# Is mental health the real problem when it comes to mass shootings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 16, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933 "2018-02-16T16:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/81 "2018-02-18T13:44:58Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Not sure that would work out. Mineral Wells, Texas appears to have [lithium](http://www.mineralwellstx.com/pages/history) in its water supply. It’s definitely present in all the well water. > > Quote: > _…the most famous mineral water brand was Crazy Water from the Crazy Well. The well is currently located at the Crazy Water Retirement Hotel. The well received its name because— the story goes—a demented elderly lady drank from the Crazy Well twice every day and overcame her illness. The crazy lady story could well be true, because in Mineral Wells most of the water wells have a significant amount of lithium, which is used to treat various mental and mood disorders today_. > > I actually drive there and buy water from the [Crazy Water](http://drinkcrazywater.com/crazy-water-waters/) well today, but because it settles my problematic digestive tract, not for any mental reasons. (I buy #4, if it matters) > > But it appears the crime rate there isn’t just higher than normal, it’s [noticeably higher](http://www.areavibes.com/mineral+wells-tx/crime/). > > 'Nuther quote: > _…categories are property crimes and violent crimes. According to the table, the overall crime rate is 53% higher than the average of crimes committed in Texas. It is also 73% higher than the national average._ I also know a 100 year old woman who smokes every day. (I don’t, really, but someone does.) > **[Lithium in drinking water and the incidences of crimes, suicides, and arrests...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1699579/)** > > Using data for 27 Texas counties from 1978-1987, it is shown that the incidence rates of suicide, homicide, and rape are significantly higher in counties whose drinking water supplies contain little or no lithium than in counties with water lithium... > **[Lithium in the public water supply and suicide mortality in Greece - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24072668/)** > > The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between lithium levels in the public water supply and prefecture-based suicide rates in Greece. Analyses were conducted with respect to lithium levels in 149 samples from 34 prefectures... > **[Opinion | Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium? (Published 2014)](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/should-we-all-take-a-bit-of-lithium.html)** > > Suicide seems to be less common where the lithium is more plentiful in drinking water. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/82 "2018-02-18T14:28:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Should people be mentally screened before getting a gun license and, if so, which mental deviations from the norm should put them on the “Deny” list? Are they not already? What’s the point in requiring a licence if not? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/83 "2018-02-18T15:21:02Z")
[This](https://www.buzzfeed.com/peteraldhous/mental-health-gun-violence-mass-shootings?utm_term=.qblJdonKG#.umxkzG698) is a fascinating read. Too bad I can’t quote the whole article. > [@](#): > > [E]xpecting better mental health treatment to solve America’s problems with gun violence is a forlorn hope. > > [F]ocusing on mental illness each time a mass shooting occurs hardens public attitudes against some of the most vulnerable people in society. > > The latest idea, given political opposition to laws that take away people’s guns, even temporarily, is to encourage people at the highest risk to voluntarily surrender their firearms while they get treatment. Now that might be something to do. The article suggests more research is necessary, but given that the majority of gun deaths are suicides > [@](#): > > But for every gun murder, there are almost two gun suicides. source: [Here’s What Actually Reduces Gun Violence](https://www.buzzfeed.com/peteraldhous/how-to-reduce-gun-violence?utm_term=.ucQA6ngNl#.kgaEylKD3), then it could be an idea worth pursuing more aggressively. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/84 "2018-02-18T15:35:32Z")
\*\*Is mental health the real problem when it comes to mass shootings? \*\* For the most part, yes. If one stops and thinks about it for a moment, it actually becomes openly obvious. Is it the only component? Probably not. The anti-gun people will jump up and down and scream that it’s all about the guns, and that’s not correct either. It’s a phenomenon that has shown up with increasing frequency since the first one that I can remember ([Charles Whitman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman)). Until we come up with a way to identify why people want to lash out against innocents like this, the only thing we can do is put defenses in place against such incidents. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/85 "2018-02-18T15:49:35Z")
Too general; mental _well being_ is an issue among teenagers ie. school shootings. That can be something as simple as bullying, self-esteem, a degree of alienation, etc ---
