NEWTOWN, Conn. — President Obama on Sunday vowed to use “whatever power this office holds” in coming weeks to prevent mass shootings like the one that killed 26 people at an elementary school last week, 20 of them small children.
Obama, speaking to hundreds of mourners assembled at Newtown High School, said he would gather law enforcement officials, educators, and mental health workers to find ways to prevent future shootings. As he spoke, many in the audience sobbed, clutched teddy bears or hugged their children.
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A ban on assault weapons and/or high-capacity magazines is the 'easy' solution. While I support those specifics, I am far more worried that there is no will to take on the 'hard' solution. We need facilities and programs to house and/or medicate when appropriate those who pose a danger to themselves and others. Psychotic illnesses and personality disorders are volatile and unpredictable. Such unfortunate individuals cannot help having such conditions, nor can they control their impulses when a break occurs, and while just locking them in a cell is inhumane, so also is allowing them or their families to fend for themselves. For too long we have ignored the issue because caring for the mentally ill is so costly, and now the innocent are reaping what we have sown.
The article says that the motive for the killings remains unclear. Actually, I think the motive is quite clear, and it's the same thing that motivates other mass murderers: fame. Witness the non-stop, 24/7 coverage of the atrocity in all media. The headline in every newpaper, the lead story on every news broadcast. A visit from the president. The shooter becomes world famous almost overnight, and apparently death is not too high a price to pay. News coverage of mass murders should be limited to an initial report and then nothing. The name of the shooter and his picture should never be released.
I disagree with suppression of the news or any other legitimate communications, and so does the Constitution.
Would you agree to not releasing the shooter's name and picture?
I disagree that publicity is the primary motivating factor for mass murders. There's no compelling evidence of that, although the publicity may lead to copycat crimes. I also disagree that increased services for the mentally ill will have much impact because none of the recent mass murderers would likely have been diagnosed as seriously mentally ill.
In fact, I don't believe there's any way to prevent mass murders. They occur all over the world, although less frequently than in the U.S. We may be able, if we are lucky, to come up with ways to make such incidents less frequent, but there's no sure cure in my opinion.
What we can do is reduce the body count when such an incident occurs by heavily regulating repeating weapons. The size of magazines should be reduced to maybe 5 or 6 rounds. It would be best to eliminate repeating weapons all together, but I don't think that's politically possible.
Have you ever tried to have someone involuntarily hospitalized because they weren't taking medications? Or because they threatened violence and admitted hearing voices (until the social worker talks to them, and then they promise to take their meds, and no they don't have any violent impulses, they just want to go home)? You are correct that often an act of murder (mass murder or otherwise) is the first indication of a problem, but all too often there have been multiple attempts to seek treatment, or at least an evaluation. In the cases of Laughner and Holmes, the 'solution' was expulsion from college, leaving it for someone else to solve. In the cases of Tanicia Goodwin and Andrea Yates no one wanted to believe they were ill enough to murder their own children.
I'm not at all opposed to better services for the mentally ill. Some experts estimate that about half of the homeless have mental problems and about a quarter of them are seriously mentally ill.
I'm just not sure that it will have much impact on mass murderers. They are very rare and very unpredictable. The perception is that they happen every week or so but, for instance, this is the first time in my memory that an American elementary school has been targeted. If you consider the number of elementary schools, the chances of it happening are infintesimal. Still, it might help, and small steps can add up to larger ones.
My main complaint is that everyone is looking for a magic bullet. I'm a skeptic. I don't think there is one.