Essay On Gun Violence

Mass Shootings The evidence that was provided by Butler was very clear and understanding. First, Butler uses the study published in The American Journal of Public Health, authors Johnathan Metzl and Kenneth Macleish, find that in mass shootings “notions of mental illness” mirror “cultural stereotypes and anxieties about “race/ethnicity, social class and politics. ”(Butler 1). Furthermore, each race seems to have a label.

Overview of Mental Health vs. Guns In Nick Anderson´s visual argument, a man is drawn along with a gun store and a tall stairway leading to a psychiatrist. The message the artist is trying to get through across is that getting access to a gun is easier than getting access to mental health. Not only is the gun store less complicated to get into, but it also seems more welcoming.

Many people say that the real weapon used is rage. Guns are not bad things or good things. They are things, inanimate objects, chunks of metal with no will of their own (Medred 2). Why do we as a society not address mental illness more? The majority of all “school shooters” are misfits.

Many people believe that the main cause of mass shootings are the people who are doing it have a mental health problem, and sometimes they might even be right, but not everyone who has been involved in a mass shooting has had mental health problems. “...data shows that, at most, only around 5 percent of crimes in the U.S. are performed by people with mental illness and that the percentage is the same for violent crimes (link is external)—which means that 95 percent of violent crimes are committed by non-mentally ill individuals” (Psychology Today). There are cases that support that some people have had severe mental health issues, such as schizophrenia. Yet, there are also cases that prove there is very little evidence linking mental health and mass shootings together. There are very few mental illnesses that would make a person want to go and commit such a murder.

Gun Control:exploring the issues addresses this issue by suggesting that there is a correlation “between violent killings and medication and mental illness”( O’Brien). As medicine progresses and were understand mental health more there is evidence to support this statement made in 2013. By just tightening gun control laws there is no real prevention for people that have guns and bad intentions except a longer prison sentence but even that might not be effective. Columbine was on of the most notorious mass shootings in American history. There were many sign that the shooters of columbine were mentally unstable and where capable of killing so many, but people chose to ignore them.

Mass shootings are a huge problem in the United States, but for some reason, political figures or government officials tend to handle these situations as if it’s just a regular crime. There have been 97 mass shootings since 1982, which in total have had 806 fatalities due to these mass shootings. Instead of treating, a mass shooting like it is a casual thing and coming up with all types of different excuses to control how people should feel and see the situation they should be working to make stronger and better gun control laws in order to regulate who can get a hold of these weapons. In the article, “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms,” written by Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish explain the assumptions

‘’Guns are responsible for over thirty-three thousand deaths in the United States annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).. In 2014, the CDC reported that 11,008 of the 15,872 homicides committed in the United States that year involved a firearm. Of the 42,826 suicides reported that year, 21,386 involved a firearm. These statistics have inspired efforts at the federal and state levels to enact gun control legislation to reduce crime and violence’’(‘’Gun Control’’). According to the statistic guns are held for over 33,000 deaths in the United States.

However, in the book, Gun Violence and Mental Illness, published by the American Psychiatric Association they found, “Overall, mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent 1 percent of all gun homicides each year.” State governments have already imposed bills that restrict any mental health patient to purchase a gun. But with the 33 states that allow for private sellers to sell firearms with no background checks, potentially shows a prominent reason for guns falling into the wrong hands of people. With the continuing disagreement of both sides to the argument, the United States government has only worsened the situation by not putting their differences aside and failing to focus on protecting the future of our

Regulating guns will not stop all of the killings that are occurring in America, and there are better ways to cease the killings than regulating guns. Body Paragraph One: Topic Sentence: Regulating mental health will be more effective in ceasing killings with guns than regulating guns. In an analysis provided, 22 percent of the perpetrators of 235 mass killing, could be considered mentally ill, many of which were carried out with firearms (Qui). Almost 25% of mass shooting killers are being considered mentally ill

So with all these kids dying wouldn't you agree that we need better mental health support, so we can prevent all these shootings? I believe that if we had good and strong mental health support services in the USA then tragic events like Columbine H.S. & Sandy Hook would probably never happen. That is why I am supporting for the USA to talk more about how to create more mental health support programs to help prevent gun violence events. Bibliography Works Cited CNN Library "Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts" CNN.com (Updated April 5, 2017) (Internet) (http://www.CNN.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts) Culp-Ressler, Tara "10,000 Kids Are Injured Or Killed By Guns Each Year In The U.S." Pediatrics Think Progress (2014) (Internet) (https://thinkprogress.org/10-000-kids-are-injured-or-killed-by-guns-each-year-in-the-u-s-bfb1e3bf70dc)

Although many of these shootings occur every year, there many steps that can be placed in order to prevent them from occurring in the future. Creating gun laws that provide better background checks on the buyer and family can help lessen the chances of a mentally ill person from obtaining a gun. Spreading awareness of a person with a mental illness-or generally spreading information of the many different mental illness- can also help prevent mass murders such as Sandy Hook from occurring. Finally, researching ways to prevent mental illnesses from forming can help prevent these violent crimes. If the blame is on the illness, why not find ways to cease them from affecting more people?

However, a definite solution still has not been reached and America is split on the topic. The solutions currently enacted focus on guns, yet America still has a serious issue with gun related crime attacks, and fatalities. Solutions should not solely target the actual guns, because guns are powerless without the person who fires the weapon. The solution should not be to take away guns, but to consider the people who have access to them. Addressing mental health is the real solution to preventing gun violence and attacks.

Health and mental health care providers can contribute to gun violence prevention, especially among the youth. According to Ariel A Williamson, Nancy G. Guerra, and W. Douglas Tynan (2014:93), “Across settings, health and mental health care providers can prevent youth gun violence by assessing for youth risk factors and by providing basic counseling and education about gun safety to children, youth, and their families.” Research portrayed declining numbers of youth gun violence when children were educated about gun safety (Williamson et al. 2014). Health care providers can also conduct mental health screenings on children who may be at greater risk for gun violence. When children visit the doctor’s office for counseling or education, it is

Much of the criminal activity that takes place today is heavily related to the lack of treatment for mental illness. According to the US National Library of Medicine, approximately 60% of shooter in mass shootings that took place in the United States after 1970 displayed symptoms of acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their inhumane acts. I am sure that most of you are aware of the Sandy Hook shooting that took place on December 12, 2012. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza took the innocent lives of 20 students as well as the lives of 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza had displayed key signs of mental illness as young as the age of three.

In the past, mental health was easily overlooked and not considered a real issue because it is not physically visible by others. We have since learned that it is a very real and prominent issue that needs to be dealt with. Whether by the means of medication, therapy, or simple acknowledgement and support for what the individual is going through, all of these means of rehabilitation play a role in recovery and improving an individual’s well-being. Educating the public about the signs of individuals who may be under mental distress or illness could increase the likelihood that an intervention could be put into place before they harm themselves or before they harm others. This has become particularly prevalent within the media when it comes to shootings.