Blaming mass murder on mental illness instead of guns is just plain crazy

Blaming mass murder on mental illness is a time-honored impulse, used by law enforcement and politicians alike but when it comes down to a choice between the NRA and the American people, the people never stood a chance.

Republicans refuse to address the real problem of easy access to firearms that is fueling our gun violence crisis. 

“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” President Donald J. Trump said in 2019 in response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

After a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period.”

“We as a state, we as a society need to do a better job with mental health,” said Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott after an 18-year-old gunned down 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde using military-grade weapons he had legally acquired.

“Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period,” said Abbott. “We as a government need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and to do something about it.”

Republicans around the country echoed his argument, including Rep. Tony Gonzales, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (Ark.) and, in a speech at the National Rifle Association convention, former president Donald Trump.

While some mass shootings are committed by people with diagnosed mental illnesses, researchers say a life crisis is a better predictor of violence and while 89% of Americans support universal background checks, Trump Republicans are more comfortable letting kids, police officers, and innocent bystanders die in droves.

The nation’s most distinguished health agencies fired thousands of probationary workers, starting Feb. 13 and extending into the holiday weekend, in what is becoming informally known among federal workers as the Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Republicans are going to either vote for policies and invest money to fund much-needed services or concede that they don’t think mental health is the main cause of mass shootings.