This blaming those of us mentally ill for your fucking gun problems is getting tiresome.

[BainsBane]

92. You assume they do

Because the crimes are horrifying, but assumptions are not evidence. Medical studies, as my previous post showed, reveal a high correlation between substance abuse and violent crimes but not between mental illness and violence. You are making the mistake of basing your views on media representations rather than empirical evidence. You tell the story of one mentally ill woman and imagine that tells you what you need to know. The study I linked to showed that schizophrenics actually display lower levels of violence than those with other illnesses, which also surprised me to learn. The highest incidence was among those with major depression, and I am guessing (though the article doesn't specify) most of that was self-Inflicted violence. There was no statistical correlation between delusions and violence.

If the goal is to decrease mass murder and violent crimes more generally, decisions must be made on actual studies, on scientific information rather than stereotypes and prejudice.