The editorial board of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News argues that there’s not debate about providing guns to people with mental health issues.
Here’s what I want them to define: what’s a mental health issue? Is voting for Trump a mental health issue? Is owning a gun a mental health issue? Is supporting the NRA a mental health issue? Is supporting the 2nd Amendment a mental health issue?
This is a slippery slope, since progressives say that anyone who disagrees with them has a mental health issue.
The mental health argument is too simple, though it does provide an easy way for pro gun rights enthusiasts to distract everyone from the fact that this country does, indeed, have a gun problem.
According to a Tuesday Associated Press story, there is a weaker link between mental health disorders and violence than people realize. The Department of Health and Human Services says only 3 percent to 5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to serious mental illness. A Duke professor said many violent crimes are the result of someone with impulsive anger who has a gun, not necessarily someone with a mental disorder.