A shooting in Arizona led to six deaths and several injuries. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, was shot in the head. The national discussion has focused on rabid right-wing rhetoric and loose gun laws, but the most significant contributing factor in this tragedy may be the current state of mental health care in the U.S.
Sarah Palin and Political Rhetoric
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was one of the first officials to speak publicly about the incident. In a press conference on Saturday night, he cited “rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates” as a likely influence on the shooter. Giffords had been holding a “Congress on the Corner” event when she was shot. A federal judge in attendance was killed.
Since then, public discussion has focused on recent examples of political speech that many see as harsh or extreme, particularly when it has come from the right. Sarah Palin has been criticized for posting a map with a symbol resembling cross-hairs on Giffords’ districts and others. These districts were headed by Democrats who voted for the health care bill. Radio host Joyce Kaufman’s November comments that “if ballots don’t work, bullets will” have also been recycled and added to the national discussion.
Efforts to Tighten Gun Control Laws
Since the attacker used a gun, many gun control advocates have suggested that a change in the gun laws could prevent similar attacks in the future. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) of New York is hoping to restrict the legal number of ammunition rounds to 10. “I'm asking my sportsmen, and certainly gun owners, to really think about this,” she said. Rep. Peter King (R) of New York would like to prevent people from carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of “high profile” government officials.
However, there is very little evidence changing the rhetoric or the gun laws in the United States would have prevented this act of violence. While no one has been convicted in this case, the chief suspect is 22-year-old Jared Loughner, whose political views do not have much connection to any mainstream U.S. political party. He seems to be mentally ill, so current laws should have kept him from buying a gun. The most likely cause of this violent attack is the difficulty of serving the mentally ill under the current U.S. system of health care and laws.
Mental Illness Treatment and Laws
“Nationwide, the mental health care system is broken,” says Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in a statement on the tragedy in Arizona. The stigma associated with mental illness, laws that require treatment only if a person is known to be a danger and deep cuts in mental health programs prevent many mentally ill people from getting appropriate treatment.
Although many forms of severe psychiatric illness first become obvious when people are between the ages of 18-25 years old, many young people are unwilling to seek help. They worry their peers may judge them harshly. Even when parents, teachers or other adults recognize that a young person is mentally ill, civil rights laws make it difficult to force a person to obtain treatment.
However, A large part of the problem is the lack of available space for people who do seek treatment. According to a 2008 study by The Treatment Advocacy Cente, “42 of the 50 states have less than half the minimum number of beds considered to be reasonable by knowledgeable experts. Most consider Arizona to be among the worst of all the states in meeting the needs of its mentally ill.
While much political rhetoric is needlessly inflammatory, and gun laws could be tightened or more effectively enforced, the most logical response to this horrible incident is a thorough examination of current mental health laws, policies and funding. Appropriate treatment of the mentally ill prevents violence.
Sources
Fitzpatrick, Michael “The Arizona Tragedy and Mental Health Care” January 11, 2011
Hughes, Siobhan “Arizona Killings Prompt Another Gun-Control Push” Wall Street Journal January 11, 2011
Mayo, Michael “Did inflammatory speech fuel Arizona rampage? Sun Sentinel January 11, 2011
Montopoli, Brian and Robert Hendin. “Sarah Palin Criticized Over Gabrielle Giffords Presence on "Target List"” CBS News Political Hotsheet Blog January 8, 2011
Beth Ellen McKinney - I am a credentialed teacher with many years of experience in a variety of settings. I currently teach at an alternative high school in an ...
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