Delaware Gun Legislation Passed
• HB450 Assault Rifle Ban
• HB451 Raises Age 18 to 21, shotgun exception
• HB423 Background Checks
• SB1subSB6 High Capacity Magazine (>17)
• SB302 Gun manufacturer liability
• SB8 Bump stocks
Recent Federal Gun Legislation
• Red Flag Laws ($750 million to states)
• Closed boyfriend loophole
• More gun sellers to register as FLFD (and do background checks).
• Enhanced background checks for under 21 year age
• Gun trafficking and straw purchases
• Community based violence prevention $250 million)
Stats per Everytown:
14.4 gun deaths per 100K
Delaware rated #13 in gun strength laws.
Policies to Reduce Gun Deaths
• Childproofing features
• Microstamping technology
• Open Carry Laws
• Guns in Capitol, Demonstrations, Bars, K-12 schools
• No Emergency Restraining Order prohibitor
• Gun Removal Program
• Gun relinquishment for convicted domestic abusers
• School Threat Assessment teams
• Funding for services for victims of gun violence
• No dedicated office of violence intervention
• Police Use of Deadly Force standard, Incident data collection
• Qualified immunity limits
• Authority to deny gun purchase for public safety
• Notification of failed background checks
• Sales records sent to law enforcement
• Training required to purchase guns
• Waiting period before purchase
https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/state/delaware/
How do we stop gun violence in America?
https://hub.jhu.edu/2022/05/27/american-gun-violence-solutions/
Gun Control
The Mass Shootings Where Stricter Gun Laws Might Have Made a Difference
Mental illness and reduction of gun violence and suicide: bringing epidemiologic research to policy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211925/
“The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions study found lower rates of violence than the ECA study did (due in part to some sampling and methodological differences between the studies), but reported the same general pattern: 2.9% of persons with serious mental illness alone committed violent acts in a year, compared with 0.8% of people with no mental disorders or substance abuse—a statistically significant relative risk, despite a low absolute risk of violence in people with serious mental illness.”
“Are people with mental illness more likely to acquire, possess and carry guns? The National Comorbidity Study-Replication examined rates of gun access, gun carrying, and safe storage among people with and without lifetime mental disorders in the community and found no statistically significant association”
Is Mental Illness a Risk Factor for Gun Violence?
Suicide
“In 2018, 48,344 people died by suicide in the United States, 24,432 (51 percent) of whom used a firearm to end their life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). A meta-review found evidence that people with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression have higher rates of suicide than the general population does, and those with anxiety disorders (odds ratio = 3.3) and posttraumatic stress disorder (odds ratio = 2.5) specifically have elevated risk of dying by suicide relative to those without these conditions”
“In 2018, 18,830 people died by homicide in the United States, 13,958 (74 percent) of whom died by firearm (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). A review by Skeem and Mulvey (2020) examined the evidence base on mental illness and interpersonal violence, including gun violence and mass shootings.”
“With respect to mass violence, Skeem and Mulvey (2020) concluded in their review that approximately 20 percent of mass violence is committed by a person with a mental health disorder.”
“In conclusion, people with certain mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia and related psychoses, have a higher risk of committing violent crime than people without such illnesses do, but less than 1 percent are likely to commit a firearm-related offense. In addition, data show that, because these mental health conditions are uncommon, individuals with these conditions commit less than 10 percent of violent crimes.“
Podcast: A Top Mental Health Expert on Where America Went Wrong
https://overcast.fm/+oiPXDg_Ug
“There’s a paradox that sits at the center of our mental health conversation in America. On the one hand, our treatments for mental illness have gotten better and better in recent decades. Psychopharmaceuticals have improved considerably; new, more effective methods of psychotherapy have been developed; and we’ve reached a better understanding of what kinds of social support are most helpful for those experiencing mental health crises.
But at the same time, mental health outcomes have moved in exactly the wrong direction. In the United States, there is a death by suicide about every 11 minutes, and about half of those who die by that method have not received mental health care. Rates of anxiety, depression and eating disorders have skyrocketed among young people in recent years. From 2009 to 2015, rates of emergency room visits for self-harm more than doubled for girls ages 10 to 14.”
Podcast from NYTimes “Inside the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis”
Inside the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis
Listen to on my favorite podcast App: https://overcast.fm/+oIe96ZblI
How docs in firearm-friendly states talk gun safety
Warning Signs of a Mass Shooting
Red flag laws get little use as shootings, gun deaths soar
JAMA Articles on Firearms and Gun Violence
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796714
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796714
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796680
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796682
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796674
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796678
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796684
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796681
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796675
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796683
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2796676
Dr Bob, Brain Mechanic 
I think most of these experts world be surprised by the number of people who avoid mental health care because of the stigma, loss of especially gun ownership. Someday we may have a society that embraces the empathy and support of community based mental health care that surrounds at-risk young folks, seniors, people who are trying to recover from trauma and grief and spiritually nurturing programs of recovery. While Emotions Anonymous has the same 12 step approach to treating the underlying issues/pathology and not just treat symptoms, it’s my impression that involvement in peer support groups lead all too often to mutually enabling the expression of the illness instead of quality empathy and accountability. We used to value having strong identities and role models in our society but once again it’s my impression that people have become callous, judgemental and insular in supporting each other to places of healing and support. I would hate to be an adolescent or teenager or a senior in this digitally connected population where anonymity and cruelness abound with the proliferation of keyboard warrior bullies and selfish cruel abusers. Gun control offers no solution to a war of minds and hearts where the most dangerous weapons are words.
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