Enough already. Enough with the finger-pointing, the vitriol, and the partisan nonsense. Enough. Gun violence and mental illness are just two sides of a die that also includes fear, isolation, loss of control, distrust of authorities (e.g. government, media, law enforcement), and a devaluation of individual human lives.
So far in 2023, there have been 208 reported mass shootings in the US. To be classified as a mass shooting, there must be at least four casualties (injured and/or killed). Gun Violence Archive (GVA) maps show that mass shootings generally occur in cities: Greater Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Columbus, Metropolitan Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, and California's South Bay. The first mass shooting reported in 2023 was at a bar in Columbus, OH when an argument escalated in a group of men leading to one man being killed, four injured, and two taken into custody. The most recent as of this writing was a shootout at a house party in Adelanto, CA that included "back and forth gunfire," two guns, five people injured, and two people dead, including a 14-year-old girl.Â
At least half of the reported events occurred at parties and bars. Several were identified as gang and drug-related; others were domestic disputes and disgruntled employees. Many have no motive listed, which makes it difficult to chart a path toward limiting future events. Based on a review of all the recent cases, it seems reasonable to place mass shooting into one of three general categories: emotion, hate, and mental illness.Â
Bar disputes, parties crowded with people, domestic violence, and workplace shootings might all be prompted by emotions out of control. Gun laws currently in effect could mitigate some of these; many of the shooters are too young to legally purchase guns, others were already felons who cannot own guns, and still others were in the U.S. without legal documentation, another category of people who cannot legally own guns. Enforcing existing laws will not eliminate gun violence, but there is no point in passing more laws if the ones currently on the books are not enforced.Â
Hate crimes are harder to define. Hate toward individuals or hate toward groups of people? What defines hate? Are gang shootings motivated by hate or power? Political posturing adds to the challenge of defining hate. Heather Cox Richardson (2023) excused the Hispanic name of the Allen, Texas mall shooter by saying, "Hispanic-Americans often identify as white, and as scholar of white power movements Kathleen Belew noted on Twitter, today’s militant right holds together largely because of their interest 'in hurting vulnerable communities, antisemitism, anti-Islam, anti-trans, misogynist violence'" (May 8). In her view, hate only happens in the minds of people who identify as white and right-wing. Previous articles support this assessment. Nowhere does Richardson lay accusations toward people of color or people who agree with her politics. If the point of view comes from a place of hate for particular groups of people on any side of a dispute, justice cannot prevail. Assumptions are dangerous things, especially when lives hang in the balance. If the assumption that a shooter's motive stems from a racial identity it shuts down the conversation about other internal machinations that make individuals act in devastatingly irrational ways.
There are cases where hate is undoubtedly the motive for shootings, but these cases cover the spectrum of violence, from domestic violence to gang activity to public shootings to vendettas. Political maneuvering seems to play a role in recognizing whether violence can be attributed to hate or not. In the Allen, TX case, social media accounts by the shooter were shared almost immediately. The shooter at Covenant School in Nashville wrote a manifesto that wasn't released to the courts until ordered to do so by a judge. The court of public opinion often releases judgment and blame based on slanted and partial information, which only adds fuel to the fires of hate and tribalism.
Mental illness is a category that covers more than mass shootings. It goes without saying that anyone who shoots random people in public spaces has had a mental breakdown of some kind. The question is, how do we identify people whose mental illnesses will result in violence of any kind? Federal law already restricts the possession of a firearm by the mentally ill (NCSL, 2021), but most of the state laws limit the restriction to people who have been committed to a mental institution for inpatient care or were adjudicated as mentally incompetent. If required background checks were consistently enforced in legal gun sales, then some potential shooters may not be able to buy guns (NICS). Again enforcement of existing laws before creating new ones is a start. The Allen, TX shooter should not have had a gun because he had been discharged from the Army for mental health reasons (NPR.org), yet the dominant narrative focuses on his social media posts, not how he got the weapon. This is one of the problems with trying a case outside the court system: opinions and assumptions speak louder than facts.
Mental health care in the U.S. is problematic at best. Institutions are largely shut down and there are no laws in place to ensure people reliant on medications to control mental illness take them consistently. Other countries may not have mass shootings, possibly in part because the diagnosed mentally ill are required to stay on prescribed medication either voluntarily or by force. Because U.S. laws limiting gun ownership are generally based on institutionalization, addiction, and legal adjudication of mental defects, there is a massive gap between what the law allows and what common sense dictates. Until this gap is addressed, gun control laws alone will not solve the problem of gun violence in the U.S.Â
Fear and isolation work in tandem to drive several shootings in the U.S. More and more, people feel threatened by the unknown and by perceived threats. In the span of a single week in April 2023, five different shootings across the U.S. happened because of irrational fear (Lartey, 2023): a wrong address, a wrong car, and a wayward ball all led to gunshots. Joshua Horowitz said, "Everybody seems to be afraid, they've been told to be afraid" (Charalambous, 2023). Fear of economic instability, fear of crime, and fear of racism top the list of what Americans are worried about (Pew, 2022). Isolation exacerbates fears, particularly when isolated people spend hours watching news channels and social media posts that are often slanted by political angles and biases. Human nature clings to what is familiar, and so being immersed in media from one side or the other only exacerbates fear of "the other."Â
One way to avoid irrational fears is to put away the screens and get involved with other humans. Face-to-face relationships in a community are far more likely to limit knee-kerk reactions to fear than any laws. The pandemic affected more than those who suffered from the virus; the pandemic also increased fear by isolating people from others.
