Introduction
The issue of gun control has dominated the debate for years now in the United States. With one group in support for gun control while the other against it, the issue continue to remain a controversy. The key focus of the gun control debate arises from the fact that even people with mental illnesses are sometimes found in possession of guns. Even though the law requires that people with mental illnesses do not own guns, this has not been the case, and many guns are found in the hands of people with mental health problems. The gun control policy, through the background checks in most cases, is not effectively implemented to ensure adequate gun control. At the same time, people refer to the constitutional right for everyone to own a gun, a move that has made gun control difficult in the country. The major problem arises with gun control for people with mental illnesses. In most cases, the proponents of gun control for people with mental illnesses argue that most shootings that take place are done by people who are mentally ill. However, those opposed to the issue see no connection between gun violence and mental illnesses. Despite this controversy, there needs to be strict gun control to ensure that people who have mental health problems do not have guns due to their high propensity to use guns for violence.
Mental Illness and Gun Violence
The individuals with mental illnesses present a higher risk of violence not only to themselves but also to others when compared to people without violence. The relationship between mental illness and violence becomes strong when a person is not receiving treatment, have a previous history of violence or when the person misuses alcohol other drugs ( Swanson et al., 2916 ). The chance that a mentally ill person will use the gun violently is higher than it is in the case for people without mental health issue. The restriction of gun access to people with mental illness with thus helps minimize the cases of suicide and homicides that are done using guns in the country. The reliability and effectiveness of the screening process and background check will help identify and disqualify a person based on mental health. Studies and epidemiological evidence shows that mental illness can give rise to acts of aggression, especially when not diagnosed early enough.
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Throughout the previous mass shootings in the United States, the acts of violence have always been linked to mental illness. The public mass shooters are ten times more likely to have a psychotic disorder except for the profit-motivation cases. A study conducted between 1982 and 2016 revealed that 50 out of the 90 mass shootings that were recorded involved a shooter having a history of mental illness ( Swanson et al., 2016 ). These statistics show how serious the problem of mass shootings has been made due to lack of effective background checks and strict gun policies. Whenever an incident of gun violence takes place, and the perpetrator is identified to be having a history of mental health problem and violence, the question that comes to many is how such a person acquired a gun in the first place. This takes all the blames back to lack of thorough background checks and strict gun control, allowing individuals with mental health issues and increased chances of violence to possess guns.
A study of persons with severe mental health problem revealed that they were more likely to engage in violence compared to the general people. Evidence supports that the expansion of prohibitions associated with mental illnesses can have a greater effect on the reduction of gun violence in the country. Research has identified a strong connection between mental illness and gun violence, including mass shootings and suicide. A recent study shows that between 50-70% of all the suicides are attributed to a mental health problem, and the accessibility of weapons such as guns increases the likelihood of such acts. A survey conducted in Florida found that suicide and gun violence were four times more likely in the people with mental health problem than in the general population ( Knoll, James & Annas, 2016 ). Out of such incidences, firearms were 50% more likely to be used as a means of suicide and in at least 70% of the firearms violence cases reported showing that the mental health condition of the individual did not prohibit him/her from acquiring the gun legally. This evidence and statistics are further confirmation that gun violence is more prevalent in people with mental health issues, and that the introduction of strict gun policies and thorough background checks are better means of preventing the people with mental illness from possessing guns.
There is always a stronger connection between childhood trauma and the various negative life outcomes. Some of such outcomes can include mental illnesses and drug addiction, all of which may be accompanied by aggressive behavior. The law requiring the background checks have always existed, but the policy has been weakly implemented, allowing mentally-ill persons to possess guns which they are more likely to use to perpetrate crimes ( Fox & Fridel, 2016 ). Several risk factors can be associated with increased chances of violence. Social awkwardness, poor anger management, strong interest in weapons, and rejection by the peers. All these factors are associated with people having a mental illness. Persons with mental health issues tend to be less social, have poor anger management, violent communication, and more likely to be rejected by their peers due to their conditions. This increases the chances of aggression, and the situation is made worse if they are allowed to have access to weapons they can use to perpetrate a crime effectively.
The recent mass shootings in Thousand Oaks, California, and Parkland school shootings in Florida were all related to cases of mental illness. An investigation had revealed that the perpetrator for the Thousand Oaks was suffering from mental health problem by the time he committed the crime. Similarly, shooter at Parkland school where 17 people were killed was also funded to suffer from the mental health problem and has a history of violence. The shooter was found to be mentally disturbed by the time he committed the crime. Public health and mental health experts have also linked the issue of violence and mental illness. Most violence is committed by people who are mentally ill. Mental illness can entail a range of issues ranging to depression and stress to severe mental disorders. About 60% of the mass shooters have a history of mental disorders, most of which have never been seen by mental health professionals ( Fox & Fridel , 2016). Failing to get treatment for mental illness increases the chances of aggression. Studies have also shown that people with mental illnesses usually talk of risky activities such as suicidal or homicidal thoughts when attended to by health professionals. For example, James Holmes, who was a shooter killing 12 people in Aurora, Colorado in 2012, had been seeing a psychiatrist and had talked of homicidal thoughts.
