Mental Illness and Gun Violence:
Debunking the Myth of Mental Illness’s Relation to Violence The myth that most mentally ill people are violent has been endlessly perpetuated by popular media so much so that the tendency to automatically associate mental illness with violence has become indoctrinated into popular belief. Today, with the widespread debate about gun violence and the search for something to blame, some sources, like the National Rifle Association (NRA), have turned to point the finger at mental illness; yet, at the same time, most empirical sources render the claim that mental illness induces gun violence as insignificant or completely erroneous. In essence, mental illness does not produce gun violence. A 2015 survey conducted …show more content…
In reality, The National Comorbidity Study-Replication found no statistical significance in the claim that mentally ill people were more likely to purchase, have, or carry guns; those with mental disorders and those without mental disorders showed similar numbers across all aspects (Swanson et al., 2014). In fact, research shows that methods for predicting violent behavior in mentally ill patients, especially for exceptionally rare events like mass shootings, are inaccurate (Swanson et al., 2014). Additionally, individuals who were seen as dangerous or incompetent, or those who were civilly committed or judged as criminally insane, have been barred from buying guns since 1968; this law, however, is based on many invalid assumptions (Swanson et al., 2014). First, the law is centered on the belief that mental illness causes violent behavior (Swanson et al., 2014). Second, it assumed that violently mentally ill individuals would seek the help of a psychiatrist, and in turn be committed (Swanson et al., 2014). Third, it assumed that discharged patients are always at risk for violent behavior (Swanson et al., 2014). Despite all of this, even if violently mentally ill individuals could be completely prohibited from purchasing guns, the occurrence of violent acts towards others would only decrease by about 4%; correspondingly, comprehensive background checks do not limit the purchase of guns from private dealers, and a huge proportion of Americans, as much as 50% in some states, already have access to guns (Swanson et al., 2014). Lastly, a study on the effectiveness of the National Criminal Background System (NICS) found that the disqualifying policy of NICS was ineffective, resulting in less than 1% decrease in violent crimes conducted by mentally ill individuals (Swanson et al., 2014). In short, creating a database of the
Debunking the Myth of Mental Illness’s Relation to Violence The myth that most mentally ill people are violent has been endlessly perpetuated by popular media so much so that the tendency to automatically associate mental illness with violence has become indoctrinated into popular belief. Today, with the widespread debate about gun violence and the search for something to blame, some sources, like the National Rifle Association (NRA), have turned to point the finger at mental illness; yet, at the same time, most empirical sources render the claim that mental illness induces gun violence as insignificant or completely erroneous. In essence, mental illness does not produce gun violence. A 2015 survey conducted …show more content…
In reality, The National Comorbidity Study-Replication found no statistical significance in the claim that mentally ill people were more likely to purchase, have, or carry guns; those with mental disorders and those without mental disorders showed similar numbers across all aspects (Swanson et al., 2014). In fact, research shows that methods for predicting violent behavior in mentally ill patients, especially for exceptionally rare events like mass shootings, are inaccurate (Swanson et al., 2014). Additionally, individuals who were seen as dangerous or incompetent, or those who were civilly committed or judged as criminally insane, have been barred from buying guns since 1968; this law, however, is based on many invalid assumptions (Swanson et al., 2014). First, the law is centered on the belief that mental illness causes violent behavior (Swanson et al., 2014). Second, it assumed that violently mentally ill individuals would seek the help of a psychiatrist, and in turn be committed (Swanson et al., 2014). Third, it assumed that discharged patients are always at risk for violent behavior (Swanson et al., 2014). Despite all of this, even if violently mentally ill individuals could be completely prohibited from purchasing guns, the occurrence of violent acts towards others would only decrease by about 4%; correspondingly, comprehensive background checks do not limit the purchase of guns from private dealers, and a huge proportion of Americans, as much as 50% in some states, already have access to guns (Swanson et al., 2014). Lastly, a study on the effectiveness of the National Criminal Background System (NICS) found that the disqualifying policy of NICS was ineffective, resulting in less than 1% decrease in violent crimes conducted by mentally ill individuals (Swanson et al., 2014). In short, creating a database of the