A year after the tragic school shooting of Sandy Hook Elementary School, not much has changed. Soon after the tragedy, intense debate over gun control spread through the nation, but a year later, not even expanded background checks have come into fruition. Instead, some legislators are now turning their focus on improved mental health care. Many of these people believe that if mental health services are improved, the number of these great tragedies will decline. There's no question a change is needed, and hopefully for the sake of innocent people these changes come sooner rather than later.
Monday, December 16, 2013
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While I would prefer a United States with stricter gun control, it is clear that new laws restraining gun use or ownership would never pass in the house or senate. While I think the steps to pass legislature regarding mental health are a step in the right direction, I, by no means, believe that this legislature (which from what I can tell is just mental health - nothing about gun ownership) will make a serious dent in the number of mass shootings in the United States. I'm sure in the long run this legislature will have an extremely positive effect on those suffering from mental health issues, but I'm kind of getting the feeling they are just grasping at straws to say they did SOMETHING to curb mass shootings because the one year anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown has just passed.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every mass shooting has been conducted by someone with mental health problems. Thus, the root of the problem is not guns but mental health. I applaud the states for emphasizing mental health rather than more infringements on gun rights that would never do anything. The VA Tech, Colorado Movie Theater, Tuscon, AZ, and Newtown shooters all had severe mental health problems (as did nearly all of the others). Should our mental health system be fixed, these individuals would never have done these horrible acts.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much this mental health budget increase will influence the number of shoptings. I'm hoping it will be a significant amount. However, I still believe stricter gun control laws would have a bigger effect on the crime rate in general. Aside from gun control, I think the increase in funding for mental health research is a step forward as far as the health industry as well. Because my parents both work in the mental health feild, I constantly hear stories about the nature of these mental health issues. From an unknowlegable person's view, mental "issues" seem like something a person can easily overcome if they have enough determination, however, mental diseases and conditions need medical care, just like any other bodily problem.
ReplyDeleteAn improved mental health system is extremely important, but it is not a sufficient solution to curb mass shootings. The type of mental illnesses that are associated with violence that may lead to shootings is usually a personality disorder like psychopathy. Personality disorders are hard to diagnose and are usually only diagnosed after some incident, a psychotic break, if you will. With the case of many past shooters the psychotic break was the shooting. Many shooters are often described as normal as children. The link between a mental illness and a shooting is often only established after a shooting because that individual is placed under extreme scrutiny as people try to explain the horrific incident that just occurred. I think this budget is a good thing, but it won't influence the rise of gun violence. The only proven method of reducing gun violence is stricter gun control laws. Mental illness and shootings are correlated, but correlation does not imply causation. The root of the problem is the fact that firearms are readily available.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone but Andrew. Using the example of the Colorado movie theatre shooting, the shooter was studying to be a doctor and lead a normal life a few months before the shooting. Not all mental diseases are detectable. Yes it is a good place to start, but we need more gun control. I don't understand why people need the right to own multiple guns.
ReplyDeleteAnd things like machine guns too; who hunts with machine guns!?
ReplyDeleteGuns should be legal to all. However, improved mental health care AND extensive background checks are required to ensure better safety. It pains me to say, no matter what the government does, Guns will always be accessible to all and at times there will be mass shootings. There is no way that I can think of that can totally prevent mass shootings - unless we station armed guards at every public facility in the country (which isn't going to happen).
ReplyDeleteI feel like many politicians have said that they did their part by vote for stricter gun control laws when it first came up, but now they don’t have to push for it because they think they tried. If we want stricter gun control guns, we have to make it a big deal again. The fact that a person can walk into a gun show and buy a gun without a background check makes no sense. Many people believe that we need more help for those with mental illness, and that is true, but there will still be people who are a danger if they own a gun. If there is no reason for a person not to have a gun, a background check won’t hinder them at all.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the push by politicians for legislation supporting mental health care. Most people don't realize the prevalence and severity of such issues. No matter how good mental health care is, though, there will always be undetectable individuals who, like Olivia said, experience a psychotic "break" that turns violent. In those events we need to make sure that guns aren't immediately available and that people can't stockpile assault weapons without close regulation. I've said it before; there is no reason not to have background checks for all individuals buying guns except that they slightly limit how many guns are sold.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't one solution to this problem. An increased mental health care budget is great (for more reasons than just gun control) but won't stop very shooter. Like Bond said the Colorado movie shooter seemed normal for most of his life. Also, gun purchase restrictions will help. If it were harder to purchase a gun - especially unnecessary assault rifles - it may prevent some future violence.If someone wants a gun to shoot people with, they will probably get it, but by making it harder it could stop some people.
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