The Biggest Issue Is Not Guns—It Is Mental Health!
by minimus 102 Replies latest jw friends
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jhine
OK , l take that back .
Jan
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truth_b_known
You are responsible for your own personal safety. You don't get to shirk your duties and pass them on to someone else. A major problem in society today is statism. The government is not your friends. The government is not the answer to the ills of society.
People think because they pay taxes that now magically the government will make them safe. Safety is an illusion. It is not an illusion to trade for liberty or freedom. Just because someone lacks the intestinal fortitude to use force for a righteous purpose someone else should not lose the means to do so.
I have been a police officer for nearly 20 years. I absolutely detest when I hear the term "public safety". Police do not exist to protect the public. They exist to enforce the law so criminal offenders can be held accountable.
In a free society, the police if the public and the public is the police. Every able bodied citizen has constabulary and military duties to their community and nation. Hamstringing people by restricting possession and use of weapons goes directly against that.
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Vidiot
I read somewhere that people who suffer from mental health problems are statistically more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators.
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OnTheWayOut
I could go on a tangent about funding mental health issues.
But on the subject at hand, you have been provided some great answers.
Guns are easy to obtain in the USA and easy to go on a rampage with. Multiple victims with a knife-wielding assailant are rare because 1) it's hard to do and 2) the person will probably be stopped before it becomes multiple victims.
I am not against reasonable gun ownership for people who are capable responsible people. Screen them. Tax their license like they tax our gasoline or my kayak use on Illinois waters and use the money to provide them with mandatory training. And set reasonable limits on what people can own. Otherwise, why can't I drive a tank with a cannon and carry a grenade launcher? -
OrphanCrow
vidiot: I read somewhere that people who suffer from mental health problems are statistically more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators
You have read correctly.
Incorrect reading/reporting of news items and listening to people chatter will lead to the myth building around mental health and violence. And that is why the myth of mental illness and violence is persistent
95% percent of violent crime is committed by people who are not mentally ill and only 5 percent of those who are mentally ill will be violent (often towards themselves rather than others).
News stories often wrongly link violence with mental illness
Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Mental Illness
Untangling Gun Violence from Mental Illness
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jhine
So why do people carry out these mass shootings ? What is the motivation ?
Jan
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OrphanCrow
jhine: So why do people carry out these mass shootings ? What is the motivation ?
The human species is inherently violent. Always has been and always will be.
Our species has created a culture that is predominately violent.
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RubaDub
They need both mental help and not guns.
Rub a Dub
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Lost in the fog
I think the opening question is disgusting. Mentally ill people are more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators of it.
So called normal people carry out atrocities on a daily basis. They plan terrorist acts and plant bombs. They rob banks and murder people.
It's easy to say a person who guns down multiple victims must be a schizophrenic or a person with psychological issues because that's how TV programmes have presented them for years (criminal minds etc) but the facts present a much different story.
