe that gun control is a serious topic that needs to be delved

One of the causal explanations for a mass shooting is mental illness. Many of the recent mass shootings that have occurred have partially been caused by the unstableness of the person’s mind. For example, James Holmes, the mass shooter who killed twelve people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado was said to have a schizophrenic disorder. Although the disorder does not blur the lines between right and wrong, it definitely has an impact as to why he was motivated to carry out this shooting. This mental illness problem also occurred with Columbine shooter, Eric Harris. Harris had a psychotic disorder and was even made to be a psychopath, according to the FBI report which was released five years after the shooting. Both shooters had notebooks, in which they expressed their severe hatred for the world and many humans around them. They also seemed to have an obsession with fame to some extent and were even a bit insecure about their own self-worth. These men had psychotic disorders, which shifted their thinking and made them think in abnormal ways, causing them to lose touch with reality. At the same time, mental illness may not be the cause of all mass shootings. In fact, many people will stereotype mass shooters as being mentally ill even though that may not be true. This is one fallacy which is seen today within our society after a mass shooting occurs, and can even be characterized as scapegoating. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, only 3-5% of violent acts are carried out by mentally ill people. Also, the mentally ill are more likely to be victimized and harassed rather than the other way around. In fact, even if a shooter did have a mental problem, there is a very small chance that they would go to a therapist or

Although guns are a major problem in the US, it’s important to remember that our nation’s trigger-happy citizens tend to be a problem as well. Guns are inanimate objects with no mind or will of their own. The person that picks up the gun knows who and what will be their target. When taking account of the fact that most of school shooters have had something mentally wrong with them. Speaking on the matter, 2016 GOP Presidential Candidate and self-made billionaire Donald Trump stated that this isn't “a gun problem, but a mental problem” (Scott 2). However Trump is over simplifying a rather complex problem. Mental illness includes depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety, all things that may not be noticeable by someone deciding on whether or

So when shootings occur, especially mass shootings, “the media’s framing of crime-related issues often dictates whether public opinion will perceive crime as a concern of individual or social responsibility” (Iyengar cited by Payne 2014). So in other words, should the public be concerned about specific individuals on a micro level or should everyone be accounted for. In such cases where mass shootings occur the response to such events from our government is to remind us of the gun violence, to continue and place more fear into society. They briefly address the mental health system before going onto the “real” situation which is “the role of gun policies in an attempt to ameliorate the public’s growing demand of gun reform in the aftermath of

Every day, illegal firearms are moving all around the country, sometimes falling into the wrong hands. Not only is gun distribution playing a big role in these events, but several mentally ill and psychotic individuals are also contributing to the massacres. The people creating such acts of terror are triggered for not one, but many reasons, such as: racism, bullying, hatred of religion, or sometimes even just for the satisfaction in taking part in such violent

In today's society mass shootings have become a universal occurrence. Medical sociologist interest in mass shooting flares up many theories on the reason behind the shooter’s motives. For an example, as discussed in Cockerham Chapter 1 sociology in medicine can be characterized as applied research and analysis primarily motivated by a medical problem, rather than a sociological problem. Many viewers who watch the news hear how great of a background they may have come from, how great they did in school growing up, and how quiet of a person they were. As notions of mental illness have emerged in relation to mass shooters, often the “mental illness” is derived from something greater such as stereotypes or anxieties over matters such as politics,

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.