RE: Is Mental Illness Really Fueling Mass Shootings?
It's a real tangled mess, that's for sure. You're right: blaming "mental illness" per se is convenient rather than insightful, although the link between psychotropic drugs and shootings should be looked at closely.
Unless the pharmaceutical lobby has something to say about it ;)
Off the top of my head, there are three classes of remedies:
Prior-restraint systems : These comprise the infamous gun-grabbing remedies. The trouble with these systems, as an #2A supporter will be glad to remind you, is false positives. Your post explained one of them: banning gun ownership to people with "mental illness" is going to crate a flood of false positives - each of which are people who are easy to stigmatize already.
Better security : This is similar to prior-restraint in that it has an "everyone's gotta sacrifice" component. Just as non-dangerous gun owners have to be frisked by a red-flag-equipped background-check system, so do students in this option. They have to walk through metal detectors, have their bags and backpacks searched (maybe), be physically frisked, and otherwise enjoy the new privileges of post-9/11 flying. ;-) Again, the problem is false positives combined with indignities. (If I had to go through this gauntlet every school day, I wouldn't exactly be partial to being true to my school.)
Better tactical response : For lack of a better label, call this the Old West solution. Teachers who are willing to carry guns get special tactical training to take down a shooter. Students participate in mandatory safety drills, and security is supplemented by one, two or three school officers who receive more intensive tactical training. The stop-and-frisk is minimal. This has the advantage of not alienating folks by treating them like potential criminals. But it has an obvious disadvantage, plus another: implementing this system requires psychologically accepting that school shootings are part of the new normal.
One interesting point to note: the groups affected by #1 and #2 are quick to spot the false positives!
Great analysis :) Thanks for the valuable input :)
4.The police and FBI do their jobs and arrest those who they receive multiple calls about making threats.