Gun registry not likely to curb violence

Gun registry not likely to curb violence

David L. Shern, president and CEO - Mental Health America, Alexandria, Va.

Congress' well-intentioned efforts to put more than $1 billion over three years to help states supply mental health information to the FBI's registry will do little to solve the gun violence problem ("Group: Still easy for mentally ill to buy guns," News, Monday).

Many assume that a person who once was determined dangerous is at risk forever. This is not true.

The science is clear: People get better with treatment, and individuals who are successfully treated are no more violent than the general population. In fact, the effort to develop comprehensive lists could even do harm because some might reject the care they need.

When deciding upon medical care, a person shouldn't have to weigh the benefits of care against the risk of inclusion on a government list.

Virginia Tech's critical lesson is that the gunman was not successfully followed after his emergency evaluation and was therefore not engaged in care. The missed opportunity was not failing to get his name on a government registry but failing to get him the help he desperately needed.

Given gun availability in Virginia, Seung Hui Cho likely would have had little difficulty getting a gun.

While we cannot reliably predict violence, we can reduce the risk through investing in community-based mental health services.

Considering that annual federal funding for the mental health services block grant to states is only $430 million, it could make a huge difference if Congress doubled that investment to close the gaping holes in our system.