**Author:** ![Bic\_D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bic\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bic_D)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/86 "2018-02-18T16:16:38Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > How 'bout that. I must have missed all the school bomb, knife, truck killings here in south London. From 2006 to 2015, at least 1,068 people have died from gunshots in a mass killing, defined by the FBI as an incident with four or more victims. But another 140 people suffered fire-related injuries, 104 were stabbed and at least 92 were killed by blunt force. This is not including the number of people killed by vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/87 "2018-02-18T16:25:38Z")
The fact that mental illness is a necessary requirement for people doing crazy things is a tautology. For a tragedy like this to occur, some necessary elements are: A person with the will to do it, who we categorize _post hoc_ as mentally ill. Access to firearms. The existence of schools. Inability to raise victims from the dead. The question is not whether something is a necessary element. The question is, which of the necessary elements it is feasible and desirable to remove from society. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/88 "2018-02-18T16:37:15Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > Not sure what the FBI could have done even if they had pursued before he could commit the shooting. Would/could they have remanded him to psychiatric treatment _before_ he had shot anyone and was just talking about it? Would he have been held long enough for doctors to realize he shouldn’t be out in the community? Could he be thrown into long term residential care without having committed a crime? > [@SamuelA](#): > > Right. It isn’t a crime to \*seem \*like a crazy school shooter. You need very specific statements of intent. Some kid who brags about all his rifles and remarks on how glorious it would be if someone “shot this place up”? Not a crime. > > Only very specific statements, like “next Monday you better watch out”, or if the kid had collected _illegal_ weapons, or if the kid had actually written down his plans in a diary would be a crime. > > Of course, the school can \*expel \*someone for making people uncomfortable, even if the police can’t send him to prison. Which ironically, seems to have cost 17 people their lives. (it’s quite possible that the expulsion set the kid off, provided the casus belli to actually act) > > As for being crazy, most state mental hospitals were closed. Now it’s basically just prisons. And you can’t imprison someone who hasn’t been convicted of a crime. Indeed. Rick Scott and Trump can go get crammed on this. What exactly are the FBI supposed to do? Put EVERYONE who is a violence-celebrating ass online, or associates with supremacist militia groups, or is known around their social circle being an obnoxious asshat under direct constant surveillance? (OK, I could see association with supremacist militia groups being a reason to take you downtown and let you know we’re watching, _but that would just encourage the putzes_) People seem to expect the authorities to go full on Minority Report on Bad People, and that’s not how reality works, they have to triage the tips they get. I wonder what’s the ratio of people reported to the FBI for being Internet F\*ckwads vs. those who do take concrete steps to act criminally. Or do we make expulsion from school for disciplinary causes a reason to place a marker on you background check against owning firearms for 5, 10 years, permanently? This is an incredibly complicated issue and it makes the population very nervous in that it seems the violent loon element in America has taken a disturbing turn in how they regard the “soft target” scenario. The serial killer of the 20th century, clandestinely picking off one or two at a time over a few months or years, has been replaced with the binge killer slaying by the dozens at once as the looming menace out there. And they are not even doing conventional Domestic Terrorism with an identifiable policy goal like the old KKK or Macheteros. There is a certain nihilism to it, like they just want to prove society can’t protect you and \*“sure, I’m a loser; but those concertgoers/worshippers/schoolkids are now all dead, ha ha, fat lotta good did living right do them!!”. \* I strongly suspect many of these fellows \*\*\*want \*\*\*society to degenerate into the Hobbesian war of all upon all, with “at all times the fear of violent death” hanging over everyone’s head – if they have no peace, let no one have it. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/89 "2018-02-18T17:33:44Z")
Did any of the mass shooters seek mental health treatment first? Were they unable to access this help because of a barrier they had no control over? It should also be pointed out that going to a doctor and saying that you wish to harm yourself or others is the same as going to a cop and saying the same thing. They will take you seriously and you’ll be imprisoned. So any individual out there who actually wishes to harm people will avoid this system. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/90 "2018-02-18T17:54:03Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > \*\*Is mental health the real problem when it comes to mass shootings? > \*\* > > For the most part, yes. If one stops and thinks about it for a moment, it actually becomes openly obvious. > > Is it the only component? Probably not. The anti-gun people will jump up and down and scream that it’s all about the guns, and that’s not correct either. It’s a phenomenon that has shown up with increasing frequency since the first one that I can remember ([Charles Whitman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman)). Until we come up with a way to identify why people want to lash out against innocents like this, the only thing we can do is put defenses in place against such incidents. Do people that have opinions other than your own do anything _but_ scream? :rolleyes: Is it your opinion that nothing can be done offensively, and that strong defensive measures are the only solution? Seems rather fatalistic to me, seeing as how “It’s a phenomenon that has shown up with increasing frequency”. How much defense do we have to throw at this problem before you will even consider another route? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/91 "2018-02-18T17:56:00Z")
