Guns, Mental Health & Tragedy

Police tactics and policies relative to community policing as well as what seem to be weaknesses in the legal system are issues that continue to need discussion and people shouldn't be made to feel that having those discussions is an attack on the police or a cause of violence. But there's a lot more we should be discussing.

Isn't it interesting that there has been little discussion about guns, gun access and mental health since the shooting of the two NYPD officers this past weekend. We are two years out from the tragedy in Newtown, Ct and the death of so many innocents, children and teachers. There is something that ties these two events together if we can believe initial reports. Both seem to have involved young men with mental health issues and both involved guns.

Two things we should be discussing are mental health supports and guns it would seem. But instead the air waves are full of commentary about who's the victim, politicized statements about the mayor, the president, the police and the protesters. Some of the rhetoric borders on bizarre and some really sounds like hate speech. A real discussion though, about why guns keep appearing or why people don't get counseling and support when they need it is clearly missing.

The young man who shot the police officers had serious issues and they seemed to have been known by his family, acquaintances and the criminal justice system. There has been little mention of if or how he may have been involved with the mental health system. He also had a gun and traveled to NYC with it to do serious harm. Were there missed opportunities to help and/or stop him? We may never know but a discussion could help identify if that was possible or if interventions were possible. It seems those discussions would be more helpful then fingerprinting and name calling.

And finally, a black woman was the first victim of the NYPD shooter before he traveled to NYC. Where is the outrage for her. Her life matters.