Mental Illness And Gun Violence

The public has programmed many to perceive those with mental illnesses as more dangerous. According to the New Yorker, a study done in 2013 showcased that forty-six percent of respondents believe that people suffering from a mental illness pose a greater danger to society than those without. Furthermore, two recent Gallup polls, from 2011 and 2013, demonstrated that more people believe that mass shootings transpire because of a failure in the mental health system, not due to the easy access of guns. In the cases of Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck, Virginia Tech, and more, teachers, students, parents, and most importantly, the public, automatically assumed only insanity could cause the performance of those acts. Of course, mental illness can play an immense factor in a person’s likelihood to commit violent acts, but pinpointing it as the paramount reason for them should not happen. After lengthy analyses of data that discusses the correlation of gun violence and mental disorders, Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist and professor of psychiatry at Duke University concluded that mental illness became a risk factor for gun violence in four percent of cases. Although the presented facts disclose the almost non-existent connection between mental illness and gun violence, many continue believing the opposite.

More background checks and laws need to be made in order to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. In cities that already have tough regulations, there is still an issue with residents getting firearms from elsewhere. This is proven by Tucker (2016) when she says, “Gun rights advocates note that Chicago already has tough firearms regulations, but that doesn't prevent nearby jurisdictions from selling weapons to Chicago residents.” (p. 2). USA Today (2017) reported as well that, “As for federal gun laws, mental illness disqualifies people from buying or possessing a gun only after they've been involuntarily committed by a court.” (p. 2). This does not make society any safer because the laws that prevent mentally ill civilians from

Mental health services and mental health awareness will ensure that our youth are not only physically healthy but mentally as well. Although it is not always the youth who commit these violent acts involving guns, I believe that reaching the youth is the best way for prevention. Robert Ross said it best: “Early detection and treatment is the key. We need to reach troubled children when problems first emerge, while there’s still time to guide them back on the right track” (Ross, 2015, p. 507). According to the United States Government, one out of every four or five adolescents meets the specification for a mental disorder. However, Mental health not only refers to the lack of a mental disorder or disease, but also to well-being emotionally, socially, and psychologically. Children who are mentally healthy are able to adapt to their changing environment, develop healthy relationships, use coping techniques, and more (U.S Government, n.d.). It is important to understand what mental health is and means so that society may better recognize an individual that does not quite meet those metal health standards; this will better aid us in violence prevention.

The question of how to make our communities safer has a list full of solutions which seem to never end. The great debate begins with have any of these solutions worked, or have the right solutions been put to play. Gun control is a very popular topic today, and rightfully so. The media has shined light on mass shootings that have claimed many lives and destroyed families. The question is on who, or what does the blame fall on. Are the gun owners the responsible, or are the weapons themselves to blame? A solution that has been set forth concludes that in order to become a firearm owner, mental stability should be proved. Should government enforce mental health evaluations for gun purchase?

The question of Gun control is in the news. The subject comes up with each election along with the latest tragedy statistics. Both sides of the debate throw explicit words towards the other, it all turns into an argument and there seems to never be any agreement. It 's very disparaging to me to see the innocent lives of children taken and for a defense gun owners hide behind what amounts to a 400 year old scrap of paper which is neither relevant to modern day problems or understood the same way by any two people reading from it. It really goes to show the poor quality of the generation of people we are in. An example would be, they play the same Christmas songs from 300 years ago and half of them have never seen a sleigh bell or ate a

Across the nation, many states have begun to reassess their mental health policies and how they affect gun control. One state in particular is Maryland. In 2012, Maryland began a legislative task force to investigate the access of individuals with mental illness to regulated firearms (Maryland, 2013). Under current state law, access to firearms is denied to anyone who has been confined to a mental health facility for more than 30 consecutive days. The law also states that the individual must be determined to be dangerous to themselves or to others along with their mental illness in order to be denied access to firearms. The other question asked is what access law enforcement officers should have to mental health records. In an article by Gostlin (2011) he states “Successfully reducing firearms-related

