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The Below Comments Relate to this Newslink:

A Responsible Gun Owner Despite My Mental Illness
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are 3 comments on this story
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It should be noted that there is no established causality between mental illness and gun violence. In fact, a recent analysis of more than 200 mass killings revealed that only 22 percent of perpetrators could be considered mentally ill. But, despite all prevailing evidence to the contrary, mental illness is still the scapegoat of choice. And in the process of blaming mental illness for these tragedies, the nearly 20 percent of Americans suffering with a wide-array of psychiatric disorders are further stigmatized.

Comment by: jac (2/23/2018)

Anybody that shoots people he doesn't know for no apparent reason or gain is mentally ill. That means that 100 percent of mass murders are mentally ill. They may not have been diagnosed previously, but that doesn't change the facts.

Comment by: PHORTO (2/23/2018)

You can speak for yourself, but you can't speak for the millions of gun owners who aren't suicidal or a danger to anyone else.

And to use your particular circumstance as a 'qualifier' to assign more weight to your opinion is arrogant.

Comment by: PP9 (2/23/2018)

Unless you think that people who are tragically killed in a mass shooting are somehow even more dead than those killed in "ordinary" murders, it doesn't really tell us much even if it was true (and it's not) that 100% of mass murders were perpetrated by mentally ill individuals. Mass murders are a very tiny percentage of the total murders, so the more informative statistic would be what percentage of mentally-ill people (whatever your definition of that is) commit murder. Compare that to any other demographic group you wish; you'll find that they are no more likely than the population at large to commit murder, and are less likely than some other demographic groups.