Due to the most recent shootings and ongoing gun violence it seems apparent that there are two divergent paths being considered to "solve" the problem. One seems to be limit the guns, and the second is to find the mentally ill among us. I used solve in quotes as it is not possible to solve this problem with legislation about guns or rounding up the mentally ill. All that we will see is further entrenchment on the part of the second amendment proponents and a fight from the ACLU about privacy for the mentally ill.
The United States already has more guns than most of the free world including assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and body armor. So, the only way to limit guns now would be to confiscate them which would impact second amendment rights. And, then what about knives, bombs, poisons, and alternate means of causing death? Focusing on weapons seems to be the least productive of the possibilities of minimizing or mitigating acts of violence.
But, in the parlance of the FBI, we do have some profiles that could be helpful in identifying those individuals who are determined to harm others. We know that there are crimes of passion, acts of seemingly random killing, and premeditated death. We find after the fact that the killer was withdrawn, a loner, felt left out or disenfranchised, and spoke openly of acts of aggression. Are these signs of mental illness? Maybe, but probably not a diagnosed mental illness. Remember that early on in these post I wrote about mental illness meeting some criteria according to the DSM manual. So, are these cases of "falling through the cracks"? Again maybe, but more than likely it is someone who has demonstrated change in behavior or clear signs of disillusionment. And, it will not be Big Brother monitoring Facebook posts or other issues of privacy but someone who take the time to notice a change in a neighbor, friend, family member, fellow worker, or partner who can make a difference between another senseless death and constructive help. The phrase " our brother's keeper" seems relevant to this end. Someone knows the next aggressor, and it is up to us to intervene safely.
The United States already has more guns than most of the free world including assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and body armor. So, the only way to limit guns now would be to confiscate them which would impact second amendment rights. And, then what about knives, bombs, poisons, and alternate means of causing death? Focusing on weapons seems to be the least productive of the possibilities of minimizing or mitigating acts of violence.
But, in the parlance of the FBI, we do have some profiles that could be helpful in identifying those individuals who are determined to harm others. We know that there are crimes of passion, acts of seemingly random killing, and premeditated death. We find after the fact that the killer was withdrawn, a loner, felt left out or disenfranchised, and spoke openly of acts of aggression. Are these signs of mental illness? Maybe, but probably not a diagnosed mental illness. Remember that early on in these post I wrote about mental illness meeting some criteria according to the DSM manual. So, are these cases of "falling through the cracks"? Again maybe, but more than likely it is someone who has demonstrated change in behavior or clear signs of disillusionment. And, it will not be Big Brother monitoring Facebook posts or other issues of privacy but someone who take the time to notice a change in a neighbor, friend, family member, fellow worker, or partner who can make a difference between another senseless death and constructive help. The phrase " our brother's keeper" seems relevant to this end. Someone knows the next aggressor, and it is up to us to intervene safely.
