Beautiful Chaos 1

Gun Control and Mental Illness

Bridger Babcock

Arizona State University

Beautiful Chaos 2

Abstract

This project will be based around the arguments of gun control and mental

health. Throughout my research I believe that these arguments should not be separate

but combined. I think that gun control and mental health should coincide. I think this

because there are already existing gun laws in place that need to be better enforced,

hundreds of different types of mental illness and lastly gun violence is not only limited to

mass shootings.

Keywords: Gun Control, Mental Illness, Definition, Change

Beautiful Chaos 3

The definition of gun control in its most basic sense “is the set of laws or policies

that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of

firearms by civilians.” My relationship to this definition includes my age and my

geographical position. My age is an important factor in my stance on this definition

because my generations general view of gun control is very different than that of the

people currently in office, running our country. My geographical position also plays an

important role in my stance because I was raised in Montana. Montana is a

conservative state, who’s citizens own and use guns frequently. Montana has an

average of 1.8 guns per person. The two groups who analyze this definition are those

who are in favor of stricter gun laws and regulation and those who fear the loss of their

guns and their freedoms. Although I am from a state where there are more guns than

even some countries, I grew up hunting, and shooting on a regular basis. I stand with

my generations general viewpoint on gun control and ask for stricter regulations on

firearms. Some important thoughts to consider when researching and creating a stance

on gun control’s definition, is the evidence that is present, the history of the definition

and reasoning for the discussion of this definition.

The term “gun control” was first coined in 1964, even though firearms have been

in use in our country since the establishment of the United States. The definition of gun

control has not seen much change since the first use of the word, but the laws and

regulations that further define “gun control” have changed. The discussion of gun

control was said to start shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. I

believe however that the conversation of gun control started even earlier than that and

has always been a topic of conversation. An example being, in 1837 Georgia passed a
Beautiful Chaos 4

law banning handguns. This was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and was

thrown out. Although the law was never passed, this set the ball rolling for activists and

more importantly shows that not everyone in our country fully supports the freedom to

bear arms. Fast forward to 1871, when the NRA announced that its primary goal was to

improve American civilians’ marksmanship in preparation for war. For sixty years both

parties, for and against, were silent until the U.S congress banned the mailing of

concealable weapons and regulated the manufacture, sale and possession of fully

automatic firearms. The late 1900’s was a different story however, up until this point in

time school shootings were not a common thing. This all changed in 1989 after

California banned the possession of semiautomatic assault weapons following the

massacre of five children. Following this event, schools were defined as “gun-free

zones”. Since then, presidents, activists, and the NRA continued to dispute over safety

and freedoms of Americans.

The main evidence that has thrown this conversation of definition into a spiral

has been the fact that this year alone there have been seventeen school shootings. We

are only on the eleventh week of the year. Not only have there been that many school

shootings but the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida

was the ninth largest mass shooting in US history from 1949 to present. This has led to

my generation standing up and taking action about gun laws. Students have decided to

walk out of school and demand that they are listened to. While also demanding for the

government to start really thinking about gun control.

A large part of this argument is mental health. This seems to always be brought

up when a mass shooting occurs. The problem with this is that every time mental illness
Beautiful Chaos 5

is brought up the term is described pretty loosely. Some questions that need to be

considered are: What do we mean by mental illness? Which mental illnesses affect a

school shooter? If it really is mental illness that is the only criteria that makes a person

become a mass shooter how will we regulate this? Since mental illness can affect

someone at any age, will gun owners have to go through periodic psychiatric

assessment? The next largest topic of conversation relating gun control is obviously, the

current gun regulations and if they are working well enough. The biggest claims are that

the already existing gun laws and background checks are weak and riddled with

loopholes. Some examples of the laws not working how they are supposed to include

an example in 2007 when a Virginia Tech student shot and killed 32 people including

himself. The shooter was not supposed to be able to buy a gun due to a history of

mental illness but the records were never sent to the NICS. The other side of this is that

if there are more restrictions on guns, that would not slow down or stop a trained

shooter so therefore these restrictions are not really useful. I think when it comes down

to it though, the main point that supporters of more gun restrictions are stating is that

there is no need for citizens and civilians to have assault rifles. The claim being that

liberals want to take away all guns is false. The majority of liberals or those who

demand a restriction of guns are not talking about hunting rifles or pistols but as

previously stated, assault rifles. Some proposed gun restrictions that may actually occur

include, increased age restrictions, a ban of 19 types of assault-style weapons, banning

bump stock, improving background checks and arming teachers. A main thing to

consider when regarding gun violence, is that there are many different types. Suicide

being the highest. This proves that gun violence and mental health go hand in hand and
Beautiful Chaos 6

should be included in the definition of gun control. Both sides are arguing the same

thing. Obviously, both sides want their children to be as safe as possible, and especially

at school. I think that if both sides agreed to work on both issue that the amount of mass

shooting in schools would decrease.

Further discussion of this topic will continue for a long time. Even as we speak

the government, activists and the president are doing what they can to help. The

president is currently pushing for more comprehensive background checks with an

emphasis on mental health. Laws are in order to raise the minimum age to purchase a

gun to 21, firearm training for school personnel is in the works and the national “March

for our Lives” has already taken place. People want to see change and are demanding

it. I do not think that this will be the last time a school shooting occurs, and therefore will

not be the last time this discussion is had. This is a heated debated, that will continue to

affect my generation and the generation that follows us. More and more questions about

guns, and mental health will hopefully continue to pop up and hopefully there will be, in

the near future, a resolution to this issue that has plagued the country.

Gun control has seen a change in definition over the years, initially and in its

most basic sense it “is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale,

transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.” Now, however that

definition does not sufficiently describe the subparts of the large phrase we call “gun

control”. The definition does not include mental health, or the various loopholes people

can take in order to inflict an awful chaos in places that should be considered safe. The

government and civilians are all rising up to take action about this epidemic and

hopefully it can be solved. Although there has been a call for change, I call for a change
Beautiful Chaos 7

in the world and for the definition of the word. The definition should include the fact that

mental health is a huge part of the mass shooting that take place. The change I am

calling out to the world, is to set aside the different opinions, and let's think about kids at

school who are being ruthlessly murdered because the adults of the world would like to

argue whether or not an assault rifle is the one killing kids or if the mentally ill person

holding that weapon is at fault. Instead of arguing about that, lets actually figure out a

solution to this. We need to stop providing weapons so easily, and help people who

suffer from a mental illness instead of throwing them aside.

Beautiful Chaos 8

Citations

Libresco, L. (2017, October 03). Opinion | I used to think gun control was the answer. My
research told me otherwise. Retrieved March 11, 2018, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-
research-told-me-otherwise/2017/10/03/d33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-
58c702d2d975_story.html?utm_term=.3564579b034a

Arash Javanbakht Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. (2018, March 08). Mental illness and gun
laws: What you may not know about the complexities. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from
https://theconversation.com/mental-illness-and-gun-laws-what-you-may-not-know-about-the-
complexities-92337

L. (2017, November 07). America's poor enforcement of its gun laws keeps contributing to mass
shootings. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2017/11/7/16617488/air-force-sutherland-springs-texas-church-shooting

Shortell, D. (2018, February 15). How do laws prevent mentally ill people from buying guns?
Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/mental-health-gun-
possession-explainer/index.html