“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This is a well known statement that is oftentimes considered true. However, it is not completely true. Someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness. Gun laws pertaining to those suffering mental illnesses should be more restrictive. Weapons such as guns make committing an act of violence, especially when there are multiple victims, much easier. It is difficult to assess the probability of a person to commit a violent act that harms anyone including himself/herself. Therefore, gun laws need be monitored very closely and made more consistent throughout each state in order to prevent violence that could occur in the future. To make any system effective, every state must have the same laws and regulations, as it is easy for a person to travel to a state more lenient on gun control and purchase a gun from a store that will sell firearms more openly.
There are many types of mental illnesses that can affect a person’s ability to function on a level fit for society. Those illnesses affect people differently and to different extremes. Diagnosable mental disorders are changes in thinking, moods, or behaviors that can cause a rise in the risk of death and may cause distress, pain, or disability. More severe mental illnesses include three major illnesses: Schizophrenia, major depression, and manic depression. Schizophrenia is a brain ailment that causes a loss in the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. Many people who suffer from schizophrenia often hear voices that tell them to do different things. In some cases, the voices tell them to hurt themselves or other people. Other symptoms ma...
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...erson being held is/was clearly unstable. The person is consequently very capable of having another, similar outbreak which may result in violent behavior. The NICS is not reliable or consistent.
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Jacob, James B. , and Jennifer Jones. “Keeping Firearms out of the Hands of the Dangerous Mentally Ill.” The Administrative and Regulatory Law News. 37.4 (2012): 11-20. Academic Search
People with mental issues or not mentally stable should not be able to own any kind of firearms.People that want to be eligible to own a firearm should be checked mentally and physically.There were many cases where a person that was not
Paul Mountjoy, “Gun Control and Mental Health,” The Washington Times, March 28, 2013, sec Communities.
In the book Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms, Wilson discusses the complex issue of gun control and the many debates and controversies regarding the issue. Many people throughout the United States feel it is the right as a citizen in the United States to own a weapon, and the government should have no say in the matter. These people believe this because of the part of the Second Amendment that states, “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” People who are strong advocates against gun control use this part of the Second Amendment to drive their point across. Advocates against gun control believe that preserving the freedom of a state through a militia is not the only way it should be looked at, these people believe that the amendment also implies a clause that takes into account one’s right for self-defense.
have shown the firearm homicide and suicide rates in the US are several times higher than that of any other industrialized country” (Towers 2). The automatic reaction people have to mass shooting is talking about gun control and mental illness policies. Every time a mass shooting occurs both the people and the government go crazy trying to find a solution yet there is no solution. The United States needs to set up mental illness awareness programs to decrease the number of mass shootings.
Personality disorders can lead to dangers to society. Many school shootings now are linked to young adults with personality disorders. Mental Illness is a huge cause of school violence in today’s society. In the world today, schools are a primary target for shootings due to the lack of sufficient attention to the characteristics. “The sort of young, troubled males who seem to psychiatrists likely to commit school shooting are identified because they have made credible threats often do not qualify for any diagnosis experts said (Carey).” This should create enough reason for the government to ...
Many shootings sere committed by those diagnosed with a mental illness. “Laws cannot regulate responses to emotions, mental illnesses, or past events that foster the concepts and motivations of a killer” (O’Brien and Stanton). What causes these laws to not regulate certain people is that they have a certain mental illness or emotion. Laws cannot regulate the internal emotional force. Laws can only imply to those who are capable of understanding and complying with them. “Emotionally unsound people who wish to find weapons will find weapons through any means necessary” (O’Brien and Stanton). A person who happens to have a certain mental illness may not realize that what they are doing is wrong. Usually the mentally ill find their weapons through taking them from their family members or from purchases that they have made. People that have a mental illness or are on a medication are just one reason why gun control needs to be implied more. A person that hap...
As I watch and read news reports about gun massacres and attacks, I began to believe that California gun laws need to be stricter. More specifically, I feel that background checks should be part of the sales of ammunition, fire-arm purchasing at gun shows and the internet adopting the 48-hour waiting rule to protect immediate access, and expanding the definition of mental illness under the gun laws. Changing these gun laws will make California citizens safer and feel comfortable around any environment they visit; for example, these changes could reduce the chance of a large scale massacre, make it harder for angry people to shoot their family and co-workers with guns, and may help reduce suicide by gunshot.
Public opinion polls support expanding such treatment to reduce violence. It is tempting to capitalize on this sentiment to call for increased funding, but there are ample Reasons to advocate for better mental health services. State funding cuts are limiting access to needed public services, and criminalization of people with mental illness is a worsening public health crisis. Persons with serious mental illness are more likely to be placed in jails and prisons than hospitals.” (.424)
The answer to the inquiry questions will be answered via extensive review and analysis of literature. It is hypothesized that looser gun laws will predict a higher rate of occurrence of public mass shootings involving adult males ages 18-35 with untreated mental illness. Meanwhile, the untreated mental illness of males ages 18-35 will predict a higher rate of public mass shootings compared to that of other adult males who are not afflicted with mental
James Eagan Holmes didn’t let six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan out of that movie theatre that fateful night. Daniel Parmentors mom didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to him because of T.J. Lane. Mary Sherlack’s husband will not set the table for her after Adam Lanza entered her school. The actions of those three shooters were not to cause such small but widespread repercussions for so many other mourning people. They all suffered from various mental illnesses. 79% of recent shootings are attributable to mental illnesses. The U.S. should re-evaluate gun screenings to decrease the odds of another mass shooting by not allowing anyone with any mental or psychological problem to own or possess a firearm. While the Constitution states that everyone has the right to bear arms, the present situation is different from that past, when relations with Great Britain were shaky. Secondly, gun violence is on the rise, with 46 school shootings since 2010, compared with only 40 from 2000 to 2010. Finally, if gun screenings are modified, there will be many jobs available, while contributing to national security at the same time.
...t: (http://www.psych.org/public_info/VIOLEN~1.HTM) Government Survey (1990) Violence and Psychiatric Disorders in the Community: Evidence from the Epidemiological Catchment Area Surveys. Hospital and Community Psychiatry (41:761770) Holy Bible (1998) Leviticus Chapter 19 verse 18, King James version (204:2049) Hudson, Thomas (1978) The Laws of Psychic Phenomena. Internet: (http://www.appi.org/pnews/sep20/jail.htm1) (pg.1 & 2) Illinois State Police (1999) Violence in the Workplace Characteristics. Internet: (http://www.state.il.us/ISPviowkplc/vwpp4.htm) Modestin, Jiri (1997) Is Depression A Risk Factor for Crime? Crime Times, Internet: (http://www.crime~times.org/97d/w97dp6.htm) (p.1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (1:8) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) (1999) The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness. Summary of the NAMI Policy Platform (3:8) Taridiff, K. (1980) Assault, Suicide and Mental Illness. Archives of General Psychiatry (37:164169) Webster Dictionary (1988) Unabridged Yapko, Micheal D. (1997) The Art of Avoiding Depression. Psychology Today
In fact 90% of adults that own a gun support laws preventing the mentally ill from purchasing guns. A member of Hunters against Gun Violence, stated “As a hunter and someone who has owned guns since I was a young boy, I believe that commonsense gun legislations makes us all safer. Background checks prevent criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns.” This statement shows that some hunters are wanting limitations on who can own a gun.