Gun Control

Having read about a shoot-out in Nevada, involving an Ak-47 and a man whose family was concerned about his mental health, I am reminded of the tragic shooting in Arizona, involving an automatic weapon and a man about whom mental health concerns were raised.

As my heart goes out to the victims and their families, I hope that our society will start taking both gun control and mental health issues seriously. I firmly believe in the right of Americans to bear arms, but we must control a) which type of arms - civilians should not have military-grade weapons b) when such arms can be used and carried c) who can have such arms. There need to be stricter regulations about who can get permits, and stricter enforcement of those regulations. Mental health exams and background checks must be required. Additionally, gun-owners should be subjected to checks on their gun - every two year or so, a federal or state inspector should view where and how the gun is stored, since storing guns safely is an issue. This would also be an opportunity to chat with the gun-owner and make sure there are no red flags - if there are red flags, then there should be an investigation, during which the owner's gun may be taken away for safekeeping, to be returned to them if the investigation yields no results, or if they undergo treatment and are pronounced as properly rehabilitated by a mental health professional. The owner would be given notice - but short notice - about the inspection, and could delay it if able to prove they are on vacation, etc. Or perhaps owning a gun could require a yearly mental health checkup. It is true, such inspections and checkups are an invasion of privacy - but while Americans have the right to bear arms, individuals who choose to own guns must bear (no pun intended) the consequences: They are acquiring weapons that make them a potential public threat, and therefore must be willing to be monitored to make sure they do not in fact pose such a threat. Similarly, if the American taxpayer is not willing to foot the bill for making sure that the right to bear arms is carried out safely, he or she must not use that right.

As I write about yearly mental health checks for gun-owners, I have to say, I wish they were mandated and covered by health insurance for most of society. Our federal and local governments have invested less and less in mental healthcare, and we as a society are paying the price. Too many people are walking around with untreated mental illnesses. The combination of rampant untreated mental illness and available weapons is extremely combustible, not to mention fatal.

However, leaving aside the public safety threat, we as a society suffer in many ways from lack of mental healthcare - not only because many individuals are suffering, but also because each untreated patient brings along with them a cadre of friends and relatives whose lives are also affected - not to mention the wasted potential of both creative and economic productivity that is not being actualized due to mental health issues. It is only when we stop stigmatizing mental illness, and start taking it seriously, that we as a society will be able to feel safe, and to truly realize our potential as a nation.