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Happy July 10th! Ninety-seven years ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial began. Officially known as The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, the case tried high school substitute science teacher John Scopes for violating Tennessee's ban on the teaching of evolution in all public and state-funded Tennessee schools. In the end, John Scopes was found guilty but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.

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News

Guns & mental health

Six days ago, a gunman opened fire at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, killing 7 people and wounding 14 or more. He had also been considering a second attack in Wisconsin.

Mass shootings have become an ordinary phenomenon for us in the United States. We hear about mass shootings every week or so, and we move forward each time more traumatized and more desensitized to an experience that should never become ordinary and commonplace.

Unfortunately, there is a split in our beliefs around what causes mass shootings. For example, 808 Utah registered voters were surveyed between June 16-29 on their beliefs around mass shootings. When asked what the principal cause was for mass shootings:

• 43% of the voters responded that it was mental illness

• 27% responded that it was due to inadequate gun control laws

• 11% pointed to inadequate security at schools and other public places

• The rest stated that it was something else

But what is the main driver of mass shootings? Is there a connection between mass shootings and mental health?

The RAND corporation, an American nonprofit global policy think tank, reviewed the literature and found that:

“Although violence is elevated among people with schizophrenia or related psychoses, these individuals still account for a relatively small share of violent acts overall. And the relationship between schizophrenia and violence may be more pronounced among those with co-occurring substance use disorders. However, having a mental illness or a co-occurring substance use disorder (or both) is a poor predictor of dying by suicide or committing an act of interpersonal violence; the majority of people with these conditions do not exhibit these outcomes.”

Furthermore, research by the American Psychiatric Association has found that:

• Mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent less than 1% of all yearly gun-related homicides. In contrast, deaths by suicide using firearms account for the majority of yearly gun-related deaths.

• The overall contribution of people with serious mental illness to violent crimes is only about 3%. When these crimes are examined in detail, an even smaller percentage of them are found to involve firearms.

Yet despite the research, the media is still polarized. The right states that:

• Gun ownership is a constitutional right covered by the 2nd amendment and obstructing gun ownership is thereby unconstitutional.

• Other factors such as mental illness cause mass shootings, not gun ownership.

For example, here’s an excerpt from Fox News on a recent shooting in Denmark:

“Despite restrictive gun laws in Denmark that are regulated by the Ministry of Justice and the European Commission, the incident, which took place in Copenhagen, was the deadliest shooting in the country since Feb. 2015. The gunman likely acted alone and fired indiscriminately at random shoppers, Danish Police said Monday, the day after the shooting.”

On the other hand, the left argues that:

• The second amendment does not provide for an unlimited right to own guns

• More gun control laws would reduce homicides, and mass homicides in particular

A recent article from CNN states:

“Why do the rights of those who insist they have the constitutional blessing to own such deadly weapons outweigh the right of others to life -- especially since a majority of Americans support more comprehensive gun control? And why, for instance, should moms, dads, kids or grandparents have to so often run for their lives?”

In conclusion, although the research points towards the fact that mental health is not an accurate predictor of gun violence, politics, personal values, and the interpretation of the law leads to different viewpoints and a polarized society.

Furthermore, research on gun control efficacy has been stifled due to politics. The Dickey Amendment, which was inserted into the government’s spending bill in 1996 after lobbying by the National Rifle Association, mandated that "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used to advocate or promote gun control."

In other words, due to the Dickey Amendment, the CDC avoided all research on gun violence for fear it would be financially penalized for about 20 years!

As social workers, our values dictate that we help address social problems and challenge social injustice. Gun violence is especially prominent where there is social injustice - where there “has long been a persistent fixture of daily life, alongside systemic disinvestment, segregation, and economic inequality.”

If we are to be true to our values in helping aid groups in situations of vulnerability, we must both inform ourselves on this issue, and take tangible action towards decreasing gun violence in our society.

Other social work-related news

• My grief goes on: A Letter to My Late Daughter

• Seeking mental health services? Beware of ‘phantom’ providers

• Many black children are dying by suicide, doctors say: Understanding the why -and how to help

Reads on research

• It’s Science: Preschool play protects your child’s mental health later in life

• A Michigan Medicine study finds that people with two pediatric-onset neurodevelopmental disorders are prescribed opioids at significantly higher rates than those without the conditions, raising concerns over addiction, overdose and mental health issues.

• Deep Dive: The results of a $10 million anti-violence study in New Hanover County Schools are missing

Reads on policy

• Only 15% of Texans support a complete ban on abortion access; Although 37% of Texas voters support the state’s trigger law that would ban abortion in most cases in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, no more than 36% would foreclose all access to legal abortion across various circumstances.

• The science and politics behind abortion

Tech, social work, and cool opportunities 😎

• Cerebral: Vastly Exceeding the Standard of Care?

• Hiding in Plain Sight - An intimate documentary featuring the lives of twenty young people and their experiences with mental illness, from depression to addiction to suicide ideation

• Clinical Manager of Groups at Two Chairs

• Director of Adult Clinical Program Development at Equip

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