By Eric Lee
Harmony, MN
As we reel from the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one thing is becoming clear. It appears we will return to our tribal corners, and I don’t know what to do about that. I will start by saying that I am a gun control advocate, and I am not in favor of taking away the guns of responsible, law-abiding citizens.
I do think it is important to address a few words as we engage in our conversation on what we do next. And I hope this conversation continues, particularly within the halls of our legislatures. We should take absolutely seriously the duty to keep our nation’s young safe.
First, let’s talk about mental illness. In many of these cases of violence, it is one of our first scapegoats. However, in an October 13, 2017, article for Behavioral Scientist, entitled “The Myth That Mental Illness Causes Mass Shootings,” Tage Rai reports:
“In their 2016 edited book Gun Violence and Mental Illness, psychiatrists Liza Gold and Robert Simon summarize the evidence debunking the myth that mental illness is a leading cause of gun violence. As they report, less than 5% of shootings are committed by people with a diagnosable mental illness.”
This is not to lessen the importance of treating mental illness. We should continue to work to eliminate the stigma of mental illness that prevents many from seeking treatment, and make sure that resources are available for the diagnosing and treatment of mental illness.
This is just to say that looking after a diagnosis of mental illness is not going to solve gun violence. I understand why we blame mental illness. We want to believe that surely a person with a healthy mind could not engage in such an act of terrible violence. But mental illness does not appear to have a strong correlation with these acts, and so we must look elsewhere, if we are to take seriously any responsibility for the safety of our children and youth.
This brings me to the words, “common sense.” People speak of “common sense” gun law reforms. But there is a difficulty to common sense. What appears to be common sense to me may seem absurd to you, and vice versa. And common sense may also be wrong. Common sense is not scientific. The majority of people can be ill informed about any topic, and certainly matters of public gun safety and violent behavior would seem to be one of those areas. Unless you are a criminologist, a sociologist, or a psychologist, it would seem that our opinions are just that.
In 1996, the Dickey Amendment was passed on a spending bill, sponsored by Jay Dickey, of Arkansas, which in effect prevented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from studying gun violence. The express intent was to prevent them from spending to “advocate or promote gun control,” but the effect has been to keep them from collecting data on gun violence, and giving us the tools to take informed action to address the problem. In 2012 the author of the amendment expressed a desire for more research on gun violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post. (Zhang, 2018)
It is long past time to take a serious look at how we might do something to curb gun violence in this country. As a matter of public safety, and certainly as we look at how we raise and educate our children, I urge you to call on your representatives to get rid of the Dickey Amendment and free the CDC to collect the data that can at least tell us the story of what is happening. Only with a clear picture can we begin to adequately address the situation.
We owe it to the youth of this nation to give them a safe environment that is conducive to learning and growing. They are the future of America, and they should know that we take their health and safety seriously. It’s time to get something done.
Rai, Tage. (2017, Oct. 13) The Myth That Mental Illness Causes Mass Shootings. Behavioral Scientist.
Zhang, Sarah. (2018, Feb. 15) Why Can’t the U.S. Treat Gun Violence as a Public-Health Problem? The Atlantic.
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