Thanks everyone for all of the comments. I think I'll do a post on gun control later this week when I have some time. We can dive a little deeper then. I have a lot of thoughts on the topic.
Thank you again for more insightful dispatch from Emergistan and the medical and social environments that surround its borders. I could not agree more. A lost of systemic issues here, which make solutions more complex and difficult to propose and enact.
Ed: I am glad that you wrote this piece, and yours has always been a voice of reason. Yes, our capacity to deal effectively with mental health problems is inadequate. Do other countries like Canada, Britain, Sweden, etc. do a far better job of treating mental illness than us? I doubt that they do. And yet, they don't have the mass shootings that we do. Even with the best of mental health resources, those who would become the shooters, like the two 18-year-old lost souls who carried out the recent killings in Buffalo and Texas would likely have fallen through the cracks. The only difference is that they may have wielded a knife or a machete in some public park in London or Stockholm, but probably not an AR-15 and/or a high capacity 9 mm handgun with easy access as we have in America. I'm a gun owner, combat veteran, hunter and FORMER NRA member who is furious at the senseless killings of schoolchildren, minorities, concertgoers, etc., and the unwillingness of our legislators to enact rational, sensible gun laws that are wanted by the majority of our own citizens. As we contemplate mental health reform in this great country of ours, can we at least enact uniform background checks and perhaps a few commonsense safety measures for those who own, use and purchase firearms!?
Thanks everyone for all of the comments. I think I'll do a post on gun control later this week when I have some time. We can dive a little deeper then. I have a lot of thoughts on the topic.
Ed,
So many thoughts, not enough space. There are no easy solutions, but bringing back mental Institutions is must.
Thank you again for more insightful dispatch from Emergistan and the medical and social environments that surround its borders. I could not agree more. A lost of systemic issues here, which make solutions more complex and difficult to propose and enact.
Ed: I am glad that you wrote this piece, and yours has always been a voice of reason. Yes, our capacity to deal effectively with mental health problems is inadequate. Do other countries like Canada, Britain, Sweden, etc. do a far better job of treating mental illness than us? I doubt that they do. And yet, they don't have the mass shootings that we do. Even with the best of mental health resources, those who would become the shooters, like the two 18-year-old lost souls who carried out the recent killings in Buffalo and Texas would likely have fallen through the cracks. The only difference is that they may have wielded a knife or a machete in some public park in London or Stockholm, but probably not an AR-15 and/or a high capacity 9 mm handgun with easy access as we have in America. I'm a gun owner, combat veteran, hunter and FORMER NRA member who is furious at the senseless killings of schoolchildren, minorities, concertgoers, etc., and the unwillingness of our legislators to enact rational, sensible gun laws that are wanted by the majority of our own citizens. As we contemplate mental health reform in this great country of ours, can we at least enact uniform background checks and perhaps a few commonsense safety measures for those who own, use and purchase firearms!?