We have had another shooting. Many are blaming Trump and the Republicans and the NRA.
I think most people are too quick to place blame. They often start the blame game before all the facts are in. When has jumping to conclusions ever solved a problem?
Is it because of guns that there are so many massacres or could it be that these killers are mental?
I know a little something about mental illness. What I don't see in any of the articles is what mental illness this latest shooter is supposed to have. Based on what I have seen of his behaviors... I doubt he had a mental illness that was strong enough to make him go on a shooting spree. I don't think mental illness had anything to do with it. I also don't think that the number of guns in the US has anything to do with it. I think it has to do with people, primarily young white men, wanting notoriety. I think this would happen a lot less if the media would stop talking about the shooters. Don't name them if they are dead or in custody. Only name them if they are yet to be apprehended and still a danger to society. And once they are caught or dead... never say one word about them. If they are caught... talk about their sentence. And then never let their name or face see the lime light again.
In other countries they ask why we have the problem that we do, while they don't have any mass violence like we do. There are other countries that have more guns per household than we do. There are other countries that have knife violence. No other country in the world has the mass violence that we do, perpetrated by minors, to the extent that we do. Instead of looking at gun control or mental illness (which are just distractions)... we should take a look at why the US is so different than the entire rest of the world in this area.
Do you think guns should be removed from our society so that these atrocities never occur again?
No. I don't think that would change anything. The people who do this will just find another way to create the most damage and they will get creative. I am all for gun control. But I don't think that means getting rid of guns. I don't think people would be as likely to committ gun crimes or other crimes if everyone around them owned, carried, and had the education to take them down as well. I am for giving people more rights to carry openly but with the requirement of stringent education. I am all for not allowing people who are mentally ill, people on probation, and people on restraining orders to have any access to legally obtained guns. I do think that it should be harder to buy a gun than just to walk into a store and put down your money.
Do you think people who are mentally unstable should never get a gun?
Yes. I think people who are mentally unstable should never ever have the right to own or use a gun. But I also think that we have to change how we see mental illness. A lot of people commit heinous crimes while being completely mentally stable. But people in general have so little understanding of what mental illness is and what it looks like and how it behaves that they name anyone who behaves in a way that they don't understand as mentally imbalanced. A mass shooting happens and people are quick to lay the blame at the mentally ill before they have any factual knowledge of a mental illness. We need to stop the stigma against mental illness because it limits our ability to recognize actual mental illness. We also need to amend the law to include 'Guilty by reason of insanity' verdicts which would mean that someone with a mental illness that can't be cured never walks free again. And we need the criminal justice system to recognize that a chemical imbalance in the brain cannot be 'rehabilitated'.
by the way... The FBI is doing a heck of a job following leads on getting these nuts out of the way, huh?
They are doing a great job of trying to convince us they aren't to blame. They 'ran checks but couldn't find the person behind the statements'. Bullshit. The FBI has the ability to do more than 'check things out'. They failed us in that. But the reality is that even if they did everything right, this still could have happened. This could have happened because legally the FBI is limited in what they can do with someone who makes statements like this. If they thought it was terror threat they could charge the person. A threat of mass shooting... there isn't much they can do. If the person does have a mental illness they can commit them to a hospital where they will stay for a minimum of 14 days in some cases. Once out, that person doesn't have anyone who makes sure they take their meds. That person is free to come and go as they please. It is actually worse for everyone if that person is mentally ill than if they are just a criminal... because criminals go to jail/prison but the mentally ill go to a hospital that focuses 'rescue, rehabilitation, and release'. This system works great for some mental illnesses but is completely inadequate for other mental illnesses. Some things just can't be cured or rehabilitated. And some offences are so great/vile/heinous that culpability shouldn't be removed under any circumstances... even mental illness.
The FBI fell down on their part in all of this, but they also don't have a lot of legal options to begin with.
Is it a Gun Issue or a Mental Illness Issue or Both?
Those are not the only two possibilities. Your question implies there are no other answers. If you don't look for any other answers then you will never find any other answers.
