{"id":2447,"date":"2018-02-20T10:17:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=2447"},"modified":"2018-02-20T10:17:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:17:20","slug":"gun-control-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/20\/gun-control-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun control and mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Florida<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our society is going crazy about gun control right now due to what has happened in Florida and other states. This is a parallel to what happened at the turn of the last century (20th<\/sup>) and the anarchists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lets start with these facts<\/a>: President McKinley was shot by anarchist in 1901, 249 political radicals were deported including their leader Emma Goldman in 1919 and then a bomb was detonated on Wall Street killing 38 persons and injuring many more.<\/span><\/p>\n

So from this timeline we can see that anarchists<\/a> were very active at that time and that they are still in our society today. Anarchism dropped off after the bombing in New York City at Wall Street because of both a crackdown by the police and other authorities plus the fact that public opinion turned against them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The parallel is the fact that gun violence has escalated into mass shootings and the last being in our schools. From Columbine to Douglas High School in Parkland Florida people have called for more gun control and they are ignoring the facts. Those facts point towards a mental health system that is in chaos and woefully underfunded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes there needs to be a crackdown on illegal gun sales and the prevention of letting those who are mentally unstable from getting their hands on a gun. But the total outlawing of guns or even the removal of automatic weapons will not stop people (especially our children) from being the targets of those who have fallen through the cracks in our broken healthcare system.<\/span><\/p>\n

I advocate for the enforcement of the laws already on the books, both federal and state, and for the closing of loopholes that have allowed those who should have no access to a gun from being able to purchase one. One thing that is desperately needed is more uniform laws setup under a federal system that dictates to states on what laws they can enact on gun control. With a national gun registry overseen by maybe the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF<\/a>) that all states have to participate in and that aggressively watches for mistakes plus takes action quickly to prevent anyone from possibly possessing a firearm is in my opinion the best hope to prevent gun violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

This must be accompanied by a major overhaul in the way we handle\/view mental healthcare. It is high time to take away the stigma of needing help because of some chemical or mental health problem. And we as a people must rise up in one voice and demand both from our federal government and our state governments for proper support with sufficient funding for those who are in need of help.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n