Simon: [on pg. 12 herein] “No amount of mental health changes would have affected this or many other cases because these people did not have mental health issues.”
I’m just wondering how you can specifically confirm this. An evaluation and diagnosis of mental health issues must be done by a trained and qualified physician in that field. Conclusions about a person’s medical condition have to be more than mere superficial guesswork to have any kind of veracity or efficacy. Even the experienced professionals must take the time for a thorough investigation, as there are so many factors involved between the physical brain (i.e., chemistry and health of the neural tissues and networks), as well as the cognitive mind and experiential history.
I can understand your stance that a shooting cannot occur if there is no gun around for a particular individual to use. You can’t shoot someone if you don’t have a gun. That part makes sense, and the government needs to at least be very discriminating and thorough in monitoring who can and should possess firearms, just like they ensure that automobile drivers are properly licenced and vetted for dangerous infractions before being allowed on the roads. But as for mental health, I believe that it is extremely important for the government to maintain vigilance with respect to providing the necessary infrastructure to serve the mental health needs and safety of society. The proper red flags should be taken seriously and addressed, because even if someone should happen to acquire a firearm, he or she is less likely to end up shooting someone as an act of aggression if he or she simply doesn’t have the desire or compulsion to do so in the first place – and that is why their mental health issues should be properly addressed and remedied. Mental health is extremely important. A person won’t commit an act of extreme violence if they simply don’t want to in the first place – and a person more likely wouldn’t have such a desire or compulsion if he or she received the help they needed for their mental health needs.
So, as to whether or not any particular individual has “mental health issues,” and if so, what is the exact nature of such issues, should be left to the trained and competent professionals in that field. And let’s hope and pray that the infrastructure to facilitate proper care for mental health is given due importance and priority. A lot of terrible results could be avoided if people get the proper intervention, care and support they require. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Indeed, mental health is very important!
