SEATTLE – The latest mass shootings have led to calls for enhanced reporting of mental-health records, but mental-health experts say that would have little if any, impact.

News coverage of the November 14 shootings at a school in Rancho Tehama, California, focused on the shooter's mental history. President Donald Trump called the church shootings in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the week before "a mental-health problem."

But, according to Doctor Larry Davidson, a psychology professor at Yale University Medical School, only two-percent of gun violence is committed by people with a serious mental illness.

"The vast majority of people who commit such acts are very much in touch with reality; it's just a very painful reality that they're in touch with," he says. "It's not that they've lost their grounding in reality."

Advocates in the mental-health treatment community fear that statements linking mass shootings to mental health only serve to further stigmatize people with mental illness.

A 2016 report by the American Psychiatric Association suggests that focusing on behavior, coping skills and conflict resolution would be more effective. Davidson points out that people with serious mental illness are more "in danger" than dangerous.

"People with psychosis are much less likely to commit violence and are, in fact, much more likely to be victimized than to be perpetrators," he notes.

He says studies have shown that people with mental illness are 14 times more likely to be victims of violence than the average person.

Davidson notes that the incidence of mental illness is consistent from country to country, but there are far more mass shootings in the U.S. than any other developed nation.

"It's not that there are 40 times as many people with mental illness in the U.S. as in the U.K.; it's just that there's that much more easy access not just to guns but to military-style guns," he explains.

Following a mass shooting in 1996, Australia enacted strict gun-control laws. There hasn't been a single mass shooting in that country in 21 years.


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The end date for Minnesota's legislative session is less than two weeks away. One of the remaining debates is gun safety and supporters of a safe firearm storage bill hope lawmakers finish the job.

Earlier in the session, a bill addressing so-called "straw purchases" of guns received heavy focus and eventually won House approval. The House also has advanced a measure that says if a gun isn't within reach of the owner, it has to be unloaded and equipped with a locking device, or kept in a safe storage unit or locked room.

Susie Kaufman, chapter lead for Minnesota's Moms Demand Action chapter, said it's a reasonable way to block access to guns to those who shouldn't be picking them up.

"Storing a gun on the top shelf of a closet or underneath a seat cushion - both of which are places that guns have been stored in Minnesota - where children have gained access to them with deadly consequences," she explained.

House Republicans were loudly critical of the bill, saying it places severe limits and creates confusion for homeowners who want to protect themselves in case of an intruder. But supporters say it aligns with standard practices of responsible gun owners. It's not clear yet if these plans will clear the Senate.

Kaufman pointed to research from the advocacy group Everytown that says rates of unintentional shootings were 78% lower in states with safe gun storage laws. She feels the right to protect yourself and your loved ones should be paired with commonsense gun ownership.

"And I would also suggest that guns can be stolen," she continued. "There have been very well reported incidents in Minnesota where guns have been stolen from homes where they were not properly secured, and then used in crimes. "

Exceptions were added to the bill, including situations for hunters. This proposed measure and the straw purchase bill are expected to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz if they reach his desk. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn May 20.


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Grassroots organizations are sounding the alarm about Tennessee's new law allowing teachers and other school employees to carry guns.

Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1325 Friday and it took effect immediately.

More than 450 children have lost their lives to gun violence in the U.S. this year.

Cathy Barnett, legislative lead for the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action, predicted the new law will not enhance school safety. She noted the community worked to get an extreme-risk protection order passed after the Covenant School shooting but Republicans passed legislation this year blocking local governments from passing their own versions of such protection orders.

"Already, we have seen the largest counties say no, they are not going to implement it," Barnett pointed out. "They trust their law enforcement, they trust that they have SROs already in their schools. They feel like the dangers are just too much."

Barnett added even some smaller counties have said they will not implement it. Supporters of the new Tennessee law argued it will make schools safer.

Becky Hansen, a Covenant School parent who testified at a March 27 House hearing, cried when describing how her 5-year-old son's teacher saved her students, and said giving her a gun would have just made the situation worse.

"Our teacher had the wherewithal, when she realized that what they thought they needed to do for a fire alarm was actually an active shooter, to turn it into a race, to not scare my 5-year-old," Hansen recounted. "There is no way that my sweet teacher could have also held and properly ejected a weapon."

Barnett said more than 70% of the parents and teachers her group surveyed do not want the law. She added in the past 11 years of testifying before committees, some lawmakers still fail to adequately understand gun violence prevention measures.

"They're not listening to the research at all," Barnett contended. "The research shows normally, on the whole, a mass shooter, most of the time has some affiliation with that school in some way. They don't come because it's a 'gun-free zone,' which the Republicans like to say."

She pointed out concerns armed individuals may automatically resort to shooting, potentially harming people unintentionally and noted a student might also gain access to a gun if there are more firearms at schools.


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Well over three-fourths of Americans support universal background checks for gun purchases, but federal law allows unlicensed people to sell guns at gun shows and online without one.

Sixteen states now require background checks for gun sales by licensed and unlicensed sellers but Nebraska is not one of them.

The Biden administration is taking a step to close the gun show loophole. By mid-May, a broader definition of who is a gun dealer, and thus required to conduct background checks, will go into effect.

Melody Vaccaro, executive director of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, said the broadened definition will not affect true "hobbyists," such as antique gun collectors.

"The main way that it goes between a hobbyist and a gun dealer is if someone is selling guns regularly for money," Vaccaro explained. "If monetization is the driver of the gun sales."

Nearly a dozen different violations make people ineligible to purchase or possess a gun under federal law. And since the federal background check system was initiated in 1998, it has stopped nearly 5 million illegal gun purchases.

Those who oppose expanding background checks believe additional regulations burden law-abiding citizens and do not stop potentially dangerous people from getting firearms.

Vaccaro acknowledged it may be true, but is not a reason to stop trying. She hopes the change will help Nebraskans discover their common ground on this issue.

"Everybody is worried about gun violence. Everybody's worried about mass shootings. Everybody's wondering how we can do better; everybody's wondering that," Vaccaro emphasized. "That's not a political party conversation; that is actually something we all share."

And Vaccaro expects most Nebraskans will welcome an increase in the percentage of gun sales to include a background check.

"It is just so basic; it's so pragmatic," Vaccaro contended. "I really would be surprised if there was authentic pushback from everyday people, who are not lobbyists or directly profiting from the gun industry in some way."

Nebraska law regulates handgun sales by both licensed and unlicensed sellers, but private sellers can sell a long gun without a background check.


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