TV Smart Talk – Guns and the Mentally Ill
New York this week became the first state to address mental health issues in the wake of the Newtown school massacre last month that claimed 26 lives, including 20 children. Adam Lanza, the shooter who also killed himself and his mother, reportedly suffered from mental illness.President Obama on Wednesday outlined his gun-control plan that also focuses on the mentally ill. Join us tonight at 8 on Smart Talk as we discuss what is being done to treat mentally ill Pennsylvanians and ensure that those who pose a risk to themselves and others do not have access to weapons. Be part of the conversation by calling 1-800-729-7532, post a comment to this article, or to Facebook and Twitter.
Our panel features Lynn Keltz, executive director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association which advocates on behalf of Pennsylvanians with mental illness. She urges lawmakers to”apply the laws equally to everyone. We don’t want to curtail civil rights.”Dan Eisenhauer, administrator of the Dauphin CountyMental Health/Intellectual Disabilities program, joins her. He appeared earlier this week on Radio SmartTalk and detailedthe tremendous challenges in delivering community mental health services.And Dr. Dale Adair, chiefmedical officer forthe state mental hospital system operated under the Department of Public Welfare, will add his perspective.
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Tuesday new measures designed to improve government’s response to mental illness. The law requires mental health professionals to report to local mental health officials when they believe patients are “likely to engage in” violent behavior. Therapists who fail to report such patients are protected from prosecution if they acted in “good faith.”
It gives law enforcement the right to confiscate any firearm owned by a patient deemed to be dangerous. Gun owners must make their weapons inaccessible in homes where a resident has been involuntarily committed, convicted of a crime, or is the subject of an order of protection. Critics say the package of measures could drive mentally ill patients from seeking help. They also contendit tramples on their constitutional rights and the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship.
If you think we have been down this path before, you are correct. After the Virginia Tech mass shooting in 2007 that killed 33 people, Congress passed a law to cajole states to provide to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the records of those who have been committed to mental institutions. Five years later, more than half the states have failed to provide mental health records. Pennsylvania is one of them. Reasons cited include privacy concerns and the incompatibility of federal and state computer databases.
Pennsylvania does bar those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution from buying or owning a gun. However, because the Commonwealth does not report that information to the NICS, a violent, mentally ill Pennsylvanian could go to another state to purchase a weapon.
Republican State Representative Todd Stephens of Montgomery County has pushed legislation to force the Pennsylvania State Police to send the information to the national background check system. PSP Commissioner Col. Frank Noonansays, as of January 15, all pertinent mental health records will be forwarded to federal officials for inclusion in the NICS database.
Determiningwho is just mentally ill and who is truly dangerous isn’t always easy. Advocates on both sides point out that only about 4 percent of violent crimes overall are committed by people with serious mental disorders. However, according to forensic specialists, that rate jumps to about 20 percent for rampage or serial killings.
Earlier this week on Radio Smart Talk, Democratic Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick said the community mental health system is “woefully inadequate” in addressing patients’ needs for services. He noted that just 5.6 percent of national health care funding goes to mental health programs. Funding cuts at the federal and state leveltrickle down to the countieswhere that treatment is delivered. Waiting lists are hundreds of patients deep for most levels of publicly funded mental health treatment. Patients in Dauphin County, for instance, have an eight-and-a-half-month wait for a general psychiatric evaluation.
All three guests on the programsaid they were surprised that there are not more violent incidents involving the mentally ill given the strain on the system and the sheer number of people needing help. That observation should be sobering to each of us.
We would love to hear your comments on mental health treatment and the threat of gun violence. Please submit a comment here, call in live at 8 to 1-800-729-7532, or post to Facebook and Twitter.
(This article has been updated to reflect the addition of Dr. Adair to the panel. And, here’s a link to federal and state statutes governing firearms and the mentally ill.)
