Gun Control?
The 1968 Gun Control Act “prohibited anyone who had ever been committed to a mental hospital or had been ‘adjudication as a mental defective’ from purchasing firearms” (Konnikova). This act was reinforced in 1993 with the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act of 2008 implemented this act even more. In 2013, the Safe Act was passed by New York. This act forced mental-health professionals to fill out reports on those who were thought to act as though they would cause harm to themselves or others.
When Mental Health Struggles Turn Into Violence
Mental health is highly important in today’s society. But what happens when internal mental health struggles become external violent acts?
Those with mental disorders that use drugs regularly have a greater chance to act on violent tendencies. Out of all the mass shootings in the United States from 1900 to 2017, over 50% of the 185 were done by people who either were diagnosed with a mental disorder or showed signs of a mental disorder before the shooting. Out of those shootings, only one-third of them received or looked for help with their mental health issues.
Those with mental disorders that use drugs regularly have a greater chance to act on violent tendencies. Out of all the mass shootings in the United States from 1900 to 2017, over 50% of the 185 were done by people who either were diagnosed with a mental disorder or showed signs of a mental disorder before the shooting. Out of those shootings, only one-third of them received or looked for help with their mental health issues.