The Conversation - Guns and Mental Health!

Yup. We have to have it. A real conversation about guns that includes a conversation about mental health. One of the first things we need to do is to make sure that we don't confuse developmental disabilities (like autism and Asperger's Syndrome) with mental health or mental illness issues.

This is important because there are reports about how the shooter in Newtown may have had Asperger's Syndrome. People with developmental disabilities can indeed have mental illness but let's be sure that we understand, that is different then their developmental disability. This is important because stigmas come quickly and people make judgements about groups of people easily. It needs to be a part of this serious conversation.

We have to talk about the changes that have happened in mental health systems since the early 80's. Changes that resulted in less funding and reduced community supports for people who had received prior supports in institutional settings. The dollars never followed these people to their communities because the ultimate decisions had to do with reducing costs and state/national budgets.

We have to talk about bullying and it's impact on young children and teenagers. That discussion will force us to talk about teen suicides and perhaps other forms of violence that follow. Drugs, alcohol, domestic violence and other issues will undoubtedly surface in a serious discussion. Finally, the discussion has to include conversations about our culture of violence that is seen in movies, TV, and in video games.

That's before we even get to guns. The guns and munitions who's sales have skyrocketed in the past few days. We have to talk about that! Yes, we have to have an honest discussion about weapons that shoot 100 + bullets per minute. Why? What are they needed for? We have to talk about how violence begets violence and how armed teachers may make sense to you but don't make sense to me.

There are politicians and people with questionable interests who seem to make these conversations harder. They are finding all kinds of reasons to protect the status quo and their own view. They need to know that it's time to stop. Stop being silly. Stop repeating stupid talking points about the second amendment. The conversation is much more serious. It's about stopping the violence and the safety of children and the general public. So let's get on with it.