Gun Control or Something Completely Different

before any one reads this i would like to point out I am an American and a proud member of the N.R.A. however i also firmly believe in an America free from the tragedy's such as the Newtown shootings and the Colorado shooting and believe that while universal background checks wont solve the in tire problem they are a step in the right direction. i however firmly appose those such as the Obama Administration who seek to limit our rights to 10 rounds so to speak and who wish to remove our rights to protect our loved ones with what ever force is required in a unique situation we may find ourselves in. if you are with me and respect the weapons that won this countries freedom then respect them and yourself enough to keep these weapons out of the hands of the infirm and undeserving of the world we live in. i firmly hope that this puts all thoughts of those doubting that we gun enthusiasts care about protecting America to bed for it was People like us that helped build this county.I'm not placing the blame i only want whats best for OUR country

     Gun control has been a hot topic, beginning in late 2012 and continuing to 2013. This has been in part due to the awful displays of inhumanity carried out by lone gun men on a mission to kill and maim.  These grotesque displays of violence must be stopped. However; America seems to be focusing on the weapon used to perform these horrible actions and not the man behind that weapon. Of course this weapon is a gun. Instead of shooting straight with this issue politicians seem to be avoiding the underlying cause of this debate by putting all the blame on the weapon. So the question now becomes why. Why do these assassins seek to kill those in their own community’s and sometimes even family’s, (in regards to the Newtown shooting)? What do these slayers have in common that links their killing sprees? It’s not the weapons they have chosen to wield but is something more on a human level:  sanity. So now we get into the meat of the issue these murderers Adam Lanza the Newtown shooter, Seung-Hui Cho the Virginia Tech shooter and the Aurora theater shooter, James Holms all had one thing in common.  All three of these men were mentally unstable.  To think these three tragedies could have been avoided if only the humans selling the weapons had known the state-of-mind that their customers were in.

 This area of the debate deserves our attention because there is a real connection between mental illness and mass public shootings. According to The Washington Times “More than half of the killers in mass shootings over the past century were beset by serious mental illness” (most often severe depression or paranoid schizophrenia), a rate that's at least five times higher than that estimated for the general population. These weapons are not toys and deserve to be treated seriously; as we would treat any dangerous animal primed to kill. So why then do we continue to allow those with mental illness to acquire such weapons? Why are we blind to the fact that the young man that just bought an AK47 is mentally unstable?  

Gun control advocates have some strong points in regards to stricter back ground checks such as in gun shows and heaver penalty’s for those convicted of gun related crimes. Over the past people purchasing weapons at gun shows have not been required to fill out back ground checks. These purchases account for over 40 percent of guns bought in America says Schevel Michael.  When asked his opinion about this situation Steve Mostyn trial-lawyer from Houston, who is pro-gun, while also being in favor of universal background checks had this to say, “I’m not anti-gun. I'm just not pro-dumbass.” However in the last group of mass shootings back ground checks would have done nothing to stop the rampaging gun men from acquiring weapons because they had no criminal history. So yes universal back ground checks should be implemented but they are not the only issue. America has seen the devastation that a mentally ill man and a gun can reap so why not remove the guns from the people unfit to have them?

However this suggestion has sent one group reeling and unfortunately it is this one group that disagrees with psychiatric analyses and reporting on the status of the mentally ill are the ones whose cooperation we need the most doctors. These medical professionals claim that revealing such knowledge is a total breach of doctor patient confidentiality (Robert McCarthy). Not to mention the repercussions of reporting the status of the mentally ill to the ATF. Julianne Carbin, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Wisconsin, said that doing so might further alienate those who need help and discourage people from seeking treatment. Kenneth P. Houseknecht, executive director of the Erie County Mental Health Association "We have to stop associating violence with mental illness," however the world has proven the connection between mental illness and violence despite the cries from those who would put all the blame on the weapon.  While these are both valid points we should be looking at this on a human level and asking the question how many lives this doctor patient trust is worth.

 

             It is these doctors who have chosen this career and who have the responsibility of caring for and teaching these people. Not only doctor’s, but school teachers, counselors and parents also have a responsibility to the mentally disabled, they are charged with. They have the responsibility of taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves. However: they also have an obligation to the community to report on the status of those people when by neglecting that responsibility the person in there care may become dangerous.  This truth becomes evident when we examine the Aurora Colorado shooting. Holms doctors knew of his disability and saw his tendency towards violence, but said nothing. By doing this the doctors claim they were preserving professional confidentiality.  However; it could also be seen as a veil of ignorance and by not reporting on these patients the doctors avoided that responsibility all together. In the case of Virginia Tech there where even more signs pointing to Cho’s instability and the approaching storm, for instance Cho was detained and evaluated in 2005 and found to be a serious threat to himself due to mental infirmity according to state officials.            

Since Cho was never involuntarily committed after the evaluation, he could not have been added to the database listing the mentally ill and other groups barred from purchasing firearms. But Cho does seem to fit ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms) guidelines for inclusion, since a judge determined that he presented an, "Imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness." If Virginia lawmakers had con-formed their standard to the federal law, then Cho's gun purchase would have been prohibited (Sullivan, Will).

This case brings about a serious point, for example in most mass murder cases there are warnings. It is our own blindness and the blindness of some politicians that leave us defenseless. On that account new legislation is desperately needed to combat this deadly blindness and disregard for responsibility. Efforts should be made to pass legislation requiring a psychiatric examination and in agreement with gun control policy back ground checks. These should be administered everywhere guns are being sold. Also it should be the doctor’s responsibility to relate any knowledge he may have of his patient’s mental health so that the ATF can have that person on record. Mental health professionals need to determine who should be allowed to purchase any firearms even if this means a longer gun buying process and less confidentiality.  If this action helps protect Americans and the 2nd amendment at the same time then it is an option worth looking into.

            To really understand why we have these problems we have to discuss medical costs for mental illness. These programs are very expensive and before 2008 they were not generally covered, like most other treatments. According to the American Psychological Association in 2010 congress passed the Wellstone Domenici Mental Health Parity Act, this act allowed people struggling with disease or addiction to seek help that was often covered. While this is a step in the right direction the shootings of 2012 have proven it not to be enough. There are far more people that are in need of this life saving help just over one third of all mass shooters known to have mental illness have been treated we have to do better (Grant Duwe The Washington times). However many Americans fear that by diving deeper into the mental health dilemma their insurance prices will become a crushing weight. This has put America in a tight spot with the tanking economy and high prices for medical treatment. While many of these suggestions should be implemented, there is a legitimate concern about higher insurance prices.          

     There are thirty-thousand deaths due to gun violence every year and about one million suicides each year; while this is a major tragedy, if mental health became more of a priority both numbers could be reduced. A majority of these suicides are due to mental illness and while depression links to only a hand full of deaths, bipolar disorder, an illness in which one-half of it relates back to depression, suicide rates is 15 times higher than in the general  healthy  public Los Angeles Examiner. Also ranking as one of the highest reasons for suicide is paranoia schizophrenia the disease that both James Holms and Adam Lanza suffered from.   This is burning evidence that mental health legislation needs to be revisited. Now, this debate becomes less about magazine capacity and assault weapons and more about helping those in need while letting our rights remain intact.

                While America does seem to be going through some troubling times with mass public shooting there is a cure. Cheaper health care for those with mental illness honest doctors looking out for the good of the community and proper back ground checks along with psychiatric analysis upon purchasing a gun. These measures will stop not just criminals but those whose mental infirmities might cause them to be a danger to themselves and others.