School Shooting Newtown CT

[adpimiz]

Honestly, no amount of laws, metal detectors, searches... Nothing can stop someone who is that messed up in the head and that determined to kill. I agree something needs to be done, but I don't think gun control is the answer. Obviously, the shooter didn't care that murder is illegal. So why would he care if having a gun was illegal? Someone like that will always find a way, no matter what the law is.

[SigKapSweetie]

Originally Posted by adpimiz

Honestly, no amount of laws, metal detectors, searches... Nothing can stop someone who is that messed up in the head and that determined to kill. I agree something needs to be done, but I don't think gun control is the answer. Obviously, the shooter didn't care that murder is illegal. So why would he care if having a gun was illegal? Someone like that will always find a way, no matter what the law is.

This. Other countries (England springs to mind first) have very strict gun laws, and they still have mass shootings. Gun control isn't enough. Access to mental health care isn't enough. Everyone HAS access to emergency mental health care - just walk into the ER and tell the staff you're thinking about killing some kids. Boom, instant access. The real problem is the culture, the stigma associated with mental illness and its treatment. This guy may not have wanted any help, especially if he was psychotic. If he had no insight into his illness, the responsibility then falls (maybe unfairly, but there you go) to the people around him, like his family, to notice that there is a problem and to make sure that he receives treatment, voluntarily or involuntarily. Had anyone around him noticed what was going on with him? One call to 911 reporting concern that this guy was a danger to himself or others might have been enough to stop this. Especially given this:

"I think the most important thing to point out with this kind of individual is that he did not snap this morning and decide to act out violently," said former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. "These acts involve planning and thoughtfulness and strategizing in order to put the plan together so what may appear to be snap behavior is not that at all."

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by SigKapSweetie

One call to 911 reporting concern that this guy was a danger to himself or others might have been enough to stop this. Especially given this:

"I think the most important thing to point out with this kind of individual is that he did not snap this morning and decide to act out violently," said former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. "These acts involve planning and thoughtfulness and strategizing in order to put the plan together so what may appear to be snap behavior is not that at all."

Comment I heard at a Christmas gathering last night:

Perhaps we ought to be keeping track of who buys things like Kevlar vests. I mean. who outside the military and law enforcement needs stuff like that? But the killers in cases like this always seem to have them.

Not a completely crazy idea, I thought.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by SigKapSweetie

The real problem is the culture, the stigma associated with mental illness and its treatment. This guy may not have wanted any help, especially if he was psychotic. If he had no insight into his illness, the responsibility then falls (maybe unfairly, but there you go) to the people around him, like his family, to notice that there is a problem and to make sure that he receives treatment, voluntarily or involuntarily. Had anyone around him noticed what was going on with him? One call to 911 reporting concern that this guy was a danger to himself or others might have been enough to stop this. Especially given this:

"I think the most important thing to point out with this kind of individual is that he did not snap this morning and decide to act out violently," said former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. "These acts involve planning and thoughtfulness and strategizing in order to put the plan together so what may appear to be snap behavior is not that at all."

A lot of my friends, today, are posting about their own struggles with mental illness, and how we can remove the stigma. It's tough, even though my social circle consists largely of well-educated, privileged white kids who have access to healthcare, etc.