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!?
Hey Suzanne...Yes, acquiring a gun is the easy part. The kid in Texas had just turned 18. Apparently, he walked into a gun store and purchased an AR-15 and some 300+ rounds of ammo. Next day he returned and purchased another similar type of semi-auto rifle....same caliber. If he had walked into a liquor store he would have been denied purchase of alcohol. The kid had a history of violence, but no mental health records or criminal record. When I was 18 I owned a .22 caliber bolt action rifle and a 12 guage shotgun for hunting. I would have loved to have an AR-15 but such weapons were not available or legal for purchase and I was probably not mature enough to own such a weapon. Certainly I had friends who I would not trust with an AR-15!
This means presumably he was background checked but had never been ‘on the radar’ either for mental illness or crime. This is a big problem of course. How many patients do we see who should be? Lots most likely. How many low level crimes are pled away? Tons. Not sure how to fix this but certainly needs to be addressed with a watchful eye to civil liberties.
Indeed, it does. There's not going to be a perfect solution or one that pleases everyone. We Americans already enjoy more civil liberties than any other modern nation. We are also the only such country with mass shootings that are occurring repeatedly. There are, arguably, a number of factors for this, but guns in the hands of evil doers are the universal factor, specifically, military style rifles. Stronger regulations won't prevent all mass shootings or gun-related crimes, but they will reduce the numbers. We CAN do better, and we must. even if we can prevent one more innocent kid from being torn apart by a 5.56 mm round while sitting at his or her desk at school. I would ask you or anyone reading this thread to propose a firearm regulation that would be most effective, while causing the least dissention among gun owners.
Well, how about prohibiting gun purchases until age 21? How about licensing gun owners? This would require a more complete background check, and might even require taking a class and maybe a written or oral exam and/or a practical exam? Prohibiting large capacity magazines has been proposed...i.e., 10 rounds max. However, I doubt that would make a difference in mass shootings since it takes only a few seconds to change out a magazine in an AR-15. Anyway, there is a bipartisan Senate committee looking into new regulations, so we'll have to wait to see what they come up with. Sorry to take the focus off mental health issues, but I believe strongly that this topic is a priority.
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.
Ed, why did our country close our mental institutions?
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!?
Jon, since there are already background checks required, where are the shooters acquiring their guns? Serious question, not sarcasm.
Hey Suzanne...Yes, acquiring a gun is the easy part. The kid in Texas had just turned 18. Apparently, he walked into a gun store and purchased an AR-15 and some 300+ rounds of ammo. Next day he returned and purchased another similar type of semi-auto rifle....same caliber. If he had walked into a liquor store he would have been denied purchase of alcohol. The kid had a history of violence, but no mental health records or criminal record. When I was 18 I owned a .22 caliber bolt action rifle and a 12 guage shotgun for hunting. I would have loved to have an AR-15 but such weapons were not available or legal for purchase and I was probably not mature enough to own such a weapon. Certainly I had friends who I would not trust with an AR-15!
This means presumably he was background checked but had never been ‘on the radar’ either for mental illness or crime. This is a big problem of course. How many patients do we see who should be? Lots most likely. How many low level crimes are pled away? Tons. Not sure how to fix this but certainly needs to be addressed with a watchful eye to civil liberties.
Indeed, it does. There's not going to be a perfect solution or one that pleases everyone. We Americans already enjoy more civil liberties than any other modern nation. We are also the only such country with mass shootings that are occurring repeatedly. There are, arguably, a number of factors for this, but guns in the hands of evil doers are the universal factor, specifically, military style rifles. Stronger regulations won't prevent all mass shootings or gun-related crimes, but they will reduce the numbers. We CAN do better, and we must. even if we can prevent one more innocent kid from being torn apart by a 5.56 mm round while sitting at his or her desk at school. I would ask you or anyone reading this thread to propose a firearm regulation that would be most effective, while causing the least dissention among gun owners.
Well, how about prohibiting gun purchases until age 21? How about licensing gun owners? This would require a more complete background check, and might even require taking a class and maybe a written or oral exam and/or a practical exam? Prohibiting large capacity magazines has been proposed...i.e., 10 rounds max. However, I doubt that would make a difference in mass shootings since it takes only a few seconds to change out a magazine in an AR-15. Anyway, there is a bipartisan Senate committee looking into new regulations, so we'll have to wait to see what they come up with. Sorry to take the focus off mental health issues, but I believe strongly that this topic is a priority.