I think we can safely assume that someone who walks into a school and commits mass murder isn't mentally stable. This could be a recent psychiatric break or a long-standing issue that was never properly addressed due to the defunding of public mental health programs. Call me paranoid, but I'm convinced that if we take away all guns, these people will come up with more creative ways to accomplish their goals. A simple google search can give you a decent idea of how to construct a bomb. A pressure cooker in Boston caused how many fatalities? Guns don't kill people - people kill people. People always have and always will kill each other. We need to figure out why this trend seems to be accelerating, and we need to make major changes in how we diagnose and treat people who are mentally unstable. And @St0v3s I totally agree that a diagnosis with a mental illness doesn't make you more likely to commit violence. My husband has been diagnosed with severe PTSD and he wouldn't raise a hand to anyone. He has nightmares that affect him for weeks; because of this diagnosis, there are whispers in congress about sending someone to take the guns out of homes like ours, where a vet with documented PTSD has access to firearms.I worry more about the vets who never sought help and therefore haven't received any formal instruction in how to deal with the way their PTSD manifests. The fact that organizations like the VA can't do more for our veterans, who come home only to be forgotten, is atrocious. I will tell you the same thing I will tell the Feds if they ever show up on my doorstep - the federal government can pry my guns out of my cold, dead hands. As a mentally stable, well-trained, red-blooded American, no one will take away my right to own guns. As a very small-statured woman who will soon spend a lot of time home alone with an infant, I reserve the right to defend myself in my own home. I worry more about the vets who never sought help and therefore haven't received any formal instruction in how to deal with the way their PTSD manifests. The fact that organizations like the VA can't do more for our veterans, who come home only to be forgotten, is atrocious. Edited for clarity, as my rents tend to lose cohesion
Re: UO Thursday
And @St0v3s I totally agree that a diagnosis with a mental illness doesn't make you more likely to commit violence. My husband has been diagnosed with severe PTSD and he wouldn't raise a hand to anyone. He has nightmares that affect him for weeks; because of this diagnosis, there are whispers in congress about sending someone to take the guns out of homes like ours, where a vet with documented PTSD has access to firearms.I worry more about the vets who never sought help and therefore haven't received any formal instruction in how to deal with the way their PTSD manifests. The fact that organizations like the VA can't do more for our veterans, who come home only to be forgotten, is atrocious.
I will tell you the same thing I will tell the Feds if they ever show up on my doorstep - the federal government can pry my guns out of my cold, dead hands. As a mentally stable, well-trained, red-blooded American, no one will take away my right to own guns. As a very small-statured woman who will soon spend a lot of time home alone with an infant, I reserve the right to defend myself in my own home. I worry more about the vets who never sought help and therefore haven't received any formal instruction in how to deal with the way their PTSD manifests. The fact that organizations like the VA can't do more for our veterans, who come home only to be forgotten, is atrocious.
Edited for clarity, as my rents tend to lose cohesion