Before I get into
the crux of my column, there are some issues that must first be explored. I
must point out that former Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords, should be praised
for the courage she and her husband have shown for her miraculous recovery from
the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona in January of 2011. She is an
inspiration to anyone who suffers any life changing event, and I hope and pray
that she continues to reclaim her life.
With that being
said, she and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, have put themselves in
the spotlight on one side of an issue that both invites and even demands
scrutiny. Especially when the primary cause of many tragedies is being
routinely corrupted and ignored, resulting in many innocent people stigmatized
as the scape-goats.
On a near daily
basis, this couple has spoken up and called for tougher gun laws, including the
banning of certain semi-automatic weapons. Along with President Obama, they indicate
that it is essential that the mentally ill be prevented from owning guns as a
way to protect Americans. Even more disturbing, they continue to classify
individuals suffering from mental illness with those of violent felons. As an
example, in a recent speech in Tucson, Arizona, he said, "The least we can do is a very commonsense thing to make it more
difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to have access to firearms."
For many years,
countless advocates and consumers have worked hard to create awareness that
people with mental illness can function properly in society. However, it is the
ignorance that Mr. Kelly is displaying here that condemns people with one of
these conditions into a lifetime of living in a self-imposed underground. What
he fails to realize is the sheer nature of mental illness. It is not a condition
that is easy to diagnoses nor is it one that has clear boundaries. However,
those diagnosed conduct a daily struggle for wellness, understanding and
against the very discrimination that Mr. Kelly is advocating. For some
emotional reasons, he is under the archaic assumption that mental illness is a crime
unto itself. These comments are extremely harmful and will limit the lives of
innocent people.
To clarify, it is
now understood that people who suffer the indignities of one of these
afflictions are no more violent than the rest of society. In fact, they are
more likely to become victims of crime, at a higher rate than people deemed
"normal". Additionally, many other studies have shown these
conditions to be the number one direct cause of disability in the workplace. Many
of these poor souls are trying desperately to find the proper treatment and recover,
only to find little social acceptance, which is a massive roadblock. Even more dangerous
is to be categorized with violent felons like Mr. Kelly and President Obama
seem to find no guilt in doing.
What is routinely
misunderstood is exactly who suffers from these disorders. Many are surprised
to discover that it affects rich, poor, famous, not so famous, military personnel,
politicians, sports heroes, first responders and the list goes on and on. These
people wage a struggle for understanding and search for appropriate treatment.
Mr. Kelly has inadvertently demonized an unlimited group of people who have
done nothing more than get sick.
A more pointed
example would be; he is telling police officers who develop mental health
issues from vicarious trauma, that they are no longer fit to perform the work
in their field, and that is completely wrong. With treatment, they should be
permitted to resume their careers, and many have gone on to continue to be excellent
law enforcement officers. I know that because I have met many of those who did
just that!
Mr. Kelly was also
quoted in that speech as saying, "if
the background checks they're calling for had been in place, the man who opened
fire at the store (where Congresswomen Giffords was shot) never would have been able to buy a gun."
That makes a vast deal of assumptions, which fail to stand up to scrutiny. Chicago,
Illinois, which boasts a powerful gun control law, witnessed 532 murders in
2012, 435 by guns. I venture to guess, precious few of those weapons were procured
by lawful means. I have doubts whether the gang leaders and drug dealers who
perpetrated most of those homicides would have passed the background check as
proposed.
Let us now examine
the perpetrator of the shooting in Tucson, Jared Loughner, and the true
failures that led to this tragedy. Now serving a life sentence, he was a man
who suffers from schizophrenia, and was clearly psychotic when he committed
these atrocities. Mr. Kelly is correct that this could have been prevented, but
not the way he believes. I agree this man should not have been in possession of
a gun; however, he could have certainly acquired one by the same means that the
murderers in Chicago have.
The true path that
could have prevented this shooting was a modernized mental health system. One
with proper funding, readily available treatment, and most importantly, civil commitment
laws that do NOT allow individuals to walk around in a delusional state, like
Mr. Loughner was doing.
It was not widely
reported, but Loughners parents had attempted, on more than one occasion, to
have their son forcibly brought in for needed treatment. However, until he
became a direct threat to himself or others, the current law does not allow for
forced civil commitment. Had his parents had this resource of modern commitment
laws at their disposal, their son may have been in a hospital instead of at that
campaign rally. What is even more bedeviling is that those laws have been
virtually unchanged since that fateful day in January of 2011, even though similar
tragedies have occurred in Aurora, Colorado and Newton, Connecticut.
Though this is an emotional
issue, Mrs. Giffords who served three terms in
the U.S. Congress, did not make mental health care reform an enormous
priority. Though not alone in that inaction, the programs did and will continue
to suffer a diminishing standard of care in spite of an ever increasing demand
for services. This is not to say she is to blame for the systems undoing, but
it is clear she did little to prevent the continued destruction. Once again, remarkably
few changes have been proposed that will reverse this downward spiral.
I do believe that
Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Giffords are remarkable individuals, and I applaud their
desire to work for change. However, because of the loud voices on both sides of
the gun control issue, it has totally drowned out the potential for true change
within the mental health framework. We will continue to see suicide rates increase,
families torn apart, promising careers derailed and more detrimental outcomes,
with few calls for restructure.
One final point
must be made in that this is not about ideology, or is it about partisan politics.
Neither party has a copyright of responsibility for the systemic failure when
it comes to treating the mentally ill. It must be remembered, after the tragedy involving Congresswoman
Giffords, there were strong calls for a dialogue on mental illness. She and her
husband were both in a position to influence that dialogue. Instead, they have
challenged the instrument of the perpetrator, not the disease that was the true
culprit. That in itself is an added tragedy.
