General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: OK, who else is sick of the demonization of the mentally ill following shootings? [View all]backscatter712
(26,355 posts)It has at best, a slight correlation with violence. People who are mentally ill are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators, and there are quite a few perpetrators of violence who do not have histories of mental illness.
The research suggests that there is at best, a 4% link. If you miraculously manage to cure everyone with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and so on, you'd reduce the total rate of violence by 4%.
What is better is looking at what really does correlate with violence. And those factors are: Easy availability of weapons, prior history of violence, and substance abuse.
So my suggestion: People with criminal records with ANY violence at all, even if it's just punching someone at a bar, and especially domestic violence, need to be prohibited from possession of weapons. We have a background check system, but it's half-assed, and too many people fall through the cracks. So do people with records that indicate serious substance abuse, so that would mean criminal offenses such as DUI/DWI, theft or other offenses where the person may have been doing things to feed a drug habit. And gun sales need to be tightened up. 100% background checks, without gun show loopholes, and banning private transfers without getting a gun dealer to run the background check. Anyone in possession of a weapon that has not passed a background check should be prosecuted.