Shrouded in stigma
It is a constant, seemingly unavoidable refrain after mass shootings: “The shooter displayed signs of mental illness in the years leading up to the crime.”
In many cases, the statement is not incorrect. But many media outlets do not stop there. Headline will blare for weeks, months even, about a shooter’s therapy sessions, run-ins with school counselors, etc. And that is all the fodder anti-gun control advocates need to argue that mental illness drives mass shooters to commit their crimes.
Unfortunately, that stigma has wormed its way into the conversation surrounding gun control efforts, and it shows. Red Flag laws have been written to specifically single out people who live with mental illness as those who may need guns taken from them. And while that may be a good idea in principle, those efforts are rooted in disillusion. In fact, people with mental illness account for just 4 percent of the violent crimes in the US, and only 2 percent of crimes committed with a firearm. And while some mass shooting perpetrators may have had forms of mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, those disorders do not inspire violence. Even more stigmatized disorders like schizophrenia do not cause violence.
Mental illness does however account for a distinct portion of the suicides committed in the US each year. Most recently, that figure was estimated to be at around 60 percent. So it is true — in some cases at least — that getting guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill may reduce firearm deaths, it will most certainly not stop mass shootings. What Red Flag laws can do that has an impact on these incidents is stop those who display violent tendencies. Those tendencies are not rooted in mental illness. Rather, they are often rooted in hate and disillusion, as was the case with the Buffalo and Uvalde shooters.
Language is a powerful tool. It has shaped the debates on gun control, immigration, and more. That is why it must be used precisely. Some advocates even argue that the term “Red Flag” is stigmatizing, as it suggests those laws are rooted in hunches, rather than careful monitoring. Some experts also warn that using broad strokes mental illness as a justification for a judge to take someone’s gun could deter people from speaking up about their mental illness at all.
Ultimately, Red Flag laws are a powerful tool in both stopping mass shootings and reducing suicides. But legislators should be clear about the connection between shootings and mental illness.
