After every mass shooting, people ask for stricter gun laws but here’s the thing: Mass shooters don't follow gun laws.
But through my research of gun violence, between 60-70-percent of gun violence is suicide. A lot of murders are murder-suicides. Even mass shootings often end in suicide.
We often later find out about mental health problems the shooters were facing that often went not properly handled.
I think that gun violence is just the face of a bigger problem America has. Our culture and our government are doing very little to support and help those with mental illness.
Law-abiding gun owners agree that there should be a mental health examination before owning guns. However, the U.S. doesn’t have the to do so.
But again, murderers don't follow laws.
So instead of trying to keep the guns out of those with mental illness that may lead to gun violence, we need to build the infrastructure to help those with mental illness in a way that does not make them choose gun violence.
By building a mental health infrastructure that allows and encourages everyone to seek help, I believe we will see a sharp decrease in our gun violence. This will teach people how to deal with their issues in a healthier, safer way.
However, this is not the only problem.
Another big chunk of gun violence results from gang violence. Gangs are often fueled by a number of social issues that take place in their town.
Now, you can't destroy the gangs out right. They're gangs and probably aren't following the laws. Instead, we need to reach the young generation and find ways to help them so that they won't join the gangs in the first place.
The approaches we take for this will often depend on the environment. By having more after-school and summer activities set up by community for kids we will help this.
But the target area needed to reach is the teenagers. Again, activities when school is not in session to provide them something to do, like a video game night, and providing an environment where they can get help, like have counselors checking in and making sure home life is good. But targeting teenagers is hard and this will take a lot of work and creative thinking to help.
There will always be violence in the world. The United States has a problem with guns. England has a problem with stabbings. But through implementing social reforms we will help bring down the violence that stems from mental health issues and socioeconomic status.
