Wanted to mention this a while back but been working on a new computer that is just about done, and had a recent unfortunate loss of a family member that made me think about the issue again.
Thinking about all these shootings, there are some pretty strong commonalities with a majority of the shooters. Most notably, they were mentally unstable. Not shocking because it's been widely reported, but to varying degrees the shooters at Roseburg, Sandy Hook, and UC Santa Barbara all had a known history of some mental health issue going on throughout their life.
Sandy Hooke and Roseburg shooters lived at home with their lives sheltered and protected by their mothers. Adam Lanza's mental health profile is almost maddening when you read about how his mother basically enabled him to spiral. She ignored medical advice, rebuffed treatment recommendations, and let this kid cut all contact with everyone (even with her) and communicated by email from inside the same fucking house?
Roseburg shooter was discharged from the Army. Supposedly he tried to kill himself. Also lived at home with his mom, went to school for special needs kids, and when he was like 16 years old was upset by the sound of dogs barking and people in the neighborhood.
Elliot O. Rodgers had a long ass history. Parents apparently sought help from counselors and therapists. Parents of other children supposedly didn't want their kid hanging around him. He had to change HS multiple times, once after literally becoming overwhelmed in the hall and just freezing. Froze 100% and didn't fucking move until his mom came in and got him. Mom called the police on him to check his mental state after seeing one of his YouTube videos a moth or so before the shooting. He bullshitted them well enough and they didn't check his place for items he could use to potentially cause harm to himself or others. He later stated in a following video that if they had checked his apartment, his entire plan would have been busted.
The questions I have are:
1. At point do we start trying to educate and convince parent to seek help at the first sign of mental health issues?
2. At what point do we start requiring people who work with children and adolescents that display behavior so far out of the ordinary to report the behavior to mental healthcare provider so that medical professionals can assess the behavior and determine if an evaluation or intervention is needed? I gotta believe this has to already exist in some fashion but how do kids like these guys not ever raise enough alarms over the course of time to warrant a mental hold for a thorough evaluation and to assess if there is a need for treatment?
3. How many more of these situations need to occur before we start sending the message that maybe homes with persons who: have certain mental health issues; display certain types of behavior or; have attempted suicide probably shouldn't have guns in them? At bare minimum, how long until we advise parents or family members with such relatives to seek out a psychiatric evaluation to determine if their loved one is potentially a danger to themselves or others if guns are accessible in the home?
Last one, and it's pretty much one that I have been thinking about for a long time and was reminded about just this last week. Should there be mental health checks prior to gun ownership for persons who have displayed such behavior.
4. Should there be a hurdle in place to prevent people who have attempted suicide, demonstrated suicide ideation, or who have repeatedly demonstrated extremely violent behaviors/tendencies from owning a gun until they have undergone a psychiatric evaluation and have been cleared by a medical professional?
I'm pretty sure I read that Elliot O. Rodgers wouldn't have been allowed to purchase a gun if had a previous involuntary mental heal admission. Does anyone know if this is a state specific law?
In general, it seems like the mental health aspect gets some play right around the time of these incidents, but nobody really seems to have any suggestions about what to do. Personally, I think we should encourage parents/relatives to seek help as soon they recognize something may be off. Also, seek help when a relative with a documented mental health history starts exhibiting concerning changes in behavior or is regressing. Nearly all of these guys have stories of things getting worse over time. At what point would the parents of the Sandy Hook and Roseburg shooters stopped enabling their behavior by shielding them from the world and sought help? At what point would the UC shooter's parents stopped trying to avoid the issue by allowing him to jump from school to school and buying him a status symbol BMW. That's literally why his mom bought that for him. She thought it would help him. Lastly, reevaluate if having guns accessible to this person is the wisest choice.
Maybe the fact that Lanza and Harper-Mercer were grown adults who were living at home and exhibiting some of the behaviors that were reported after a lifetime of mental health concerns is evidence enough that they may not need to have access to guns. Maybe an adult who lives at home, has lifelong mental health concerns, and who has failed to adjust to such a degree that they are emotionally and socially isolated and dependent on parental care-taking for their entire life shouldn't have access to guns. Maybe guns in the home, and accessible to, such a person would fall under the category of irresponsible gun ownership.
Just my thoughts. Wanted to post it a while back but I got knee deep into a new CPU build and then just this last week I got a shitty little reminder that I meant to post this stuff.
