Experts: Mental illness not main driver of mass shootings

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Experts: Mental illness not main driver of mass shootings

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
August 5, 2019

President Donald Trump’s focus on “mentally ill monsters” oversimplifies the role of mental illness in public mass shootings and downplays the ease with which Americans can get firearms, experts said.

“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” Trump said Monday , addressing weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio that killed 31 people. The president described the perpetrators as “a wicked man” and “another twisted monster.” He called for swift use of the death penalty and passage of red flag laws that would make it easier to take guns away from people believed to be dangerous.

In response, mental health experts repeated what they have said after previous mass shootings: Most people with mental illness are not violent, they are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem.

“Until we begin to have our political leaders speaking more accurately to these issues, it’s up to us to put the facts out there,” said Arthur Evans, chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.

Evans agreed that red flag laws , also known as extreme risk protection orders, are a worthwhile step. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have such laws, according to the nonprofit Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and some have used the laws to temporarily disarm people who have threatened violence.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/b8ce29d88543479bbd4894f5a39cc686

[TexasBushwhacker]

1. At what point does racism become mental illness?

From his "manifesto", the El Paso shooter seemed to be deeply involved in the white supremacy movement. Garden variety racists are usually non-violent. Mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.

I do wonder what the El Paso shooter's history is with Hispanics. He lives in a Dallas suburb that's 65% white. There are actually more Asians than Hispanics. I wonder if he was bullied in school. He's 21. What is he doing besides living with his parents?

[doc03]

2. Every time the Repubs play the mental illness card,

it's getting old.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. From the linked article:

"The system is completely broken in mental illness. The system is completely broken in access to firearms," Torrey said. "Start on either end and you’ll get improvement."