Gun rights for the mentally ill a tricky issue

Oct. 30--TAMPA -- The combination of guns and mentally ill people with a propensity toward violence can end in tragedy.

Professionals in the mental health industry and law enforcement say that with the current gun culture and a lack of funding for the treatment of mental illness, there's not much that can be done about it. Even though background checks can weed out convicted criminals in many instances, for example, there's no way to check on a person's mental health history or current stability.

That's not to say a conversation about the issue isn't going on, according to a panel of experts in law enforcement and behavioral sciences at a Friday conference hosted by the University of South Florida'sCollege of Behavioral and Community Services.

The topics ranged from treatment for potentially dangerous mentally ill people to gun control to illegal guns and guns on campus.

The panel came from as far away as Albany, New York, and included researchers at the forefront of their fields such as Jeffrey Swanson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. Also on the panel were retired Tampa police Chief Jane Castor and USF police Chief Chris Daniel.

The behavioral science experts said there may be ways to generally predict violent behavior but that pinpointing who is on the verge of that behavior is nearly impossible.

Throw into the mix the easy access to firearms in the United States, and a real problem emerges, Swanson said.

"The United States celebrates guns," he said. "The U.S. has domesticated guns. We like guns in this country and we have a lot of them."

He said about 310 million guns are owned by U.S. citizens, not including military personnel and law enforcement officers.

Those guns can easily end up in the hands of mentally ill people who do horrible things, he said, and solutions can be complicated.

The mentally ill in this country often aren't treated adequately, if they get treatment at all, he said. Instead, he said, they often are are put in jail, where they get little or no treatment.

While most of the mass shootings are committed by young males, often with substance abuse issues, who are angry, impoverished, possibly victim of child abuse and have exposure to a violent culture, the vast majority of the mentally ill are not violent, Swanson said.

The conference was open to the public and allowed each panel member to speak and answer questions from an audience mostly made up of university staff, faculty, students and professionals in law enforcement and the mental health field. About 250 people attended.

Castor spoke about how law enforcement officers are forced to deal with the mentally ill who become violent.

"Often, police officers become mental health counselors," she said, "and the jails become the de facto mental health facilities."

Police are better trained these days to deal with such people, she said, "but we are not counselors."

Though she is a gun owner, she said, there needs to be some government control over the availability of guns.

"You have to apply some common sense to gun ownership," she said. "There is no logical reason for a citizen to own an assault rifle."

She said open carry laws are potentially dangerous.

"I think 'open carry' is French for, 'You will be the first to die when the shooting starts,' " she said. "It makes no sense."

Alan Lizotte, a criminal justice professor at the University of Albany, acknowledged the gun control issue is an emotional one. He has been involved in research to identify who has access to illegal firearms.

He said the homicide rate in the United States is as low as it was in 1948, even though an estimated 7 million new guns are sold to citizens each year.

"That's a lot of guns," he said. "America is a gun culture. People hand them down from generation to generation."

Daniel said USF has a no-guns-on-campus policy and his officers take it seriously.

He said the number of university shootings across the nation over the past few years has prompted his department to formulate strategies to deal with an active shooter on campus.

"This can happen here," he said. "It's something we need to be aware of."

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

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