Not sure you’re grasping the scope of _mental well being_, or the fact that teenagers are mostly kids. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/92 "2018-02-18T18:18:50Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Or do we make expulsion from school for disciplinary causes a reason to place a marker on you background check against owning firearms for 5, 10 years, permanently? Due process issues with that. School boards, etc, are not judges and have to follow none of the procedures of a legitimate court. So they shouldn’t be able to take away a constitutional right. (now to be fair, one can reasonably argue that they shouldn’t be able to ruin someone’s whole future without following some legitimate due process, either, but that’s how it is. Individual students who got screwed by school boards don’t have anything like the clout of the NRA) I’m sure you’ve heard about various outrageous expulsions under ‘zero tolerance’, where kangaroo court schoolboards throw out the quiet 95 lb asian kid because she has a pencil sharpener that uses an exposed blade, or some kids go hunting in the morning, leave their truck with the shotguns parked _off campus_, and get expelled. Real judges do bullshit too, but they ultimately have to answer to the supreme court, can be punished for making excessive bullshit rulings, often have to get the consent of a jury for major decisions, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/93 "2018-02-18T18:23:42Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > I’m sure you’ve heard about various outrageous expulsions under ‘zero tolerance’, where kangaroo court schoolboards throw out the quiet 95 lb asian kid because she has a pencil sharpener that uses an exposed blade, or some kids go hunting in the morning, leave their truck with the shotguns parked _off campus_, and get expelled. Exactly – the “why didn’t they _ **do something** _ why didn’t they _ **see the signs** _” people are just who got the school boards to institute the absurd zero-tolerance policies in the first place, weren’t they? In case I wasn’t clear: that was an example of approaches to the problem that won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/94 "2018-02-18T18:23:49Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > It should also be pointed out that going to a doctor and saying that you wish to harm yourself or others is the same as going to a cop and saying the same thing. They will take you seriously and you’ll be imprisoned. So any individual out there who actually wishes to harm people will avoid this system. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Any individual who wants to have a meaningful life at all, even if they sometimes get urges to kill people and genuinely want help, obviously has to keep their mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/95 "2018-02-18T18:24:25Z")
Have any of you ever had a member of your household, a coworker, or a neighbor that you felt was mentally unstable and might be prone to violence? Because I have. More than once. And I suspect a lot of you have, as well. Do you know how futile it is to try and get mental health intervention for a legal adult that hasn’t committed a crime? I’ve tried. It’s pretty much impossible. And I know other people that tried. Have you ever tried to convince a mentally ill person that you care about their well-being and have their best interests at heart in suggesting that they seek help? Do you think they will say…thank you, I’m so relieved. I’ve been fighting these demons on my own because I thought no one cared. But now I know I was wrong. I need help. Thank you for caring. Or do you think they will think that you are part of the grand conspiracy against them? Do you think they won’t warp the situation in their own heads and set out to try to frame YOU as the unstable person that needs help? Do you think law enforcement is going to regard this as anything more than a personal dispute? Actually in my case they did regard it as more than a personal dispute, because I overheard one of the cops say something to the effect of “he’s probably going to kill her someday.” But they STILL couldn’t do anything. Because he never threatened to kil me, he just kept telling them that he was scared I was going to hurt him and he might need to defend himself. For background, the person was a foster child that lived with me past his 18th birthday. Someone I really cared about and wanted to help. At one point I felt I was still making these complaints just to get them on the record. So no one would blame me for not acting if he did something really horrible. It was a dark time in my life. So that is why I find the viewpoint of “all we have to do is get these people some help” really really naive. I live in a city that offers a large amount of resources for people that want mental health help. And they do a lot of outreach as well. But you can’t help someone that doesn’t want to be helped. I have no problem with individuals owning handguns. I understand it. I don’t own one because I live in large apartment complex in a densely populated area and I feel the risks outweigh the advantages. But if I lived alone in a rural area I would probably buy one and learn to use it. But I don’t think it’s reasonable to allow private citizens to own semi-automatic and automatic weapons, at least without some serious restrictions. And I don’t think a good guy with a handgun is going to stand a chance against a guy with an automatic weapon. And while I don’t like the idea of a crazy person going on a spree with a handgun, it’s a lot less frightening and less deadly than a crazy person with a machine gun. