Mass shootings, The Second Amendment and our Humanity

You'll get no argument from me on the undeniable fact that mass shootings are an epidemic. Perhaps at few other times in human history have garden variety civilians murdered each other with the degree of frequency that we're seeing in these modern times. But why? Why at this point in time? Perhaps this is a symptom of a society that has fallen in to a moral slump. A society so inundated with instant gratification via fast food, lightning fast information and communications tools and an overall decay in the fabric of the principles upon which our great nation was built - that it suffers from a fog of what reality is and was up until just about a decade ago.

There is no longer a need for close human interaction. In our new modern reality, communication is carried out via text messages, Facebook and Twitter. Dating and so called "romantic encounters" are accomplished via Tinder, Zoosk, Match.com and Snapchat. For many, recreation involves gaming consoles, tablets and cell phone apps, there's even online sports (fantasy sports I guess) and gambling. The disconnection between our ability to effectively interact with each other, particularly those who are disenfranchised, maligned, bullied, teased or are otherwise already mentally unstable - is what appears in my estimation to be fueling this epidemic.

While our understanding of the human mind, and the ability to more effectively treat mental health issues has expanded massively in the last 30 years, the trend in access to effective mental health treatment, particularly where the poor, homeless and our military veterans are concerned has left huge gaps in the effective delivery of those services. There aren't enough qualified practitioners to treat the vast numbers of people who require access to those services. Waiting lists and months long processes to obtain even the most basic of services, such as initial and even secondary evaluations to facilitate accurate diagnosis and treatment; leaves a great many people falling through the very large cracks. Struggling to navigate the already arduous landscape that is their daily life. And yet, while over 60% of those who have carried out "mass shootings" since 1970 have had significant mental health diagnoses and presentation, there is also no clear means by which to associate mental health with mass shootings. Why? Because those with pronounced mental health issues are already supposed to be incapable of purchasing firearms legally. It's the law. Yet these killers still obtained access to weapons and killed a great many people. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4318286/)

Specific to the topic of guns - it is literally inarguable that a firearm by itself is not causation of our gun violence epidemic. As the gun lobby (and frankly anyone with common sense) argues - 'guns don't kill people - people kill people'. Much like a knife, stick, brick or rock by itself is not usually responsible for the death of persons (don't go there - acts of God like landslides, wind storms and avalanches aren't violent crimes), guns by themselves are incapable of killing or causing grievous bodily harm. Someone must take that implement / weapon and pull the trigger. Obviously, the access to weapons for those who would endeavor to harm others is at the core of the argument of so called 'gun control'. That however requires deeper exploration.

There are studies, statistics and opinions all over the map on this subject. I've linked to several of them below. Suffice to say, there is no clear statistical benefit to gun bans, or stricter gun control measures in modern society, as is plainly visible in these statistics. So what gives? Why the argument that banning guns, or enacting even tougher gun control measures like a ban on certain magazine capacities, or styles of weapons would have any significant impact on curbing mass shootings? The truth is - it wouldn't. Bad guys (or those bent on destruction or murder) will get guns by other means than legally purchasing them. There is in fact sufficient evidence to demonstrate that many of the violent gun related crimes that have us persistently discussing 'gun control' are in fact committed with stolen guns. (https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/stolen-guns-increasingly-used-in-violent-crimes/)

To even suggest a ban on guns would facilitate an instrument by which the government would then be compelled to confiscate them. Outside of the obvious constitutional implications, that in and of itself would likely lead to legal challenges (at the least), mass protests, and perhaps even armed insurrection (or as some would say 'a revolution'). The fact is that the 2nd Amendment was constructed by the "Founding Fathers" as an instrument to facilitate not only the protection and defense of one's self against attack or tyranny, but also to enable the Country as a whole to protect itself from potential invaders. According to historical documents examined by the author (and widely available in the public domain), the Constitution -and specifically the 2nd Amendment; was articulated in this way to give "We The People" the ability to ward off an overreaching government with designs on the degradation or eradication of basic civil liberties. We are who and what we are as a Nation because of the wisdom of these documents and founding principles. I would go so far as to speculate that any would be foreign invaders would have to take in to account the might of not only our military prowess, but also the plain fact that Americans are armed to the teeth as they draw up their battle plans. Perhaps this is why the Supreme Court has routinely upheld the right of the individual to 'keep and bear arms'.

So what can we do? Care about each other. Pay attention to each other. If you seen that someone is in distress - say something. If you see the warning signs of a person who is unraveling before your eyes - do something about it, vs. ignoring the raw humanity of the person is crisis in front of you. The American Psychological Association offers a wide range of advise on how to spot the warnings signs of a potentially violent person. (https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/warning-signs.aspx) In fact, there are violence prevention experts in many major cities that teach workplaces, schools and organizations how to empower their HR, security and even 'rank and file' personnel in how to help interdict and prevent violence in those environments. (Felix Nater of Nater Associates comes to mind).

What if someone had taken the time to report on the suspicious activities of the San Bernardino terrorists, rather than worry about being perceived as a racist? What if someone had called and reported the unstable behavior of any of a number of the mass shooters in our recent times? Could these atrocities have been avoided? I'd suggest that the answer to that question is yes. Scrutiny, law enforcement investigation and even something as simple as accessing advanced mental health or counseling services could have served to prevent at least some of this violence.

In summation, there is no clear answer or solution to the so called 'gun problem'. Accordingly, the solution to mass shootings is not nearly so clear as the likes of the New York Times or Daily News would surmise in their recent opinion pieces. In one of the papers I've examined after I started writing this piece, the author draws on many of the same conclusions I've drawn here today. We don't have a gun problem, we have a people problem. We have an issue where society as a whole has lost touch with reality, and by proxy, their humanity. In short, there is no singular solution available that doesn't completely undermine or revoke a basic civil liberty, and as some would argue, a necessary and integral part of our society as Americans.

(The preceding contains excerpts from a piece I authored published by Rise News - On American Violence: Is It Guns, Terrorism Or Our Culture? https://risenews.net/2015/12/on-american-violence-is-it-guns-terrorism-or-our-culture/) 

Suggested reading:

1.) https://people.duke.edu/~gnsmith/articles/myths.htm 

2.) https://www.gunfacts.info/gun-control-myths/guns-in-other-countries/ 

3.) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-h-bailey/does-gun-control-encourage-crime_b_7917684.html 

4.) https://www.factcheck.org/2015/10/gun-laws-deaths-and-crimes/ 

5.) https://dailycaller.com/2015/12/04/violent-crime-in-california-is-above-national-average-despite-strict-gun-control/ 

6.) https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-facts-that-neither-side-wants-to-admit-about-gun-control/207152/ 

7.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4318286/ 

8.) https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/10/mental-health-gun-laws-washington-post-poll 

9.) https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/almost-link-mental-health-gun-violence 

Tony R. Myhre

President & CEO

Jet City Consulting

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