Mass Murders in the USA are not just a gun control issue President Obama.

The current “discussion” in the media about gun control that was initiated by President Obama’s response to the church shooting in Charleston seems more politically motivated rather than a sincere effort to analyze the issue of mass killings that the USA has experienced during President Obama’s 2 terms in office. There has been virtually ZERO discussion of the mental state of those who commit these heinous crimes.  I contend that a woefully inadequate mental health system – and the entire way our health and legal systems engage the issue around mental health is a major part of the problem.

If someone is 21 years old, but has not met the current “legal definition” to indicate they might be violent to themselves or others they cannot be forced to be institutionalized or take medication. In fact, the Charleston killer, from recent reports, WAS seeing a therapist who was aware of his fantasy to commit a mass killing, but didn’t feel it rose to the legal definition where if she disclosed it to authorities, she would be protected legally in civil court.  This has to be fixed.

Another issue in mental health is that government funding for separate mental health facilities for non-criminal patients as been re-allocated to the prison systems, where mental health issues are also intense. So basically, the mentally ill have to commit a crime before they can be institutionalized. This is why we see so many of the mentally ill on the streets today. They have nowhere to go to get help.

Of course, the third leg of this issue is the lack of the laws currently on the books to enforcement strict gun control.  How could the Charleston shooter get a permit to buy a gun if a proper background search was done on him? After the crime was committed, the media had no problem identifying him as a loose cannon ready to explode.

I realize that my analysis is simplistic analysis, and it would find a lot of resistance because the issues of “civil liberties” for the mentally ill would arise (and the definition of mentally ill would have to change) but this is a societal problem that needs to be properly addressed with something more than just “gun control”.