Tag: mental healthcare

‘When it’s anyone but white Christian cis men, it’s not a right anymore’: Conservatives finally want gun control—for trans people

Ms. Cat

The Nashville school shooting is leading conservatives to finally call for gun control. Their newfound enthusiasm for reforming gun laws is based on transphobia, but some of their suggestions are also supported by gun control advocates.

‘When it’s anyone but white Christian cis men, it’s not a right anymore’: Conservatives finally want gun control—for trans people

Related:

Ben Shapiro: Ban Trans People From Owning Guns

Not surprising, Shapiro didn’t mention Trump getting rid of a mental health regulations for owning firearms in 2018.

Did President Trump Revoke Gun Background Checks for Mentally Ill People?

While the law did not change who is required to be the subject of background checks, it is true that Trump signed the repeal of a measure that would have plausibly prevented certain classes of mentally ill people from purchasing firearms by allowing a new data source to be included the system that runs those background checks. As such we rank the claim mostly true.

How the Debate Over Antidepressants Puts Millions in Danger

Ms. Cat

Nearly 10 percent of all Americans will experience symptoms of depression every year. One of the common forms of treatment includes a combination of therapy and antidepressants. According to the CDC, around 13 percent of Americans over the age of 18 were taking antidepressants between 2015 and 2018. The most commonly prescribed form of these are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), developed to alter serotonin flux in the brain.

How the Debate Over Antidepressants Puts Millions in Danger

Personally, I prefer being able to choose for myself. You know, my body-my choice!? I’m intelligent enough to do my own research and discuss my treatment options with my physicians. As someone who has suffered from depression, I wouldn’t demonize anyone that chooses to use antidepressants. I’ve been around people who have refused to take them and it wasn’t pretty, either. I can see why people would choose medication, over therapy, as it can be cheaper and less time-consuming (even with private insurance). I would assume that informed consent applies to most treatments (outside of coronavirus). I know that I had to sign informed consent forms every time that I went in, for refills and lab tests, every 90 days (every 30 days when I was on pain medication). Who knows, it might have changed in the past five years?! If they ever force-feed us drugs, to deal with this neoliberal hellhole, I would resist.

The Contagion Effect: From Buffalo to Uvalde, 16 Mass Shootings in Just 10 Days

Ms. Cat2 Comments

The latest mass shootings in Texas and New York highlight the frequency of such attacks — and how they can spread like a disease

The Contagion Effect: From Buffalo to Uvalde, 16 Mass Shootings in Just 10 Days

Related:

Our Narrative of Mass Shootings Is Killing Us

Mass Shootings Are Contagious:

The idea that violence might be contagious is not new. Suicides often cluster, in a phenomenon known as suicide contagion, in which vulnerable people are inspired to take their own lives after reading about the details of previous suicides. In an attempt to stop the contagion, many media outlets abide by voluntary reporting standards to not sensationalize suicides.

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“The contagion that appears to be apparent in the mass killings and school shootings may have something to do with the media coverage,” Towers said.

This doesn’t mean the media shouldn’t report on mass shootings, Towers said. But voluntary efforts to de-emphasize the killer’s name and portrait might help stave off additional shootings.

American Shooter: The Intersection of Alienation and Desperation Under Capitalism

Ms. Cat1 Comment

American Shooter: The Intersection of Alienation and Desperation Under Capitalism

Universal Healthcare and Easy Access Mental Health Services

59% of gun deaths are suicides. Getting healthcare in the United States is nigh impossible for many people whether it be the cost of services, lack of insurance, or the stigmatization that comes from seeking medically necessary mental health services. We need to make concerted efforts to ensure that anyone who needs healthcare can walk into a facility and get the help they need with no questions asked nor strings attached. Whether it is nationalizing healthcare or instituting dual power healthcare structures we need to get this done and we need to do it now. Getting people the healthcare they need drastically reduces rates of mental illness while also reducing the rates of economically motivated crime which is sometimes violent in nature.

In May 2002, The Secret Service published a report that examined school shootings. Among much else, they found that the majority of school shooters had difficulty coping with loss and personal failures, attempted suicide, felt persecuted, and exhibited alarming behaviors toward those around them. All of these are signs to immediately provide accessible healthcare, particularly mental healthcare. We need to be proactive about getting people the help they need. Simply scapegoating mental health issues as the conservative gun lobby does is about as helpful as thoughts and prayers. We need to directly address mental healthcare and build the systems that prevent violence.

Stable Food and Housing

Violence is quite often a symptom of economic distress. Ensuring the stable material conditions of a community not only reduces the incentive to commit economically motivated violent crime, but it also reduces interpersonal violent crime. We need to build communities that have affordable housing and accessible food. The fastest and easiest way to work towards both is to ban R1 zoning because this form of zoning creates food deserts, makes communities car dependent, and skyrockets the cost of housing. This is not to say that we should not be working on dual power structures in housing. We also need free lunch and breakfast programs run by local radicals and community-powered housing programs.

Source: Socialist Rifle Association

Graham, Blumenthal say they’re making progress on “red flag” talks + Pro-gun group improving access to mental health

Ms. Cat

Graham, Blumenthal say they’re making progress on “red flag” talks

Discussions centered around offering grants to states that impose “red flag” firearm seizure laws are slowly progressing, according to Republican Lindsay Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who first teamed up to push the federal gun control legislation in 2019. CBS News reported on Wednesday that the pair have had multiple discussions around potential changes to their previous legislation with an eye towards attracting at least 10 Republicans, which would allow the bill to overcome a potential filibuster.

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Another issue with red flag laws is the lack of mental health resources for those deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others. None of the 19 red flag laws on the books in various states require the state to help that supposedly dangerous individual find treatment or counseling, and only Maine’s version of a red flag law requires a mental health evaluation from a medical professional in addition to a judge’s determination.

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Red flag laws are ultimately a gun control solution to a mental health problem, which is one of the reasons I continue to oppose them. They do nothing to stop truly dangerous individuals from harming themselves or others, but they do allow lawmakers to avoid addressing our crumbling mental health systems by claiming they’re “doing something” to block dangerous people from doing bad things. Maybe Graham and Blumenthal’s final proposal will find a way to address each and every one of these fundamental flaws, but I’m not holding my breath.

Related:

Pro-gun group improving access to mental health:

While politicians in Washington D.C. are looking to find some sort of gun control “compromise” in the wake of the horrific murders in Uvalde, Texas, gun owners and Second Amendment advocates involved in the grassroots effort known as Walk The Talk America are taking on the challenge of improving access to and removing the stigma around mental health and gun ownership. I’m so glad that WTTA founder Michael Sodini could join me on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co to talk about the program and how it’s helping to save lives, and I hope you’ll check out the entire conversation in the video window above.