In the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I was under the impression that our national dialogue would not only focus on gun violence and gun control but also on mental illness. But while the debate over guns continues to stay a hot topic, the issue of mental illness has disappeared. Why is that?
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In the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I was under the impression that our national dialogue would not only focus on gun violence and gun control but also on mental illness. But while the debate over guns continues to stay a hot topic, the issue of mental illness has disappeared. Why is that?
Is it because journalists and commentators cannot sensationalize or politicize mental illness the way they can gun violence? Is it because our lawmakers will win more votes by shouting about guns rather than mental illness? Or is it because certain lawmakers understand the issues surrounding mental illness are so complex, they know they can't simply ban something and then claim victory?
Clark Roger Larsen
Tooele
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The people who want absolutely no regulations on guns are the same people who want to prevent the government from providing low-cost, or no-cost mental health care.
Our inability to talk about gun control at all may be a sign of mental illness in itself.
I don't think that mental health has gone out of the picture. But it seems that this letter is written to suggest a red herring, a way of discrediting those that want to control certain "unusual and dangerous" weapons.