Making guns accessible to people with mental illnesses makes it easy for them to engage in violent activities. Recent studies have shown that introduction of thorough background checks, and strict gun policies that would lock out the persons with mental illness from owning guns would help reduce the cases of gun violence in the United States ( Rozel & Mulvey, 2017 ). A mentally-ill person with a gun is ten times more likely to use it for the wrong purpose. Providing such people with guns is more of like availing them with weapons to use for their violent acts. The majority of the people are not against prohibiting mentally-ill people from possessing guns, because it is almost to the knowledge of everyone that they possess a great threat to security.
The Parkland school shooting had created an intense debate on the need to have some gun control after it was realized that the perpetrator was mentally disturbed by the time he committed the crime. While many people have previously come up with proposals to help protect the children while in school, these proposals usually fail to identify the real problem. The role of mental illness in mass shootings has been previously ignored even though a large number of such cases involve a shooter with a mental health issue. Even though there is no evidence that all people with mental illness are violent, there is evidence that a greater proportion of gun violence is committed by people who are mentally ill and not receiving treatment.
A strong connection exists between the acts of public mass shootings and the untreated serious mental health problem. Due to lack of strict gun policies and thorough background checks, majority of the people who are mentally ill and possessing guns have used it for public mass shootings, with the study indicating up to two-thirds of all the shootings were perpetrated by mentally ill persons ( Price & Khubchandani, 2017 ). Furthermore, studies show that people who engage in gun violence often display clear signs of paranoia, delusional thinking, and irrationality associated with bipolar and schizophrenia signs. Despite these clear signs of risks of violence, the weak background checks system have always made it possible for such people to receive guns legally. Amid the rising incidences of mass shootings, research shows that 90% of the guns used in such cases are legal guns in the hands of the people having mental problems. According to Vernick, Alcorn & Horwitz (2017), “ many individuals who committed atrocious attacks on students, including the Parkland shooter, the Virginia Tech shooter, and the Sandy Hook shooter—all of whom had long histories of untreated mental health problems.” also, the research shows that these individuals were not receiving any psychiatric treatment at the time they conducted the attack. Individuals with an untreated mental health problem can cause a serious threat to the public, even without accessing guns. In such a situation, guns make it easier for them to engage in mass killings compared to when they are not given guns.
The prevalence of serious untreated mental illnesses can lead to some individuals becoming more violent despite lawfully possessing the firearms. The activists and lawmakers who call for the broad restriction of firearms to the general population miss the reality of the problem. The problem with mass shootings is not the possession of the guns by the general public, but with the people having untreated mental health ( Vernick, Alcorn & Horwitz , 2017). The solution to this problem is, therefore, to introduce thorough background checks where individuals are evaluated based on their mental status and history of violence and mental problem before they are provided with guns. Such a policy will ensure that only the people with a stable mental state are provided with guns due to limited chances that they will use it for public shootings. Of all the last 8 cases of mass shootings, at least five were perpetrated by shooters who had a mental problem. This is where the problem lies, and thus, there is a serious need to regulate the guns from reaching the hands of mentally ill people.
Counter Argument
Despite the sufficient evidence that mentally ill people perpetrate most of the mass shootings and thus the need to have strict gun control on them, the opponents of this debate have argued that there is very little relationship between mental illness and gun violence. They argue that most gun violence is not committed by people who have a mental illness, but by people in their right state of mind. The symptoms of mental illness are not the same as the risk factors for violence ( Pinals & Anacker , 2016). Instead, it is the people with mental illnesses who are at the risks of being the victims of violence. The argument is that restricting people with mental illnesses may not help reduce public mass shootings because they are not the ones responsible for such shootings. However, there is sufficient evidence to show that there is a strong link between mass shootings and mental illness. Seen out of every ten cases of mass shootings are done by shooters with mental health issues.
Conclusion
There is a need for the introduction of thorough background checks to prevent people with mental illness from accessing guns. There is sufficient evidence that most of the shootings are conducted by perpetrators who have an untreated mental health problem. These people are more likely to develop signs of aggression, irritation, and inability to control their anger. In this situation, they pose a threat to the general public when they have a gun. Through thorough background checks, people with mental illnesses can be blocked from accessing guns, and this can be a great move towards reducing the incidences of public mass shootings.
References
Fox, J. A., & Fridel, E. E. (2016). The tenuous connections involving mass shootings, mental illness, and gun laws. Violence and gender , 3 (1), 14-19.
Knoll, I. V., James, L., & Annas, G. D. (2016). Mass shootings and mental illness. Routledge.
Pinals, D. A., & Anacker, L. (2016). Mental illness and firearms: legal context and clinical approaches. Psychiatric Clinics , 39 (4), 611-621.
Price, J. H., & Khubchandani, J. (2016). Firearm violence by the mentally ill: Mental health professionals' perceptions and practices. Violence and Gender , 3 (2), 92-99.
Rozel, J. S., & Mulvey, E. P., (2017). The link between mental illness and firearm violence: implications for social policy and clinical practice. Annual review of clinical psychology , 13 , 445-469.
Swanson, J. W., Easter, M. M., Robertson, A. G., Swartz, M. S., Alanis-Hirsch, K., Moseley, D., ... & Petrila, J. (2016). Gun violence, mental illness, and laws that prohibit gun possession: evidence from two Florida counties. Health Affairs , 35 (6), 1067-1075.
Vernick, J. S., Alcorn, T., & Horwitz, J. (2017). Background checks for all gun buyers and gun violence restraining orders: state efforts to keep guns from high-risk persons. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , 45 (1_suppl), 98-102.
