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Mental Health And Gun Violence Essay

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Mental health and gun violence are two of the most pressing issues facing our society today, and their intersection is a topic that demands our urgent attention. Mental health and gun violence are two complex issues that are often linked in public debate. While many factors contribute to gun violence, mental health is often cited as a key factor. However, the relationship between mental illness and gun violence is not straightforward, and there are many challenges to implementing effective policies in this area.After examining the statistics of mental health and gun violence, it is clear that stricter background checks should be performed for someone who wants to purchase a firearm.

Mental health has been identified as a potential factor …show more content…

Everytown Research & Policy is a nonprofit organization that conducts research and advocates for policies to prevent gun violence. According to Everytown Research & Policy, "Background checks are the foundation of any comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy. Current federal law requires that background checks be conducted whenever a person attempts to buy a gun from a licensed gun dealer. This is to ensure that the buyer is not legally prohibited from having the gun." Some people may argue that the potential benefits of implementing background checks, such as reducing the incidence of firearm violence and promoting public safety, outweigh any concerns about government overreach or infringement on Second Amendment rights. In short, background checks are a solution to preventing gun violence by ensuring that firearms do not end up in the hands of those who are legally prohibited from owning …show more content…

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a nonprofit organization that provides support to individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI is dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness by providing education, advocacy, and support. Here is a quote from NAMI that highlights their stance on mental health care and firearms. "NAMI believes that people with mental illness should have access to the mental health care they need to help them recover and pursue their life goals, including the opportunity to participate in decisions about their treatment. At the same time, NAMI believes that people with mental illness who are at risk of harming themselves or others should not have access to firearms." The quote from NAMI highlights that people with mental illness who are at risk of harming themselves or others should not have access to firearms. This is why furthering mental health checks before being able to buy a gun is important, as it can help prevent individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others from acquiring

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Multiple gun ownership by an individual has led to increased gun violence and mass shootings. This can be seen in cases where individuals with a history of mental illness or criminal record can obtain multiple firearms, leading to tragic consequences. The pew research center reported that about 66 percent of gun owners in the U.S. own multiple firearms, with few people owning as many as ten or more guns (Parker et al., 2017). This has raised distress about the potential for these individuals to use their excessive collection of firearms for violent and criminal purposes. For instance, the mass shootings that have occurred in recent years have often been conducted by individuals who own multiple firearms.

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Due to their hazardous nature, guns must always be kept in the hands of responsible users; therefore, people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses should not be allowed to possess or carry firearms. Our society has partially realized this notion, as indicated by the Gun Control Act passed by Congress in 1968, forbidding people who “had been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital” from purchasing guns (Webster 35). However, it must be stressed that the control implemented by this act is not enough, as mentally-disabled people are still misusing firearms and creating massacres across this

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The background checks need to be executed thoroughly and according to a universal protocol in every state. This system would include removing barriers under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act so that states may more freely share information about mental health issues involving potential gun purchasers. States will be allow to share information on criminal history and mental health reasons that would prohibit anyone from owning a

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However, a new question rises- should the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed be allowed to have guns? Or should teachers be armed? The emotionally and mentally ill are incapable to be trusted with a weapon that can be capable of taking the life of another, and teachers should not be armed because they lack the judgement to shoot a student and training. As the topic of gun control surfaces the news and media, the gun

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However, in the book, Gun Violence and Mental Illness, published by the American Psychiatric Association they found, “Overall, mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent 1 percent of all gun homicides each year.” State governments have already imposed bills that restrict any mental health patient to purchase a gun. But with the 33 states that allow for private sellers to sell firearms with no background checks, potentially shows a prominent reason for guns falling into the wrong hands of people. With the continuing disagreement of both sides to the argument, the United States government has only worsened the situation by not putting their differences aside and failing to focus on protecting the future of our

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