Let’s imagine that we KNEW keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill was the answer to all the shootings.

How should we clearly define “mentally ill”? How do you know when someone is not mentally healthy enough to be handling a gun?

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4meAndyou · F

There are early childhood indicators of the kinds of children who will eventually have problems. For example, schoolmates of the Dayton shooter spoke about being afraid of him. He was suspended from school because he kept a rape list and a kill list. He told a friend that he had voices in his head telling him to do very dark and evil things.

I think that sort of behavior in school tells us very clearly that here is an example of someone who is too mentally ill to own a gun.

abe182 · 46-50, M

@4meAndyou you're on to something.... connect the dots, see a pattern forming. This isn't hard it's just not politically or socially correct is the problem.

DoubleRings · 51-55, F

What about the Vegas shooter? No childhood indicators. @4meAndyou

Also does this mean anyone who had a similar childhood should never own a gun? Is that fair? Is that kind of person [b]always[/b] mentally ill for the rest of their lives? Certainly a minor can’t be held “legally responsible” for their choices until they are 18. How do we revoke the rights based on choices they made as kids?

I think people will become better at hiding their symptoms, avoiding diagnosis and treatment if they know their gun rights will be revoked.

4meAndyou · F

@DoubleRings If we can avoid even one mass shooting, then early childhood intervention is certainly not a bad or a painful thing, and might even be helpful to the child in question.

By intervening, and guiding a child who may be in a bad situation, with no father at home, and incipient mental illness or voices in their heads like the Dayton shooter, we can stop PART of this trend.

The Vegas shooter came from an entire family who were concealing their own symptoms, from what I could see.

IMO performing intervention with families with sons with no fathers and providing in-school guidance and providing outreach through funding for activities like clubs and sports for such children, or membership in the Big Brother association, we can at least do something, which IMO is far better than sitting on our hands wailing that we can't fix everyone.