blaming-mental-health-problems-for-mass-shootings-is-deliberately-disingenuous-experts-say
In the aftermath of high‑profile mass shootings, it has become common for commentators and politicians to point to mental illness as the primary cause. But experts maintain that this framing is deliberately disingenuous — and dangerously misleading. According to a report by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “mental illness is not the problem … it is incorrect and harmful to link mental illness and gun violence.” (ABC News)
While some perpetrators of mass shootings do have documented mental health issues, the data show that the vast majority of individuals with mental illness are not violent, and that countries with similar rates of mental disorders do not suffer the same mass‑shooting epidemics seen in the U.S. (Axios) Rather than focusing solely on mental health, experts point to access to firearms, social isolation, trauma, economic stressors, and cultural factors as far more significant drivers of mass violence. (ABC News)
Moreover, shifting the blame onto mental illness serves two harmful purposes. First, it stigmatizes millions of people with psychiatric conditions by associating them with violent criminality — even though they are more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators. (ABC News) Second, it allows policymakers and the media to sidestep the harder, structural questions about gun regulation, societal violence, and prevention strategies. As one analyst wrote: “Republicans simply blaming gun tragedies on mental illness is ‘disingenuous’.” (The Washington Post)
In short: portraying mental ill‑health as the root cause of mass shootings is not only factually shaky — it is also politically convenient. To really reduce the occurrence of these tragedies, the focus must shift from scapegoating a vulnerable population toward evidence‑based interventions: limiting firearm lethality and availability, addressing trauma, strengthening community supports, and treating violence as the public‑health challenge it is. (TIME)
