I dream of a world where gun violence is not a constant presence.

1. There are mentally ill people in every country but there are not mass shootings on a comparable scale in most other countries.
2. There are mentally ill women in our country and yet most of the mass shootings are committed by male shooters.
3. I agree that these murderers are sick but please let’s not conflate these two issues.
4. Calling murderers “crazy” or “nuts” isn’t helping anyone. All it really does is: a. pretend that shootings are unusual and b. stigmatize mental illness more.
5. Every time we add to the stigma of mental illness, we are contributing to the obstacles that prevent people from admitting they need help and actually seek help
6. NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.
7. We need to spend some money on scientific studies. We need to apply this groundswell of concern to actually FUND some studies on guns, gun violence, and gun laws. PLEASE.
8. Mental Illness is a real human problem that cannot be “solved” with laws.
9. Gun violence is a real human problem that cannot be “solved” by blaming it on the mentally ill.
10. The money the NRA uses to buy politicians and to lobby against legislation is a huge problem that we, the voters, can address directly. Let’s do that now.

UPDATES: (A) I posted this on Facebook a while back. Since it’s still getting “likes,” I thought I should post it here. Thanks for reading. (B) If you want to support mental health awareness, go to: www.nami.org