“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

The mistaken belief that there is a direct link between mental illness and violence is disrupting the gun control system. Individuals with mental illnesses only cover a very small portion of violence in general, and even less with gun violence. Instead, the focus should be on criminals and drug users. “Individuals who have exhibited dangerous behaviors in the past, have a criminal record, or have a history of drug abuse, for example, are much more likely to commit future crimes” (Wolf, 2015, p.851-878). The reason the government is focusing on certain groups of people are to predict future violence, so if they limit the ability of the mentally ill to purchase weapons they are thinking it will reduce gun violence. This hypothesis would not make a significant dent in the gun violence problem of the United States, because again the mentally ill only make up a very small portion. The shooter of Sandy Hook middle school used his mother’s legally purchased weapons and ammunition to commit the murder, even if the ban of the mentally ill were in place it would not resolve the problem. The only way to make sure future mass shooting done by someone with schizophrenia, or other severe illnesses is to fund the mental health programs, and at the moment the country is doing the exact opposite. “Unfortunately, funding for mental health care has diminished significantly; over the past few years states have cut approximately $4.35 billion from their mental health care budgets” (Wolf, 2015, p.851-878). The best way to stop violence is to recognize there is a

“Mental Health Reporting.” Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,

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.

The main complication is that America’s corrupted mental health system is a liability to the safety of regular American citizens because mentally ill people do not get the proper help they need and are easily able to gain access to guns. A majority of people with mental illness show signs of having a mental illness and are often not given a proper diagnosis or any diagnosis at all. Only one-third of the people with mental illness who have committed mass shootings in the U.S. since 1900 had sought or received mental health care prior to their attacks. This information suggests that most shooters do not seek or receive care that they need (Duwe 1). If a person with a mental illness is left untreated they could end up hurting themselves or others. Sandy hook mass shooter Adam Lanza presented clear signs of schizophrenia but was not issued the proper care he needed. (Turndoff 5). Another instance where the mental health system has failed is in a case where an individual with mental illness may be diagnosed, but their case is not taken seriously and left untreated. For instance, the notorious Charleston Church shooter Dylann Roof was diagnosed with a host of multiple disorders by a

Due to the politics underlying both, gun control and mental-health legislation, this recent shift came with a lack of simplicity. Being careful not to ignite inaccurate stigmas about mental illnesses; advocacy groups and congressional Democrats remained reluctant not to connect escalating gun violence with people suffering from mental health disorders as the leading cause of these recent shootings. Deep disagreements on Capitol Hill, along with great demands from family members of individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness would not come cheap. Also, it would only become another obstacle standing in the way of accomplishing the goal of bringing change to the mental health system (Sun,

Another consideration is whether firearm violence is more a matter of harm to self or others. Suicides account for 61 % of all firearm fatalities in the United States in 2010 as recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (qtd. In Bowen, Injury 2015). In spite of such evidence, Gallup polling data from 2013 showed that 48 % of adult Americans blame the mental health system a great deal for mass shootings in the United States, whereas fewer 40 % blame easy access to guns; an inadequate mental health system is perceived as the top cause of mass shootings (qtd. In Bowen, Saad 2013).

Guns and mental illness are merely attributes of these shootings, they are not the reason why numerous kids are killing people. It is time we stopped fooling ourselves and started asking why our youth are so disaffected that they’re lashing out, murderously, at the world we’ve given them.

Over the past few decades, many researches have strived to test and explain the correlation between violence and crime and mental illness. Moore and Hiday (2006) assert that up 22% of inmates has a mental illness, sometimes containing more mental illness patients than many psychiatric units. Due to these statistics it is evident how important it is to understand the causes of the correlations between crime and violence and mental disorders. This proposal wishes to explain and understand the possible correlation and the reasons for such correlation between mental health illnesses and violence and crime. Further research to test