Friday's letters: Mentally ill are not violent, 'life' denied, COVID victims forgotten

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read
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Residents of Uvalde, Texas, express their growing frustration last week with how the Uvalde Police Department handled the school shooting in which 19 children and two adults were killed.
Residents of Uvalde, Texas, express their growing frustration last week with how the Uvalde Police Department handled the school shooting in which 19 children and two adults were killed.

Mass shootings not caused by mentally ill

Today, the national dialogue on gun violence continues to be based on assertions that the shooters suffer from mental health problems. This is both misleading and discriminatory.

Years of research show that while those who commit such murders are almost surely angry and full of hate, mental illness does not play a role in the vast majority of mass shootings.

When we continue to frame the conversation about gun violence solely in the context of mental illness, it does a disservice to the victims as well as those who suffer from mental health issues and who, due to the stigma attached to mental illness, may be dissuaded from seeking the treatment they need.

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Epidemiologic studies show that the large majority of people with serious mental illnesses are never violent. In fact, mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of violence.

Further research is needed to effectively study the causes of gun violence, find appropriate solutions, speak honestly and productively about how best to prevent further violence (including instituting common-sense and overwhelmingly popular limits to gun access) and utilize best practices to help individuals recover from trauma due to gun violence nationwide.

Marlene M. Hauck, executive director, and Jeffrey Peterson, president, Lee & Bob Peterson Foundation/Sunshine from Darkness

Shooting victims denied ‘life, liberty’

When Thomas Jefferson wrote our Declaration of Independence, he included that U.S. citizens have “the inalienable right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Sadly, we have had the unconscionable school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were murdered, including 19 children.

Since then, the National Rifle Association and leading politicians have responded to the tragedy. Much has been said about the need for more mental health regulations, but there has been a refusal to improve gun safety laws.

We have heard much about the popularity of guns. Some hunters demand the availability of AR-15s, semiautomatic rifles.

Many people believe they must own a gun for self-protection. We are told by some leaders that the only way to protect ourselves from “bad guys with guns is to have more good guys with guns.”

However, there were many “good guys with guns” at the school shooting – local, state and federal law enforcement.

In our society today it looks like “the inalienable right to life … and the pursuit of happiness” remains well honored for gun owners but not for the lives of the 19 dead children.

Is this equal justice for all?

Jim Beck Sr., Sarasota

More deadly weapons won’t make us safer

Guns do kill people. That’s what they’re made for. Consider this: Would you buy a gun that couldn’t kill?

On the night Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, one of his disciples (The Gospel of John says it was Peter) took up a sword and cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26: 52)

The notion that more guns will make us safe is sheer lunacy. Guns do kill people. That’s what they’re made for.

Susan Burdsall, Venice

No Memorial Day for 1M COVID dead

Like many other Floridians, I served during the Vietnam era.

I had two cousins in Vietnam. One returned home alive and the other came home in a body bag. In all, more than 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam over a 10-year period.

According to the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, more than 1 million Americans have died in service to our country since its birth. Memorial Day is an appropriate recognition of their sacrifice.

In contrast, 1 million Americans, among them 75,000 Floridians, have lost their lives to COVID in just the past 2½ years.

There is no day of recognition for their families. Each now marks its own Memorial Day: Ours is Sept. 6, the day our 43-year-old son died of COVID.

Just like military families, 75,000 Florida families lost children, wives, husbands, fathers, mothers and grandparents.

Yet those deaths and the anguish of the families have subsided from the attention of the media and public. And our Florida “commander in chief” is praised for his handling of the COVID crisis.

Guess 75,000 dead citizens is an acceptable cost to keep the state “open”!

Ken Smith, Venice

Fair play: Report on rivals’ donors

Such a long article May 29 about the “billionaires” who support our Gov. Ron DeSantis for re-election and the amount they have contributed (“Who are the 42 BILLIONAIRES backing DeSantis?”)!

When can I expect a similar article on the billionaires supporting his Democratic rivals in the governor’s race – U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and state Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried – and the amounts they have contributed?

Theresa Johnson, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Mental illness not to blame in shootings, COVID victims forgotten