Political Quotes

“Last week, a gunman with a history of mental illness killed one and wounded two others at a Seattle university. Just before Memorial Day, a young man known by his family and therapists to be mentally ill killed six people and himself in another awful episode of mass violence. Before there was Elliot Rodger, there was Adam Lanza in Newtown; Jared Loughner in Tucson; James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado; and Aaron Alexis at the Washington Navy Yard. There was Gus Deeds, another young man who was in a mental health crisis, but was denied extended inpatient care at a hospital before he killed himself and stabbed his father, a Virginia State senator. All had untreated or undertreated serious mental illness. All spiraled out of control within a system that lacked the basic mechanisms to help. Many had parents who were pleading for more help. How many more must die before we finally deal with our broken mental health system? Violence amongst persons with mental illness is extraordinarily rare and is far more likely to be self-directed. Last year, there was 40,000 suicide deaths and almost 1 million attempts. {time} 1030 The mentally ill are more likely to be the victims of violence, robberies, beatings, rape, and other crimes. The mentally ill are also 10 times more likely to be in jail than a hospital. That is because the seriously mentally ill often encounter law enforcement after refusing medical care.…”