Is creating more gun control laws the answer to reducing gun violence, or are we missing the point altogether?

When you see the title, some say, “Excellent, we need more gun control to stop these awful events.” Now, this blog is not about the need for more laws. If gun laws worked as designed, Morton Grove would be a safer place, and Kennesaw would be a haven for crime (https://guncontroltruth.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/case-study-morton-grove-illinois-v-kennesaw-georgia).

Now there will be those who see this title and think that some uneducated guy believes more laws make a safer community. I do not own a gun, but do not think I have the right to saw others cannot own a gun. Do more gun laws make a safer community, or is there something missing in this conversation that would make a safer community? I believe the issue is not the gun. There are stories where people attacked and killed many with a knife (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/world/asia/china-railway-attack & http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/09/300872511/many-students-stabbed-cut-at-pennsylvania-high-school), and there has been gun violence in countries with stricter gun laws than the U.S.

What is being left out? Two things: One is sensationalism and the other is a need for more mental facilities and staff to help the growing issue today with mental sickness. Sensationalism in the media is dangerous. First, it focuses on the perpetrator rather than his\her victims. Movies, TV, and video games emphasis violence and by giving a person the stage so to speak after they commit a horrendous crime, it gives the general public ideas, violent ideas that they can act out. Michael Moore in his film, Bowling for Columbine, cites gun violence is in the United States, not because of guns, but because of mainstream exposure to gun violence in movies (https://democracychronicles.com/the-relationship-between-media-sensationalism-and-american-violence).

Lastly, there needs to be more assistance in mental health. A study showed one in four American suffer from some sort of mental illness (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20040601/rate-of-mental-illness-is-staggering). That does not mean one in four is going to commit horrendous acts, but it does show a need of mental health awareness in the U.S. The scary part is how many of those go untreated, whether by the lack of facilities or help, or lack of knowledge about signs to report from families or friends. Either way, those are sobering statistics.

What have we learned? What do we need to do? Instead of blaming the gun or knife as the cause of violence, let us research the early signs of such horrendous behavior and report it if we see them happening in our personal circles. Let us write letters and call for a stop to such violence found in movies, TV shows, games, and the media (that sensationalizes the perpetrator).