The mass shootings recently have left me, like everyone else, feeling emotionally exhausted and angry, and wanting a solution to the rash of shootings that have become epidemic in recent years. Before Columbine you almost never heard of a lone gunman trying to kill people. Before Kent State it was unthinkable. Now it's an almost daily occurrence somewhere.
I have started to write this blog many times and stopped. I will undoubtedly make some folks angry -- whether you are virulently anti-gun and want to ban all guns or you are virulently pro Second Amendment and a card-carrying NRA member.
Gun violence is a complicated problem and reducing it will be a complicated process. Politicians don't like complicated. They like things that make a great sound bite, like "Universal background checks!" or "You can have my gun when you pry it out of my cold dead hands!"
If I lost someone I loved to gun violence I've no doubt my first reaction would be BAN ALL GUNS! The first and most obvious solution is to disarm someone who is crazy or just evil. We reach for the easy answer, which is
No gun = No violence [The problem is that most mass shooters acquire their weapons legally, after passing a background check, or they get a gun from a family member or buy it illegally.]
OTOH, I might want to go out and purchase a handgun and head to the range and carry a concealed weapon at all times.
Which approach would be the best?
Neither.
In Great Britain, the government has banned all guns. Mass murderers now kill people with cars or trucks or knives. Terrorists or people who are mentally ill and want to commit violence will find a way. Just a few days ago a man in California went on a stabbing spree. He must not have been able to get a gun because he was out on bail.
I think the biggest reason for mass shootings is that it's hard to get help if you are crazy. I think only crazy people commit mass shootings. [I also think terrorists are crazy.]
NOTE: Instead of taking a long time to type out "mentally ill individuals" I am just going to type "crazy people." Political Correctness be damned.
Ever notice how all the old insane asylums are closed down now? Crazy people cannot be put away easily because of the ACLU. Were those places evil? Yes, from all accounts if you weren't crazy when you went in, being there a while would make you crazy. Sometimes husbands would put their wives there just because it was easier than getting a divorce. People with conditions we would not consider dangerous (Bipolar Disorder, for example) might be confined involuntarily. Lots of abuse happened in those places. However, that model doesn't have to be continued.
Most states now have laws that state that a person must present a grave danger to himself or others before they can be involuntarily committed. That's pretty hard to prove, oftentimes.
This opinion editorial in the Los Angeles Times makes for really interesting reading. They identify 4 things most mass shooters have in common. First thing on the list? Trauma. To wit:
"First, the vast majority of mass shooters in our study experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age. The nature of their exposure included parental suicide, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and/or severe bullying. The trauma was often a precursor to mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, thought disorders or suicidality."
Our foster care system is broken. Kids are constantly being put back into homes where parents are unfit. Children are shuttled from home to home without mercy, and often abused or neglected. That treatment sows the seeds of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation. What if it was much easier for families in crisis to get help? What if there was high quality early help like Head Start, like jobs programs, like paid time off for mental health treatment?
What if bullying was not tolerated? Children get bullied every day. What if we made it easy for a social worker to investigate whatever family issues [poverty, neglect, lack of mental healthcare] caused a child to be a bully?
"Second, practically every mass shooter we studied had reached an identifiable crisis point in the weeks or months leading up to the shooting. They often had become angry and despondent because of a specific grievance."
What if the mass shooter had been able to walk into a mental health clinic and say "I am having terrible thoughts. Please help me." and actually GET THE HELP, regardless of their medical insurance [or lack of it]? What if we made it easy and free, mental health treatment??
"Third, most of the shooters had studied the actions of other shooters and sought validation for their motives. People in crisis have always existed. But in the age of 24-hour rolling news and social media, there are scripts to follow that promise notoriety in death."
The news media glorifies mass shooters. CNN, MSNBC, FOX, the networks -- lots of footage of crying, grieving family members. For a mentally unbalanced person, that coverage spurred them on. What if we stopped all that media attention? Greed drives those stories, the theory "If it bleeds it leads."
"Fourth, the shooters all had the means to carry out their plans. Once someone decides life is no longer worth living and that murdering others would be a proper revenge, only means and opportunity stand in the way of another mass shooting. Is an appropriate shooting site accessible? Can the would-be shooter obtain firearms? In 80% of school shootings, perpetrators got their weapons from family members, according to our data. Workplace shooters tended to use handguns they legally owned. Other public shooters were more likely to acquire them illegally."
So the fourth reason is about obtaining a weapon. Look again at how most shooters get weapons -- a family member, legally obtained, or illegally obtained. I fully believe in gun control laws. I fully believe in background checks. However, mass shooters often have no criminal past, or if they do, they just buy a gun illegally. So gun control laws are ineffective. Banning guns wouldn't work because it's too easy to get one illegally.
The notion "Is an appropriate shooting site accessible?" means simply, is there a school, church, or shopping mall accessible? Those are all places where you rarely find armed guards. We need armed guards at ALL those places.
The authors of the op ed piece know their stuff. They have obviously studied it without bias. Jillian Peterson is a psychologist and professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University. James Densley is a sociologist and professor of criminal justice at Metropolitan State University. Together, they run the Violence Project.
One of the solutions they propose is making access to mental healthcare more readily available. Also, people need to have conversations with those who are mentally in crisis.
"Most mass public shooters are suicidal, and their crises are often well known to others before the shooting occurs. The vast majority of mass shooters leak their plans ahead of time. People who see or sense something is wrong, however, may not always say something to someone owing to the absence of clear reporting protocols or fear of overreaction and unduly labeling a person as a potential threat."
What if we made it easy to report someone who looked like they might commit a mass shooting, and made it easier for law enforcement to hold someone indefinitely? As the authors of the op ed piece note: "Our data show that mass shooters have much in common. Instead of simply rehearsing for the inevitable, we need to use that data to drive effective prevention strategies."
So to summarize, in my opinion if you want to see an end to mass shootings:
SHORT TERM: make sure there are well-trained, armed guards at every school, church, concert, store
The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have good guys with guns everywhere.
LONG TERM:
DEMAND that Congress pass laws making quality mental healthcare easily and readily accessible to everyone
REFORM the foster care system and get kids out of homes where they are traumatized and prevent bullying
These are complicated and long-term solutions, not quick fixes. Politicians hate these types of things because people much prefer knee-jerk reactions when there is a tragedy. Let's listen to the experts, though, who have studied shootings and who propose solutions that will likely work, if we have the courage to radically change course.
