We are a people who can watch a young man like you spiral into murderous rampage without choosing to intervene before it is too late. I read a study done by Mother Jones about mass shootings in the past 30 years. Of the 61 incidents, there are records of mental health problems for 38 of the shooters, and 42 of them, or just over two-thirds, committed suicide during the shooting. This begs the question, how many of the remaining 19 also suffered from mental illness, but no one bothered to help them? My statement about not legislating for insanity is only currently correct, because I also believe that social change engineered through legislation is the only viable solution. We need to remove the social stigma associated with taking prescription medication for mental problems. We need to offer real support services for those born with mental illness, to help them cope enough to live. But we also need to find a way to help those people who were not born with a mental illness, but acquired problems in their childhood. I’m talking about child abuse, both physical and emotional. We as a society need to find a way to end child abuse. I have no idea how to do this, especially considering how private and secret most child abuse is. But if we really want to stop the mass shootings, we need to get rid of the real causes.
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