Mental Illness Plus Guns Does Not Equal Mass Murder

Media sources sometimes mischaracterize motives in mass shootings as being driven by a person suffering from a mental illness. It has been reported that on March 27, 2023, Audrey Hale carefully preplanned and orchestrated the murder of three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville. The news further reported that Hale was under care for an emotional disorder and had legally bought seven firearms. As an aside they also mentioned that Hale was transgendered. The media sources looked for any tidbit of information to explain this horrible occurrence without paying close attention to accuracy or the relevance of these facts.

The Nashville shooting attack was the 19th attack at an American school or university in 2023 in which at least one person was wounded, and the deadliest since the murders in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people died. There is no disagreement that in recent years mass shootings in the United States have reached epidemic proportions. Many members of Congress attribute this rise to incidents of mental illness. They don’t articulate which mental illness, just the presence of one. This notion is absurd. There is no such thing as a catchall “mental illness” or “emotional disorder” diagnosis, in the same way, that when a gun is referred to without specificity, no one could know which weapon is being referenced.

There is no evidence that mental illness plus a gun yields mass shootings, and current gun ownership laws, centered on one interpretation of the Second Amendment, are generally absent of limitations for mostly anyone.

What is mental illness?

The DSM-5-TR, published in 2022, asserts, “Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these).” Mental illness has typologies. The question is whether shooters who have displayed prior signs of particular mental illnesses kill more people than those who are not mentally ill. Some typologies investigated include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, among other serious conditions. There are also other potential contributing factors, such as substance abuse, poverty, dysfunctional family systems, domestic violence, and prior sexual abuse, to name a few. We do not yet understand how different pathologies affect criminal intent. It is a complex question.

Politicians and media organizations should wait for a diagnosis of a mass shooter before perpetuating false preconceptions about the dangers of the presence of a mental disorder. It may be that a combination of other variables weighs more heavily than the presence of a mental illness. For example, anger, in and of itself, is a biological reaction to perceived danger. We are wired for primitive rage: Kill or be killed.

In the early hours on June 12, 2016, a lone shooter entered a gay bar in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire on patrons with a semi-automatic weapon. He murdered 49 people and injured dozens more. It was reported that the shooter "had a history of violent spousal abuse and controlling behavior, his first wife ultimately having to escape him with help from her family. It is unclear whether he also abused his second wife, but it appears that he restricted her movements and kept her from her family. A co-worker described the shooter as socially awkward and without friends, hostile to women, gays, Jews, Latinos, and black Americans. It appeared to be his preoccupation with gay men that brought him to direct his rage at the LGBTQ bar, Pulse, on that Sunday morning.” (Laura L. Hayes)

Mass murders with assault weapons are now occurring with an unprecedented frequency in the United States. Each time the same questions are raised: What could motivate them? Was mental illness a precursor? We look to rational logic to explain the inexplicable. Frighteningly, any of us is capable of this. All that sets the rest of us apart from a murderer is the ability to regulate our impulses.

It is equally important to examine weapon ownership. The AR-15 was designed in 1957 at the behest of the U.S. Army with the intent to come up with a “high-velocity, full and semi-auto fire, 20-shot magazine,” able to penetrate both sides of a standard Army helmet at 500 meters. It can fire 45 rounds per minute. Modified with a bump stock, it can fire 400 rounds per minute. The AR-15 is very good at one thing: engaging the enemy at a rapid rate of fire. It is for mass killing. Adam Lanza used one when he shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School. James Holmes used one with a detachable 100-round magazine when he shot up a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

It would be foolish to minimize the political ramifications of increased gun control, or the setting of stricter parameters as to who may carry a weapon. Should someone who has been involved in domestic violence be allowed to carry a weapon? What about a child molester? These kinds of decisions are in the hands of our legislators. However, the news media has a responsibility to not arbitrarily make assumptions about anyone’s mental status without full knowledge. The stigma of mental illness has a lengthy history and is perpetuated by the irresponsible reporting of facts concerning what constitutes a mental illness.

Many individuals with mental illness get better and live fulfilling lives, contributing to society in important ways. Many who suffer more chronic long-term illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression, for example, need continued treatment, just as those who experience chronic physical pain do.

Mass Shootings Essential Reads

What Are Mass Murderers’ Motives?

How to Help Kids Manage Anticipation of School Shootings

To shame, blame, or ostracize those with mental illness with misinformation only serves to make seeking care more difficult and perpetuates a stigma that has endured for centuries.