A Comparison Of Gun Control And Mental-Health Legislation

In “After Tucson: Why are the mentally ill still bearing arms?,” author Nathan Thornburgh (2011) discusses the January 8, 2011 shooting of 19 people at a political event in Tucson, Arizona which left six dead and congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded. Thornburgh is quick to dismiss gun control and gun rights advocates’ reactions to the event but instead focuses solely on gunman, Jared Loughner’s, mental illness. Specifically, Thornburgh blames college officials, and other organizations for not reporting their contacts with Loughner, and blames the lack of compliance by states with laws regarding the reporting of mental illness to a federal database. Thornburgh fails to provide proof that Loughner was mentally ill, and does

Imagine a scene of unimaginable terror: several college students are lined up against a wall and shot, sirens are blaring in the background, and people are seen crouching on floors in classrooms and dormitories in a futile attempt to escape the wrath of a crazed gunman, who also happens to be a fellow student. By mid-afternoon, even the sidewalks are stained with blood and the atmosphere is desolate and aberrantly quiet. Students gather in small groups, some crying while still others make an effort to console each other. Such was the scene on April 16th, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia when Seung-Hui Cho went on a mass killing spree. In slightly under three hours, Cho managed to gun down thirty-three students and faculty members, injuring seventeen others in the process, before finally turning the gun on himself. It has been described as the deadliest shooting rampage in American history.

Furthermore, mental illness is turning out to be a major cause of gun violence, in order to reduce gun crimes and instead of creating more laws and stipulations, steps must be taken. A professor at the University of Virginia and clinical psychologist, Dewey G. Cornell stated, ''We need to focus on prevention more broadly, before the violence, to have a real impact.'' (qtd. In Broader Approach). Some interpret that as, Americans need to stop focusing on the laws, and start realizing that dangerous situations, such as a mass shooting, can be prevented by recognizing the signs. Countless individuals are beginning to share his feelings. Some mentally ill people are starting to have a major part in mass shootings and those

Mentally ill patients with criminal history might feel judged and persecuted, thinking that they will lose if they disclose their status. Again, without that patient-doctor confidentiality, such patients might not trust in a medical institution that has the larger society’s interest at heart. For this reason, although it is critical to have regulations, the intent should be on helping the mentally ill rather than denying access to guns because they might need them for self-protection. The society has a responsibility to protect the mentally ill who might use guns to injure themselves and/or

So a bonfire issue burning its way through the United States and Canada is the debate on gun control, and now it has made its way down under. Currently Australia is being rocked by what is being called its worst mass shooting in decades when an older gentleman shot killed his entire family and then himself. This has lead to the questioning of the country’s laws on firearms and the comparison to those of the United States, thus re-igniting the left’s age old argument; “Guns kill people!” What this has to do with mental illness? Guns don’t kill people; people do, specifically those who struggle with mental health issues.

The question of Gun control is in the news. The subject comes up with each election along with the latest tragedy statistics. Both sides of the debate throw explicit words towards the other, it all turns into an argument and there seems to never be any agreement. It 's very disparaging to me to see the innocent lives of children taken and for a defense gun owners hide behind what amounts to a 400 year old scrap of paper which is neither relevant to modern day problems or understood the same way by any two people reading from it. It really goes to show the poor quality of the generation of people we are in. An example would be, they play the same Christmas songs from 300 years ago and half of them have never seen a sleigh bell or ate a

In the past decade mass shootings and domestic violence has become a topic frequently talked about in America's society. In America it is a popular belief that mass shootings are a product of mental illness or because there are an abundance of guns. A part of mass shootings occur because of mental illness, but not in the way many people believe. Drugs that are prescribed to people that have a mental illness or are depressed are affecting people's brains and the things that cross their minds. America's crisis on mass shootings and domestic violence is due to the prescription of psychotropic, psychiatric and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs, commonly referred to as antidepressants, from trusted psychiatrists.

With mental illness identified as a very probable cause of these shootings, it is critical that the evidently poor and ineffective clinical help for mental disorders be reevaluated. A theoretical explanation for the modern prevalence of mental illness could be the increasingly optional nature of treatment: therapy is a choice, and checking into a facility or institution is

In his essay “We need to stop the next Aurora Not with Gun Control but with Better Mental Health Treatment” David R. Dow explains how gun control is not the problem in mass shootings. Instead mental health is the real problem. I also believe what Dow expresses in his essay. If we help those whom we ignore and pretend aren’t there then these violent crimes will start to disappear. He wrote the essay to help prevent more shootings, by informing the public on what the real problem is.

The debate over gun control is not a new argument, neither is the existence of mental illness. There have been those who support and those who oppose gun control for many years. What has recently re-ignited the debate is an increase in mass shootings over the past few decades; one in particular is the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre. Incidents, such as this, fuel anger and fear, driving many to question the need for firearms in modern society, while others cite these incidents as a reason for remaining armed. The purpose of gun control is to limit the amount of violence in today’s

A mental illness is a disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior. Some examples are anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar mental disorder. A person with a mental disorder can purchase a weapon, such as a gun, without revealing if they have a mental illness. The mental health question that appears on both the federal and state gun-purchase applications is “Have you ever been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?” This question seems reasonable enough. Most people answer “No” and move on to the next question. Virtually everyone agrees that individuals suffering from serious mental illnesses should not be allowed to purchase firearms. Most gun buyers assume that federal and state authorities verify

The authors of this report state what would happen if Gun Control was implemented, especially the impact on the suicide rate in the U.S. Through the author's studies they have found there is a correlation between how many suicides and suicide attempts and the access the person has to a gun. For many people, especially males, the preferred way of killing oneself is by gun. Men are to make sure the killing is fast and less personal, so they prefer a weapon of choice to make the decision “easy”. From the research the research actually made a correlation between the suicide rates and access that the authors were successful in making several equations that fit their information such as to prove their point there is a correlation and if the government

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the relation between gun violence and mental disorders and/or diseases. Within we will find if the violence in society is truly an issue, or if the real issue is the mental health and sanity of our society.

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

The headlines are dramatic and communities are stunned as it reads “Shooter kills 23 children at a school near you.” The first thought that rushes to the head is “this is crazy.” Or, that individual must be out of his or her mind. Upon further investigation, it is determined that the shooter has had a long record of mental illness. This situation could have been avoided, if that individual had the covered healthcare. As a result, random shootings would be curtailed. In retrospect, this care could have been provided for by families and caregivers, if