Veterans, Weapons, and Mental Health
The recent events at the veteran’s home in Yountville CA. have placed veterans in a negative light again. Several of the recent mass shootings have involved military veterans, bringing to light the need for a better mental health system and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) screening for military veterans. Military veterans are not the only ones doing the shootings, but they are the focus of some. There are people who want to take away the rights of people who have PTSD, including veterans. The fact that’s overlooked is there are more civilians who have PTSD than military veterans. I understand trying to take away assault rifles this is a hot button issue, but where is the line with veterans, weapons, and mental health. As a mental health provider, I would not want to be the one to take away a veteran’s rights due to PTSD caused by serving in the military. Taking away the very rights veterans have fought for is truly unacceptable without proper cause.
The stigma associated with mental health, including (PTSD) is an ongoing issue for some veterans and their families. If a military veteran feels their rights will be taken away because they have been or might be diagnosed with PTSD or any other mental illness they will not get help, possibly making the situation worse. Veterans don’t like mental health already, thinking they might lose their weapons if they get help will discourage veterans from getting the needed help. Veterans are targeted when it comes to PTSD because the Veterans Administration (VA) drives the PTSD conversation but only 6 % of Americans with PTSD are military veterans, so where does society draw the line?
Taking away rights from those who fought for your rights is a difficult sell, especially veterans. The issue could be solved by not allowing anyone to own military grade assault weapons, this is not feasible or going to happen, we are way past that point. What is the answer? Management of weapons has been done in the past with the help of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA helped write the first United States gun laws and was a key player in gun-control laws up until the 1980’s. Lately extensive background checks, oversized clips, age restrictions, and various other common since laws have been blocked by the NRA. What has happened to my NRA I joined as a kid? The ones who taught gun safety and fought for the rights of hunters. Mental health screening alone will not fix the problem we have now, we need the NRA to step up and help write common since laws that benefit everyone.
A onetime mental health screening is not going to indicate a mental health issue for most people. As a mental health professional, I know after a one-hour session there is no way I could guarantee someone would not “go off”, almost anyone can behave for an hour. To get a good idea of someone’s stability it might take weeks. No one wants to be subjected to an extensive mental health evaluation because of the stigma, but it might be necessary. The problem with mental illness is most mental illnesses are short termed. PTSD is manageable for most people, anxiety can go away with time, management, and treatment. Almost everyone gets depressed occasionally, many schizophrenics will not take medication and will not seek treatment. Where is the line going to be drawn when it comes to mental health screening for the ability to own weapons?
Who decides who can attain a legal assault weapon, military folks and are trained on assault weapons, civilian are not. If anything, being a veteran should give you the right to own an assault weapon before a civilian. The problem is military veterans are 13% of the veteran population and have committed 1/3rd of the mass shootings between 1984 and 2017. This does not shed a good light on veterans or help my case that veterans have earned the right to have assault weapons. Veterans are familiar with weapons and know how to use them, should this knowledge and familiarity exclude or allow military veterans to own weapons?
Most of my military veteran friends have assault rifles and enjoy shooting things up to get out their frustration and for fun, to them it is therapeutic. They would never give up their weapons. I have weapons and would never want to give them up either. But veterans would never go to therapy if they believe they would lose their rights to have weapons because they sought help. Most military veterans do not have PTSD, and even more veterans are not combat veterans. Should veteran’s rights be infringed just because they served in the military? Should they also lose their rights after they have fought for yours? This is a quagmire our founding fathers never saw coming. Our forefathers never envisioned a weapon could shoot 140 to 180 rounds per minute. Unfortunately, there are no good answers, the only thing that can be done is what was done with the “tommy” gun. Strictly control their ownership, just like the NRA agreed to when restrictions were put into place.
For questions or comments, I can be reached at bo@afterdutyvets.com or visit our website at afterdutyvets.com.