The gunman accused of killing five people in cold blood Wednesday had a concealed weapon permit

[Glaug-Eldare]

54. "[...] he had not sought treatment."

This is a very important point. Why didn't he seek treatment? Why would anybody, knowing that his family is concerned about his mental health, decline help? Two big reasons:

1) Stigma

Being diagnosed or treated for any mental illness is frightening. It means that you have to place tremendous trust in a psychiatric professional not to betray your privacy. It means that you have to be concerned about laws restricting your civil rights. It means you have to be concerned about your employment opportunities and social standing if you ever disclose (or are required to disclose) your diagnosis. Declining treatment means that, as far as the government, your work, your insurance, and your neighbors are concerned, you're perfectly alright.

2) Cost

Mental health treatment can be extremely expensive, and most states have little, if any, social programs designed to make it accessible. Seeking treatment can mean extreme debt or even bankruptcy, particularly when that illness interferes with a person's ability to keep a job. When you don't have the money and there's nowhere to turn for help, it's not a simple thing to lie down on that couch.

On another note, while it's tragic that there wasn't adequate intervention to prevent these killings, it's a good thing that the police didn't revoke his permit or start an investigation on him on the basis of phone calls from "concerned individuals." If they made that policy, it would open the door for Hoyt to report every permit holder he could find for mental illness. (After all, he must be mentally ill to hold a permit!) The local Klan chapter could report every black gun owner they could identify, so the police could do their dirty harassment work. People with murderous intent could finger and have the police disarm their victims before they attack. The presumption of innocence needs to be strong, or else it doesn't mean anything.