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Mental Illness and New Gun Law Reforms

Mental Illness and New Gun Law Reforms VIEWPOINT ONLINE FIRST The Promise and Peril of Crisis-Driven Policy tors. The law also requires mental health professionals— Jeffrey Swanson, PhD psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and nurses—to report to local mental health authorities the names of all pa- HE DECEMBER 2012 TRAGEDY IN NEWTOWN,CON- tients deemed likely to seriously harm themselves or oth- necticut, transfixed the nation in a moment of shared ers. A reported person’s name will then be checked against grief for 20 small children and 6 adults who died a database of state gun licensees; if a match is found, the Tin a merciless hail of bullets. The weeks since have gun license may be suspended and police authorized to find brought numerous federal and state policy proposals to curb the person and remove the person’s firearm. gun violence. Whether these crisis-driven reforms can help But consider what this could mean. Suppose that a college inch society toward the goal of reducing firearm-related freshman is feeling depressed and having suicidal thoughts. deaths, the new laws’ broader social consequences could long That scenario would apply to about 1 in 10 students cur- outlast the memory of what happened at Sandy Hook El- rently enrolled in US colleges http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Mental Illness and New Gun Law Reforms

JAMA , Volume 309 (12) – Mar 27, 2013

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References (13)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright 2013 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.2013.1113
pmid
23392291
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

VIEWPOINT ONLINE FIRST The Promise and Peril of Crisis-Driven Policy tors. The law also requires mental health professionals— Jeffrey Swanson, PhD psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and nurses—to report to local mental health authorities the names of all pa- HE DECEMBER 2012 TRAGEDY IN NEWTOWN,CON- tients deemed likely to seriously harm themselves or oth- necticut, transfixed the nation in a moment of shared ers. A reported person’s name will then be checked against grief for 20 small children and 6 adults who died a database of state gun licensees; if a match is found, the Tin a merciless hail of bullets. The weeks since have gun license may be suspended and police authorized to find brought numerous federal and state policy proposals to curb the person and remove the person’s firearm. gun violence. Whether these crisis-driven reforms can help But consider what this could mean. Suppose that a college inch society toward the goal of reducing firearm-related freshman is feeling depressed and having suicidal thoughts. deaths, the new laws’ broader social consequences could long That scenario would apply to about 1 in 10 students cur- outlast the memory of what happened at Sandy Hook El- rently enrolled in US colleges

Journal

JAMAAmerican Medical Association

Published: Mar 27, 2013

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