RE: Is Mental Illness Really Fueling Mass Shootings?
Good points. Does that mean anything that can be used to cause harm (vehicle, gun, hammer, knife) should be sold only after proof of mental competency?
You have to obtain a license and pass a test for all? There are two issues of 1) knowledge to know how to use something and 2) abuse to misuse. Why do you need to pass a psyche test for the car and gun, but not for other things that can be misused to harm others?
Passing a test to use vehicles and guns seems reasonable. That is only required because people don't take the responsibility to do learning themselves through self-control and self-governance, and now everyone is forced into external control and governance to get licenses and pay fees for being "verified" by the state. I guess it's up to everyone to raise themselves in consciousness and their children, to be more responsible, then we might do away with all this regulation.
You always have to draw the line somewhere as anything can be used to cause harm. But there are a number of variables that can be looked into so things can be rated on some scale of sorts. Guns (especially assault riffles) have no other direct application than causing harm and have the capacity to cause harm at a level that knives do not compare with. Additionally, I think they can be viewed as something intended to cause more harm than a car so they should be higher on the scale of needing a permit or license to own and operate one. The second variable might be complexity to operate and cars and guns are of higher complexity than knives and hammers. There might be other things to look at like proliferation and so on. But I think it's fairly obvious that guns are a problem in the US and I do think something should be done.
I think both should be tested and screened for at least to some extent. The person I'm talking about who was deemed unfit to bear a weapon was denied by the psychologist because with him it's clear that he is likely to misuse it. But I'm not sure he has a mental health diagnosis really. But everybody is safe because he is unarmed.
Well, unfortunately we are not at the point where we can trust the majority of people to be truly responsible. Maybe someday...