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/96 "2018-02-18T18:30:59Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Exactly – the “why didn’t they _ **do something** _ why didn’t they _ **see the signs** _” people are just who got the school boards to institute the absurd zero-tolerance policies in the first place, weren’t they? As a side note, it seems that the school did see the signs in this latest mass shooting, and did take preventative measures. They had 2 separate badged police officers on campus guarding the place, not rent-a-cops. They had a policy of locking classroom doors. They held mass shooter drills. They specifically made note of this specific kid and told staff to watch out for him. If you look at the online videos, it seems the local police department was prepared, they clearly have long guns and level IV vests and tactical training. But the kid had a weapon arguably better than anything a ww2 infantryman carried. Sure, it’s single shot, but nobody was shooting back, he didn’t need suppressing fire. And some of the mass shooter preparedness may have actually made thing worse. If the classroom doors weren’t locked and the students all rushed the shooter, ironically I think fewer of them might have died. Maybe schools will start turning all the side doors into emergency exits and just have one large main entrance, guarded by police officers with metal detectors. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/97 "2018-02-18T18:32:57Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Do you know how futile it is to try and get mental health intervention for a legal adult that hasn’t committed a crime? I’ve tried. It’s pretty much impossible. And I know other people that tried. And I think that’s as it should be. Perhaps it shouldn’t be as near-impossible as it is now, but there should be a very high bar for restricting somebody’s freedom. Some small proportion of people who behave atypically have serious mental illness, and some small proportion of them have violent tendencies. The sensible solution to this problem is the one adopted by pretty much every single civilized nation in the world except the U.S., and it isn’t rushing to restrict the freedom of anyone who behaves atypically. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/98 "2018-02-18T18:35:07Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’ve seen this argument stated repeatedly in various ways, and I think it’s deeply flawed. > > Suppose that, 50 years ago, my father was of sound mind, and owned a gun without any problems. Today, my father has developed severe dementia. Last night he tried to kill my mother with his gun because he thought she was an intruder. > > It seems to me that the solution to this problem would certainly include removing any guns from his possession as a matter of urgency. > > Similarly, if modern U.S. society is so dysfunctional that widespread easy access to guns is causing major problems, part of the solution (and probably the most urgent part) is to remove guns from our society altogether. The fact that easy access to guns did not cause problems in some past Golden Age is irrelevant. Lets remove alcohol too sense its involved in so many acts of violence, especially against women. Lets remove it for the good of society. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/99 "2018-02-18T18:49:26Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Lets remove alcohol too sense its involved in so many acts of violence, especially against women. Lets remove it for the good of society. I’m gratified that you seem to be applying common sense to the situation. We restrict plenty of freedoms for the good of society as a whole - drug use, the age of consent, the possession of many other types of weapon. It’s a cost-benefit analysis. Does the benefit of the freedom outweigh the cost to society? Far from being a natural freedom in a civilized society, the current consensus U.S. attitude to the freedom to own firearms is the extreme outlier in this analysis. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933/100 "2018-02-18T18:50:51Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Lets remove alcohol too sense its involved in so many acts of violence, especially against women. Lets remove it for the good of society. Evidence wise, if we \*could \*remove all alcohol we would have a safer, better society. It would save thousands of lives every year, and prevent many violent acts and drunk driving crashes. We just have not found a way to do so. Trying to make cocaine illegal has not made it any less readily available. Mass incarceration of a million people hasn’t deterred others from continuing to sell it. Thousands of people have died in fighting between criminal gangs. If we physically could do it without negative consequences, though, I’m all for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mental-health-the-real-problem-when-it-comes-to-mass-shootings/808933.md?page=6)