Crime

To Address Mass Shootings, It’ll Take More Than Just Gun Control

Most of the people responsible for mass shootings suffer mental illnesses. How can we help them before it's too late?

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There have been more mass shootings in our country than anywhere in the world.  According to statistics by Mother Jones, the state with the highest number of deaths from mass shootings since 1982 is California — 128 people.  It’s followed in a close second by Florida — 118 people killed, even though Florida has only half the population of California.

Each state’s take on gun control laws is drastically different.  California is said to have the most restrictive gun-control legislation in the nation, while Florida’s laws are more lax. Clearly, gun control alone is not sufficient to address what has become close to a bimonthly feature of American life — another mass shooting.

Following the recent murder of 12 people at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, editorials have cried out for better gun control.  According to statistics quoted in a New York Times article last year, while Americans make up only about 4.4 percent of the global population, we own 42 percent of the world’s guns.

A study by Dr. Adam Lankford of the University of Alabama draws a correlation between a country’s rate of gun ownership and the odds it will experience a mass shooting.  More guns available, more mass shootings likely.

But this doesn’t tell the whole story.  Most gun violence is not caused by mass shootings but by individual gun owners shooting people they know.  Someone losing his temper, a jealous rage, an accidental shooting, a suicide.

The mass shootings are a subset of the whole.  While there is no per se definition of a “mass shooting,” the Wikipedia page devoted to the subject defines it as “an act of violence — excluding gang killings, domestic violence, or terrorist acts sponsored by an organization — in which a gunman kills at least four victims.”

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Most of the people responsible for mass shootings suffer mental illnesses. They have been in large part loners, young men, resentful, isolated, and unable to empathize with the devastation they sow.  Often dressed like commandos, they perpetrate violence as though they are avatars in a video game, unconnected to real life.

Helping these men get the help they need before they act is necessary but tricky to achieve. Two key elements involve getting them connected to psychiatric services and preventing them from gaining access to weapons.

We may already be doing a good job, but it’s not enough and it’s difficult to quantify.  How many more people might have been mass shooters had they not been diverted from their goal?  In how many cases did someone notice something amiss and did something to intervene?

Did those potential mass-murderers have a close family network?  Did they live in states that permit civilians (such as family or friends) to get gun-restraining orders to restrict a mentally-ill person’s access to guns?  Perhaps their states had better-developed Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs, which empower loved-ones, coworkers, mental health providers, school employees, etc., to seek civil commitment and support services post-commitment so that the person susceptible to initiating a mass shooting gets the help he needs.

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, the three states that have had the greatest number of mass shootings — California, Florida, and Texas have AOTs rated from a D- (California) to C+ (Texas) in relation to their effectiveness.  The states with A-ratings are Michigan and Wisconsin.

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While only a small percentage of the mentally ill commit acts of violence, for those most vulnerable and who have access to guns (largely because they already happen to be in the home), greater outreach and early intervention can help.

Whether it’s insurance issues, denial of the problem, or plain ignorance, many who suffer with mental illness are left untreated.  As a nation, we’ve got to step up our game to reverse what’s becoming an all-too familiar news headline — another mass shooting.

Toni Messina has tried over 100 cases and has been practicing criminal law and immigration since 1990. You can follow her on Twitter: @tonitamess.

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