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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Letter: That was then, this is now

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Published:

Back then, when the Constitution of the United States was written, there were no assault rifles and the mentally ill were misunderstood and locked up against their will.

This is now. Now there are not only assault rifles but various breeds of guns, all with multiple shot capacity. The mentally ill are no longer locked up against their will unless they are actively homicidal or suicidal, likely to harm themselves or others within the next 24 hours. Even with a history of homicidal/suicidal thoughts or attempts, follow-up is minimal or nonexistent. Many severely mentally ill individuals now live on the streets or live with families overwhelmed and unsure of how to help get appropriate treatment. These individuals and families live under the radar; they may seek mental health services but often can’t afford the cost of long-term psychiatric hospitalization, or the ill (and sometimes socially alienated and angry) person legally refuses treatment.

Then some of them get guns.

While most mentally ill individuals are not violent and most gun owners are law-abiding citizens, it will take more than one change to solve the problem of gun violence in this country. It now falls on society to close the gaps in both mental health care and gun policy to protect itself from the lethal combination of unchecked illness and easy access to deadly weapons.

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