General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: You know there are places that need guns,right? [View all]JonLP24
(29,322 posts)To be honest I'm more scared of guns than pit bulls or dogs. As far as the mentally ill only 5% of gun violence is committed by those with mental illness. They are at increased risk for suicide though with a gun. Also what if it is a mentally ill person that is having their home buglarized or having armed smugglers on their properties?
I certainly support not allowing people who committed domestic violence to ever own guns.
However: there is no factual link between mental illness and violence against others. In fact, people with mental health disorders are more likely to be victims of a violent crime (up to 10 times more likely than the general population) than the perpetrators. A 2011 meta analysis found that to prevent one homicide of a person unknown to the perpetrator, 35,000 patients with schizophrenia judged to be at high risk of violence would need to be detained. Similarly, few U.S. mass shootings have been committed by people who were mentally ill; there is a much stronger correlation with other issues, like domestic violence. Finally, people with mental illness are much more likely to hurt themselves than others. Two-thirds of gun deaths in this country are suicides, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/5645747/gun-violence-mental-illness/%3famp=true