Gun Control And Suicide Rates

have shown the firearm homicide and suicide rates in the US are several times higher than that of any other industrialized country” (Towers 2). The automatic reaction people have to mass shooting is talking about gun control and mental illness policies. Every time a mass shooting occurs both the people and the government go crazy trying to find a solution yet there is no solution. The United States needs to set up mental illness awareness programs to decrease the number of mass shootings.
With this in mind, some major shootings in the United States have been the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre, the Newton, Connecticut elementary school, and the Santa Monica shooting. The most recent shootings were in Springs, Colorado, and in San Bernardino, California. All of the shooting mentioned above have left over five people dead or injured. As time goes by mass shootings seem to occur more frequently in the United States. Many say that the media has a big role in promoting mass shooting. That might be true, but if someone is mentally stable it is doubtful they will be influenced to do what they see on TV. Maybe people who are mentally ill might be motivated to copy what they see on TV; therefore the media should have that in mind.
Consequently, “In recent years, tragedies involving mass killings in the US, such as The Aurora, CO movie theatre shooting in July 2012, and the Newton, CT has intensified social focus on trying to understand the dynamics and contributing factors that underlie such events”(Towers 2). Both of these shooting left the public shocked and concerned. As an article says one of the main concerns was “concern with the publics understanding of the shooting specifically who or what did the public blame” (Joslyn, and Do...

... middle of paper ...

...ental illness. The article says, “a case usually begins with a gut feeling that something is off” (“Trigger warnings”). Workshops on mental illness should be carried out in schools and workplaces. These workshops should educate people on signs to look out for. Also educate people on who they should talk to if they notice strange behavior. According to the same article “threat assessment is essentially a three part process: identifying, evaluating, and then intervening” (“Trigger warnings”). With more people being educated about this more mentally ill people can be helped and more shootings can be prevented.
Additionally, even if the government opts out of doing mental illness workshops they should still encourage people to report anything they find strange. Something as simple as “ a teacher hears a student dark comments and alerts the principle, or someone gets fre