"Mental Health ?"
Do you remember classes in grade or high school where you learned about mental health? Neither do I. The reason for that is simple - no such classes were ever offered and, based on my ongoing experiences with our public education system, they still aren’t. While our schools somewhat emphasize physical health, they pay almost no attention to mental health and, even when they do, it’s only after some version of “acting out” becomes physically obvious. One of those versions involves extreme violence which our society horribly and wrongly concludes is proof of “mental illness.” In fact, just as our bodies need to be nourished so too do our minds and if we don’t nourish our innermost “self,” poor mental health and illness are inevitable.
While I was never taught about taking care of my mental health I was certainly told about how worthless and pitiful I was. While, in theory, I attended Catholic schools in fact what I received, in an all too real way, was a flavor of Calvinism. While I didn’t formally learn about John Calvin until I was in high school, I was very clearly exposed to his views by teachers who wanted to be sure I felt guilty for being less than perfect. Indeed, when I finally read the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” I immediately recognized the images and thinking behind it. The message was clear and undoubtedly American - you are NOT worthy, period.
Throughout my years growing up I was repeatedly reminded of my unworthiness. Fortunately I had the opportunity to excise that endlessly repeating tape from wherever it dwelled in the back of my mind. That said, it seems tearing people down is as American as apple pie. Unfortunately for all of us, that’s a horrible way to teach folks about their need for self-love and feeling “worthy” and it is ultimately the foundation of this nation’s problems with the “wrong” people having the ability to obtain firearms. While after every shooting with multiple victims we hear shouts and screams about “mental illness” we never hear about the all too real mental health crisis we have, have had and will continue to have if it isn’t actively addressed.
When we default to ignoring the mental health of the average American we should never be surprised that we produce far too many individuals who are incapable of intelligently dealing with their emotions. Instead, a significant number of such individuals don’t seek meaningful help and fall into a cycle of anger and self-loathing. They also, again too often, start to blame others and the world itself for their unhappiness. When such individuals reach a “breaking point” they harm themselves, others or both.
Much of the debate surrounding “gun control” focuses far too much on firearms and almost not at all on the mental health of those who seek ownership or possession of a firearm. Indeed, in the course of my research on the subject of carry concealed permits I learned that it is the ONLY process (presuming it actually does) which incorporates verification of the applicant’s mental health as a condition for issuance. Perhaps it’s time we consider making it a condition for ownership or access to ANY firearm. There’s simply no reason not to. In fact, the current requirements for a concealed carry permit largely echo the requirements we should probably be looking at if we seriously want to keep firearms from falling into the wrong hands. Examples of those requirements include common sense conditions including proving competency with firearm safety and proficiency at targeting. There is simply no reason these shouldn’t be applicable to ANY person who wants to acquire or have access to a firearm. With the Supreme’s Court de facto elimination of “may issue” requirements it’s even more important to focus on objective, verifiable and measurable conditions.
Consider the following requirements (list is not comprehensive) for issuance of a concealed carry permit in Los Angeles County:
Required Target: NRA standard B-27 target
Minimum total number of rounds to be fired: 72.
Course of fire: 24 rounds fired without time limitation at each of the three distances as specified.
Firing distances: 3 yards, 5 yards, and 7 yards.
Minimum passing score: 70 percent of rounds fired at each distance (17 of 24 rounds) must score within the 7-ring of the B-27 target.
Other requirements: The student shall be required to safely load, unload, and reload their handgun during the course of fire. This course of fire shall be required for the first firearm the applicant will be licensed to carry. All subsequent firearm qualification courses of fire shall consist of 20 total rounds (10 rounds at 5 yards and 10 rounds at 7 yards). The passing score will remain 70 percent of hits (7 of 10 rounds) within the 7-ring of the B-27 target at each distance.
While I believe these are a good starting point there’s one area, in addition to verification of “mental health,” I believe we should add - tactical training. Shooting at a stationary target is easy enough however in a real world setting “bad guys” don’t have targets drawn on them. Thus, at least for concealed carry permits, applicants should have to prove their ability to NOT shoot innocent bystanders and ONLY shoot at individuals who pose a clear threat to someone other than themselves. If someone is obtaining his or her first driver’s license we don’t simply let them pass a written test and get their license, we make them prove they can drive safely. Shouldn’t we require as much when someone wants to carry a concealed firearm in public?
In the end, it seems quite clear that until this Nation begins to make the mental well-being of its citizens the highest of priorities we will continue to wring our hands and bemoan targeted, completely unjustifiable violence. The Oklahoma City bombing claimed over 150 innocent lives. The Columbine shooters started shooting schoolmates because the explosives they’d placed at their school didn’t detonate. When Andrew Kehoe killed 43 people, mostly young children, at the Bath School he also used explosives. In all 3 cases one thing becomes clear, not one of the perpetrators was mentally healthy. I have no doubt the same can be said of every school shooting. Unfortunately, until we change our focus in this regard, we shall continue to reap what we sow.