I hate it. I hate our conversations about guns in this country. And I hate our conversations around mental health in the aftermath of these horrific mass shootings.
We are failing those with mental illness and ourselves on two fronts: first, we do not provide necessary, affordable treatment to those with mental illness; and second, we allow easy access to guns. But conflating mental illness with violence is wrong, and the coverage of mass shootings perpetuates that view.
One could argue that most murders in our country are due to mental illness, but it’s only when a person has actually sought mental health treatment that it becomes the focus of the media coverage. Here’s just a very limited set of headlines that came out after the heartbreaking events in Texas on Feb. 11:
- Houston megachurch shooter had history of mental illness but still was able to buy a gun, her mother-in-law says — CNN
- Texas neighbors said they tried to sound the alarm about Houston church shooter for months — NBC News
- Suspected Lakewood Church shooter Genesse Moreno had criminal history, mental health issues, documents say — ABC News
- Shooter at Joel Osteen church bought weapon legally despite history of mental illness — The Guardian
- Texas church shooter had history of mental illness — Boston Herald