Loss of autonomy and control is linked to fear and isolation but also links to a desire for power and control of both other people and personal circumstances. A recent mass shooting in an Atlanta medical building was the result of a mentally ill man who entered the facility with a gun and opened fire when the doctors refused to give him the drug he wanted. The questions about this case are ongoing, but they have to begin with why did he bring a gun to a doctor's office? He had been diagnosed with mental illness by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and therefore could not legally carry a gun and the facility does not allow guns (concealed or otherwise). Clearly, he wanted a particular medication and was willing to shoot others if he was denied. Domestic violence is usually about controlling the actions of others, and gang violence is about controlling territory. Individuals see increasing violence and fear that they will be the next person caught up in tragedy and so decide to take matters into their own hands in an attempt to protect their own lives and property. It's a spiral of events, actions, and attitudes that only leads to further destruction.
Distrust of authority and the media on multiple sides leads to irrational suspicion and can result in violence. On one side there are groups and individuals who have not been treated fairly in the justice system, and their first response to law enforcement is aggression. On the other side are groups that base their affiliations on fear of control by the government (official and media handling of COVID-19 contributed to the growth of these groups) or desire to separate from other groups (religious, racial, legal, cultural, societal). Both sides are irrational when violence erupts. There may be good reasons for distrust, but the solution of attacking first and asking questions later will never increase trust.Â
Media must shoulder some of the responsibility for mitigating distrust between people and authorities. Mass shootings usually mean wall-to-wall media coverage that includes both facts and speculation. Non-stop reporting, particularly when there is no new information, only builds the social status (real or imagined) of shooters and provides details that may lead to imitation crimes (Meindl and Ivy, 2017). Media attention rewards evil actions, especially when the media outlet has a particular political slant. Bias is inherent in all reporting, which is why accurate and confirmable facts must lead and speculation must be minimized.Â
Community matters in reestablishing trust more than what the media does or doesn't do. The way to build trust is to build relationships, beginning with familiar faces at community meeting places (e.g. churches, synagogues, schools). Then reach beyond the most familiar to those of different cultures, ethnicity, social statuses, and points of view. Work within institutions to change perceptions, not by critique, but through conversations. When people know one another, it's much easier to spot media bias and have empathy for families affected by gun (and other) violence.Â
Devaluation of human lives is where I admit my own biases. I cannot help but look at all the violence in the U.S. today and not attribute much of it to the ways in which this society has spent more time, energy, and money on endangered animals than on endangered children. There's a lot of talk about using schools as places to make sure all children have equal access to learning, but little follow through, especially when the powers-that-be don't send their own children to public schools. There's a lot of noise about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but it largely separates groups by labeling them and then deciding which groups "deserve" to be included. Tribalism in politics is out of control. We used to be a people who engaged in civil discourse and debate, but we have reduced ourselves to accusations and blame-shifting. Until we, as a society, begin to value each individual human being as being made in the image of God, there is little hope for us. Respect, honor, and value need to replace diversity, equity, and inclusion.Â
The worst times in history began with "us-versus-them." Groupthink, allegiances, and single-minded aversion to identities only lead to destruction. When Jesus said we would be known by our love for one another, he meant love for the individuals we see daily. My neighbor is the one who meets my need and allows me to meet his (or hers). Whether I agree politically or socially doesn't matter. What matters is that every individual person I meet was breathed into life by the Creator and is deserving of both compassion and care.Â
Gun violence, especially mass shootings, is symptomatic of the greater social problem that views others as potential threats instead of neighbors. There aren't any quick fixes or easy answers to the problems facing the U.S. More laws won't make better neighbors, although enforcing existing laws might mitigate some of the fears people feel. Holding people accountable for their actions (including staying on mental health medication) matters. Improving institutions or building better ones for the mentally ill and for those who violate laws will help. Personally limiting time in the digital realm and increasing time in the physical world will improve everyone's health and perspective. But the key to deep and lasting change is a spiritual one. It begins with humanity, not ideology. It seeks to unite, not divide. It bases its views of others on their intrinsic worth as Imago Dei. It is grounded on the words of the prophet, Micah, "The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God" (Micah 6:8, CEV). That would be a good start.
Resources
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